GERMANY: SECURITY STEPPED UP IN MAINZ AHEAD OF VISIT BY U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH WHILE FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH VISITS TROOPS AT RAMSTEIN

Record ID: 647372

  • Title: GERMANY: SECURITY STEPPED UP IN MAINZ AHEAD OF VISIT BY U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH WHILE FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH VISITS TROOPS AT RAMSTEIN
  • Date: 22nd February 2005
  • Summary: (BN10) MAINZ, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 22, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF MAINZ CASTLE 0.08 2. MV: POLICE SETTING UP SECURITY IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE 0.14 3. SCU: BARRIERS BEING PUT UP 0.20 4. WIDE OF MEN IN A ROW LIFTING THE FENCE INTO PLACE 0.25 5. PAN/TILT: POLICE HELICOPTER FLYING OVERHEAD 0.35 6. POLICE MOTORCADE DRIVING PAST 0.44 7. (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CITIZEN, NORBERT SCHNELL SAYING: "Really they should be doing the visit somewhere else, doing it in the middle of the city is bad. Look everything is closed already.... It's bad." 0.52 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN CITIZEN, MAX GRIEB, SAYING: "I think, okay, he is a very important man, and I think it is a bit over the top, but when you see how it always appears in America, I think it is the normal style, the normal Bush style." 1.07 9. SCU: AMERICAN AND RHEINLAND-PFALZ STATE FLAGS FLYING 1.11 (W3) RAMSTEIN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 22, 2005) (REUTERS) 10. CHILDREN SITTING ON THE FLOOR IN A HALL AT RAMSTEIN BASE 1.16 11. WS: BAND DRESSED IN COMBAT ATTIRE PLAYING ON STAGE 1.20 12. MV: ARRIVAL OF FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH AND WALKING ON TO THE STAGE / LAURA BUSH WAVES TO THE AUDIENCE, IS GREETED ON STAGE AND IS APPLAUDED BY THE TROOPS 1.48 13. CLOSE UP OF TWO GIRLS AND PAN TO THE AMERICAN FLAG BEING WAVED BY ONE OF THE GIRLS 1.56 14. SOUNDBITE (English) FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LAURA BUSH, SAYING: "Germany is a close friend and ally of the United States, and our nations and our people are bound by common values and common interest. Our military alliance protects freedoms throughout the world. This successful alliance would not be possible without the incredible men and women of Team Ramstein." 2.25 15. SCU: TROOPS CLAPPING 2.28 16. SOUNDBITE (English) FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LAURA BUSH, SAYING: "Today the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are hopeful again about their futures. Across the broader Middle East, people can look to the new freedom of these two countries and find inspiration. And the world has seen once again that the United States military is one of the greatest forces for good on this earth." 2.58 17. WIDE OF THE PODIUM, WITH A LARGE AMERICAN FLAG ON THE WALL BEHIND THE PODIUM 3.02 18. CLOSE OF A SIGN READING "TEAM RAMSTEIN" 3.06 19. SCU: LAURA BUSH POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS WITH AMERICAN TROOPS 3.11 20. CLOSE UP OF THE COVER OF A BOOK "THE LOOK-IT-UP BOOK OF FIRST LADIES" AND PAN TO THE FACE OF THE YOUNG GIRL HOLDING THE BOOK 3.18 21. LAURA BUSH SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS 3.31 22. WIDE OF LAURA BUSH TALKING TO THE CROWD AND SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS 3.35 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th March 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MAINZ AND RAMSTEIN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Reuters ID: LVA648NXOY9TCWZESTJH4XW1I9K7
  • Story Text: Security in Mainz is stepped up ahead of the visit by
    U.S. President George W. Bush while his wife Laura visits
    troops in Germany.


    In Mainz on Tuesday (February 22) the final preparations
    were being made for or the visit of the U.S. President
    George W. Bush on Wednesday (February 23).

    The American president will be received in Mainz castle, in
    the very heart of the city, causing a serious disruption to
    traffic and public services. Roads in and around the centre
    will be closed and shops and businesses in the vicinity of
    the castle will also have to remain closed due to the security
    measures.

    He will be received with military honours on the main square
    in Mainz and will also visit American troops.

    The extensive precautions are not popular with many residents
    who resent the disruption to their everyday lives. The president
    will only be in Mainz on Wednesday before leaving for the
    States again, but many shops have already closed and there
    are already disruptions to public transport.

    "Really they should be doing the visit somewhere else,"
    Norbert Schnell told Reuters. "Doing it in the middle of the
    city is bad. Look everything is closed already.... It's bad."
    "I think, okay, he is a very important man, but I think it is
    a bit over the top," said Max Grieb, but he was slightly more
    conciliatory, "when you see how it always appears in America,
    I think it is the normal style, the normal Bush style."
    U.S. President George W. Bush is currently in Europe pressing his
    trans-Atlantic allies to step up pressure on Iran and Syria, seen
    by Washington as repressive regimes and on Tuesday he attended
    a NATO summit in Brussels.

    A day before his arrival in Germany, his wife First Lady of the
    United States of America Laura Bush emphasised the good relations
    between Germany and the United States during a troop visit at
    Ramstein military base.

    "Germany is a close friend and ally of the United States, and
    our nations and our people are bound by common values and
    common interest. Our military alliance protects freedoms throughout
    the world. This successful alliance would not be possible without the
    incredible men and women of Team Ramstein," said the First Lady on
    Tuesday (February 22) in front of around 4000 American
    soldiers and their relatives at the US military base at Ramstein.

    Laura Bush also praised the work of the American troops throughout the
    world and especially in the Middle East.

    "Today the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are hopeful again about
    their futures. Across the broader Middle East, people can look
    to the new freedom of these two countries and find inspiration.

    And the world has seen once again that the United States military
    is one of the greatest forces for good on this earth, " she told an audience
    who received her speech with rapturous applause.

    After landing at Ramstein, the First Lady initially visited injured US
    soldiers in the neighbouring military hospital at Landstuhl.

    At lunch she met with relatives of the 230 airforce soldiers
    who are currently deployed in Iraq.

    Around 48000 American soldiers and their families live and work
    in the area around Kaiserslautern in Germany. Ramstein and the
    soldiers stationed there served as a logistical hub for the US
    military during the war in Iraq.

    Numerous wounded soldiers were flown from Iraq to Landstuhl,
    where the US Army has the largest military hospital outside of
    the USA.


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