Before Trump’s Turkey plane swap, how Clinton used decoy to land in Pak 26 years ago
A former White House reporter has revealed that Bill Clinton used a decoy aircraft during a 2000 trip to Pakistan to ensure his safety. The operation involved a decoy plane and a body double to mislead potential threats while the president traveled on an unmarked aircraft.
Why it matters
This account provides a rare look into the extreme security measures and historical operational security protocols used to protect high-profile political figures.
When then-US President Bill Clinton arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, in March 2000, a decoy aircraft bearing Air Force One markings landed in view of the media, followed by a Secret Service agent resembling Clinton. An unmarked aircraft then landed, carrying the president, who disembarked from it.Susan Page, a White House reporter for USA Today at the time, was among a small group of people who knew about the operation.Before Clinton’s flight from India to Pakistan, White House officials summoned Page, who was then president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, for an off-the-record briefing.
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