Wave of dignitaries tests city protocol, security

It’s a tricky equation, even for the capital of the Free World:

1 pope + 1 spiffy popemobile + 1 president + 1 prime minister + 1 vice president + a cast of thousands = a very hectic 24 hours inside the Beltway.

Indeed, in the past two days, the city hosted Pope Benedict XVI and his fine ride, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mohammad Karim Khalili, one of the two vice presidents of Afghanistan.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived yesterday for a visit — not to mention eager throngs anticipating the D.C. Hip Hop & Peacebuilding Festival and X-Conference 2008, a forum exploring all things extraterrestrial — both of which will run through the weekend.

“It’s always busy at the White House, but I would say that this week has been something else,” said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore. “During Pope Benedict’s appearance on the South Lawn on Wednesday, there were 13,500 people attending. That breaks all records for an event like this, as far back as all our curators can remember.”

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain only rated 7,000 last May. But such is life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“These kind of things are part of the job description. We’re excited — and we’re still excited — about the pope and our other visitors,” she added.

And such is life at the State Department, as well. The agency must coordinate perfect protocol, white-glove diplomacy and ironclad security with a certain panache and within a certain time frame.

“With three visits at one time, our dedicated staff is working tirelessly. The collaboration with White House, the UK and South Korean embassies, National Security Council, U.S. Secret Service and others has allowed the visits to run smoothly,” said U.S. Chief of Protocol Nancy G. Brinker, who credited staffers for all the heavy lifting.

“They deserve the credit. As Ronald Reagan said, ‘You can accomplish much if you don’t care who gets the credit,’ ” she said.

For some, it’s just another day at the office.

“We’re just doing our job. Certainly we wouldn’t venture to say it was a day like every other day — but it’s similar to all the other times when we have heads of state visiting,” said Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley.

“We adjust accordingly. One of the bigger challenges is simply managing public enthusiasm for such visits,” he added.

The public takes it all in stride, meanwhile.

“I don’t think these events, particularly the pope’s visit, were all that disruptive. There was a lot of publicity. People understood who was coming, where these people were going, where the street closures were,” said WTOP traffic reporter Bob Marbourg.

Story Continues →