NATO Summit
Trump had to secretly use military jet to leave Turkey amid threats!
Representational imager. Courtesy: Wikipedia.
President Donald Trump was secretly transported out of Turkey in a catering container and flown to Britain aboard a military jet after officials determined there was a credible threat against him and Air Force One from Iran, two senior U.S. officials said Monday.
The elaborate operation was carried out during the NATO summit in Turkey last month. Trump had publicly been expected to leave the country on July 8 aboard an older version of Air Force One rather than the luxury 747-8 donated by Qatar, which he had used to arrive in Turkey. At the time, Trump told reporters he was switching planes for “old time’s sake.”
Trump boarded the older aircraft through its left-side door in full view of cameras. News organizations, including The New York Times, subsequently reported that he had flown on the plane to Britain, where he switched back to the newer aircraft.
The Times had reported that concerns over the security of the Qatar-donated plane, which lacked some of the defensive capabilities of older Air Force One aircraft, had contributed to the decision to use the older plane.
But Trump never actually left Turkey aboard that aircraft.
Instead, according to one of the U.S. officials, Trump was taken off the powder-blue modified 747 through a catering container that had been raised to the opposite side of the plane from where the journalists accompanying him had boarded. He was then transported to a third aircraft and flown secretly to Britain, the official said.
Reporters aboard the older Air Force One were not informed that Trump was no longer traveling with them. As a result, they unknowingly became part of the deception, along with some White House staff members who also served as unwitting decoys.
After arriving in Britain, Trump was secretly transferred back to the older version of Air Force One. He later disembarked in front of reporters and crossed the tarmac to the Qatar-donated aircraft, which he then flew to Washington.
The operation appears to have been devised within hours after U.S. officials determined that a threat against Trump from Iran was credible. The incident came amid longstanding threats against Trump from Iran and the war he launched against the country.
The episode marked an unusual instance in which the public and members of the press were deliberately misled about the president’s whereabouts.
U.S. officials had not previously acknowledged that Trump was not aboard the aircraft they had publicly indicated he was using. The Washington Post reported the covert operation earlier and identified the aircraft that carried Trump from Turkey to Britain as a C-32A, a military version of the Boeing 757.
It is unusual for a U.S. president to travel without the reporters assigned to the presidential press pool being aware, at least generally, of his whereabouts.
President George W. Bush maintained a reduced press pool while traveling first to a military base and then back to Washington during the chaotic hours following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Presidents, including Trump, have also traveled to war zones with journalists accompanying them. (Source: NY Times)
