Crowds complicate Obama inaugural security

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama's inauguration as the first U.S. black president will take place on Tuesday amid unprecedented security aimed at protecting him as well as the record crowds expected to attend.

With about 1.5 million people expected to take part in three days of festivities -- including the swearing-in, parade and inaugural balls -- tens of thousands of police and troops will guard the land, skies and waters around Washington.

The Homeland Security Department and other authorities see no credible or specific threat of an attack. But they say they are prepared for a wide range of potential catastrophes, including a chemical weapons attack and bitterly cold weather.

"You've got to stretch your imagination because we're really almost talking the unthinkable," said Army Gen. Richard Rowe, who oversees the military's inaugural preparations as head of the joint military task force for the Washington area.

This will be the first inauguration of a new president since the Sept. 11 attacks that sharply raised America's fears of a domestic attack and elevated security measures.

Obama will inherit wars with al Qaeda and other enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden taunted Obama in a message this week, declaring that the new U.S. president faced a guerrilla war that would only widen.

Obama's election -- seen as a triumph in the long struggle for equality by African-Americans -- also has stirred white supremacists to anger, sparked arrests during his campaign and raised assassination fears.

Security officials say they have planned, staffed and exercised for more than a year against a vast array of potential threats.

"In my over 25-year career, this is the biggest event that I have been a part of," said Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service, which is in charge of overall inaugural security.

Asked whether Obama's historic inauguration posed special concerns, Sullivan said: "No matter who we're protecting, we're always concerned with their security. We take a look at each event, we take a look at the people we protect, and we put a plan together."

AIR AND RIVER PATROLS

An estimated 8,000 police officers, about half from outside the Washington area, will be deployed, said Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty. Some 10,000 National Guard reserve troops and 7,500 active-duty soldiers will also take part.

An intensified air patrol will guard the skies, and rivers bordering the city will be patrolled. Other security measures include stationing chemical-sensing teams, closing bridges into the city and sealing off a large area of downtown to cars.

"There are going to be a lot of things out there you're going to see, and there are going to be lot of things you don't see," said Sullivan.

The threat of chemical, biological or radiological weapons figured prominently in the precautions, and the November attacks in Mumbai by heavily armed gunmen were a wake-up call, said Rowe, who acknowledged, "It gave me willies."