Although I have only served as an “other agency assist” (meaning my agency provided additional manpower or specialized services to the Secret Service)on a Presidential protection detail, I have however, a great deal of knowledge and respect for the Secret Service. Additionally, I know what it is like to project a high valued target; while an agent with the Department of State, I provided security for moderate to high threat targets, particularly visiting dignitaries from India, Turkey, the Philippines, Lebanon and Israel, all of whom were threatened by organized groups who were in the midst of planning these official’s demise.

Unfortunately, as we have seen in the last 50 years, there are individuals and groups in this nation that would rather seek to demonstrate their opposition to a president or political candidate through violent means, especially the assassination of that person rather than wait to utilize our democratic political process.

No presidential assassination in modern times indeed had more of an effect on the history of this nation than the murder of President John F. Kennedy. In my opinion, this was a conspiracy; however, the individuals who planned this assassination ensured that the additional, lower level persons required to carry out such an act, e.g. logistics: arranging for transportation of the assassins; the paymasters; and ultimately the trigger men, were so decompartmentalized that the real story would never be told. For those who had direct knowledge of the conspiracy, they met with the same fate as the fallen president.

Obviously, the efforts of the Secret Service to protect presidents and candidates have greatly evolved. Did you know that the city of Dallas was not advanced by a team of agents; one agent was assigned to advance what was considered in November 1963 to be a very hostile city, in terms of its feelings toward the Kennedy administration. Additionally, the Secret Service special agent staff nationwide was only about 350 in 1963, today all I can say is they number in the thousands.

Currently, without divulging what could be considered classified material, the Service deals quite differently with Presidential Protection. When a president travels, teams of agents have advanced the site(s) to be visited; they have liaised with their local or foreign counterparts; and highly sophisticated specialized units and equipment are deployed into the mix.

President-Elect Obama is heading into a highly volatile term as our next national leader. I pray the individuals who take issue with the new President’s views would resort to the political process and methodologies that are a part of our democratic republic and turn away from those who would advocate violence as a means of change.

But this is a very unique and historically special situation: the new president will be an African-American who’s political views tend to be more left and centrist than right. Once again, I pray that the Timothy McVeigh’s of this country are ferreted out by the Service and the FBI and are dealt with swiftly but justly before they are capable of perpetrating their violence. Should they succeed to run their evil plans under Secret Service protective intelligence radar and make an attempt on the life of the President-Elect, I believe, based upon extensive knowledge of this highly professional security agency, the attempt would be futile and quickly defeated, resulting in the deaths or lifetime incarceration of the would be assassins.

I predict the President-Elect will have the best trained and most experienced security detail in the history of the Service’s Presidential Protection program. Thus, those who would risk their lives and freedom to commit an act of violence against our new leader better be prepared to lose.

Take care,

Jim

Why start with Nixon? Don’t forget about Collazo and Torresola who tried to kill Harry Truman, but did manage to kill the first Secret Service officer (Leslie Coffelt), ever killed in a protection assignment. Also, Guiseppe Zangara who was electorcuted for trying to kill FDR, but got Chicago Mayor Anton Cermack instead. Kennedy was the target of assassination plots prior to Ozwald, and Johnson had his share of enemies as well. A good book to read about the inner workings of USSS protection came out in 1988, “Confessions of an Ex-Secret Service Agent”, by George Rush, Donald Fine Publishers, NY, NY.

Assassination is nothing new…the bad guys been doing it for years!

Best wishes,

Rick Colliver