George Bush is not afraid of limousines - he rides in them
As the publication reports, citing Time magazine, on inauguration day long luxury cars will be practically outlawed in Washington. The traffic police will thoroughly check them, and they will not be allowed into parking lots in the city center or places of mass gathering.
As AFP has learned, American limousines are being discriminated against for one day on the tip of British intelligence services. The fact is that at the end of last year, a 39-page Al-Qaeda report titled “Preliminary Presentation of the Gas Limousine Project” fell into the hands of the English police. The project's authors propose using at least three long-wheelbase vehicles with tinted windows. Each would be loaded with 12 or more propane gas cylinders. The cars were intended to be parked in a crowded place, after which the valve of one or more cylinders would be unscrewed and the gas exploded.
The document intercepted by the British lists the advantages of using limousines as effective “death shells”. They blend well into the urban landscape and do not arouse suspicion, unlike, for example, trucks. Car tinting provides them with good camouflage. Such vehicles can hold a larger amount of explosives than sedans, and unlike trucks, they are admitted without problems to underground parking lots. In the same document, terrorists proposed painting the gas cylinders yellow to further increase panic (in the US, containers with toxic substances are usually marked in yellow).
Although the Al-Qaeda report made no mention of the inauguration of the US president, the authorities are preparing to check limousines precisely on that day. The US Department of Homeland Security has already alerted all American limousine rental companies to the existing threat. Owners of private long-wheelbase vehicles will have to come to terms with searches and restrictions on movement around Washington on this festive day.
According to local media estimates, on inauguration day hundreds of limousines will appear on the streets of the US capital, which will bring high-ranking guests to the capital from various parts of the country.