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Bush Taken to Bunker After Radar Blip

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Apr 27, 7:03 PM (ET)



A uniformed SecretService officer toting a shotgun stands guard inside the
northwest gate of the...
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush was hustled from the Oval Office and
into an underground shelter on Wednesday after a blip on a radar screen was
initially mistaken for an aircraft entering the restricted airspace around
the White House, officials said.

The Secret Service determined minutes later that it was a false alarm. A
flock of birds or a reflection could have caused the blip. Officials said
the investigation was ongoing.

Vice President Dick Cheney also was moved to a secure location as Secret
Service agents, some with shotguns drawn, cleared the area in front of the
presidential mansion.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president was in the
underground bunker for a "very short amount of time." He said he believed it
was the first time Bush had been taken to the shelter since the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks.

"There were some precautionary measures that were taken. It was quickly
learned that it was a false alarm and that all was clear in a very short
amount of time," McClellan said. "Everything is fine."

Officials blamed the incident on a blip that appeared on a radar screen.
Helicopters sent up to investigate quickly verified that there was no errant
aircraft.

"Out of an abundance of caution, appropriate security measures were taken,"
said Brian Roehrkasse, a Homeland Security Department spokesman.

On heightened alert after the Sept. 11 airplane attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon, the White House has had several similar false
alarms.

In a November 2003 scare, two Air Force F-16 fighters were scrambled to
secure the airspace over the White House after a blip on radar, possibly
caused by birds rather than a plane, sent scores of White House staff and
tourists fleeing the executive mansion.