U.S. Government to Spend $200 Million per Day for Obama Trip with 3,000 People in India
Wednesday November 3rd, 2010 • Posted by David Theroux at 6:19am PDT • 11 Comments
One day after the massive electoral rebellion across the U.S. against the mega-spending policies of Washington, President Barack Obama embarks on a ten-day trip to Asia with 3,000 people at a cost of $200 million per day alone in Mumbai, India:
“The huge amount of around $200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit,” a top official of the Maharashtra Government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit said.
About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government officials and journalists would accompany the President. Several officials from the White House and US security agencies are already here for the past one week with helicopters, a ship and high-end security instruments.
“Except for personnel providing immediate security to the President, the US officials may not be allowed to carry weapons. The state police is competent to take care of the security measures and they would be piloting the Presidential convoy,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
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11 Responses to “U.S. Government to Spend $200 Million per Day for Obama Trip with 3,000 People in India”
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Mike says:
This story is false and has been dismissed. See http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/05/kth-the-200-million-myth-about-obamas-asia-trip/
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The real truth says:
You guys do realize that this story is completely false – don’t you? None other than that left wing rag – The Wall Street Journal has debunked it.
While I understand having fundamental differences with a person’s political beliefs – I don’t get the blind hate that allows someone to have such a low threshold for what they are willing to believe as fact.
It makes you look stupid and that’s not going to help your cause.
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Mike and “The real truth”,
The story has not been shown to be false. The response by Anderson Cooper at CNN and others is based solely on White House claims, and the White House is not a credible source. Indeed, they refuse to divulge the actual costs.
The story of $200 million per day is for Obama’s 2-day stay with his royal entourage of 3,000 people in Mumbai, not the entire 10-day Asia trip. Moreover, the matter has gotten even worse as we have since learned that for “high security” reasons, dogs and monkeys are being removed in Mumbai, and when government officials were asked about the issue, they “refused to divulge the number of personnel being deployed and the animals caught.” In addition and as the London Telegraph reports, Obama is even being protected from falling coconuts:
But as well as the usual security measures that come with welcoming a a visiting dignitary, Indian authorities have decided to go one step further, by removing all natural threats to the president as well.
All coconuts around the city’s Gandhi museum, one of Mr Obama’s stops in the city, are being taken down.
But perhaps even more telling is that the U.S. has constructed a private tunnel to enable Obama to visit the Ghandi Museum:
The tunnel would be a kilometre long and measure 12ft by 12ft — enough to let Obama’s cavalcade pass through. The tunnel would be centrally air-conditioned, fitted with close-circuit television cameras, and will be heavily guarded at every point, including, of course, its entry and exit.
Must we point out the irony here that Obama requires a bomb-proof tunnel at untold taxpayer cost to protect him from unknown violence to visit the museum of one of the greatest, modern proponents of non-violence who simply walked the streets?
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Can you honestly say this is false when everything coming out of the White House are lies,double talk and what they want you to hear? What does it take to get the binders off with this administration of corruption?
Michelle with her designer gowns already on the news in play, just sickening. The arrogance, elitists. WHAT’S MONEY GOT TO DO WITH IT, LALALALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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brooklynbridge says:
Have you crazies seen the other interesting fact that it costs just about $200MM/day to fund the war in Afghanistan? That you can verify. Go ahead, google it. So tell me genius, ye who doubts all from the White House, how could those two costs be the same? That Taj Mahal hotel must really be nice. I’m thinking gold toilet seats that you get to take home when you leave. Forget gold, platinum. Or no, I know what it is, unobtainium. James Cameron must have brought back some from that planet he went to to film that movie. Did you know that wasn’t CGI? It was a real planet! Wow. Oh yeah, I have a bridge for sale too!
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Bryan, You are indeed correct that the war in Afghanistan is an outrageous expense, but not just in funding but also in lives. Perhaps, you should direct your hostility to the White House for its expansion of this war, now the longest in American history. The gold-plated treatment of the White House royal family in Mumbai defies belief and has included not just an entourage of 3,000 people but untold security and military personnel, both American and Indian. Indeed, the trip is nothing short of a U.S. invasion and no costs have been spared. But if the reported $200 million per day figure is wrong, we are waiting for the White House to provide an audited account of what the actual costs are. They refuse to do so. And why, whatever the costs, are American taxpayers being forced to fund this massive expedition in corporate welfare for firms like Boeing and G.E. plus numerous labor unions for which Obama is working to line up defense and other contracts in Asia?
Here is an updated report elsewhere: “Obama India Trip: 40 Aircraft, 34 Warships, 3,000 Entourage, Entire Taj Mahal Booked, Coconut Removal, Bomb-Proof Tunnel Construction, 19 Million Pounds Of CO2 @ $200 Million Per Day?”
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David, My hostility was due to the fact that you would pass on unsubstantiated reports from an unnamed source in India without any effort to at least consider the fact that it might not be true. It is very clearly not true in fact. It’s outrageous.
The point you raise about the war and it’s cost in human life is valid but not relevant to this thread. However, when media outlets, pundits, and web sites pass on info like this as if it was fact it inhibits our ability to have honest discourse about the real issues we should focus on such as getting our troops out of Afghanistan. Instead you create a “Jersey Shore” type of environment where folks are distracted by spectacle. And a $200 million a day trip to India is just that.
So chip in and help us get to the real issues and leave this type of “news” to Fox where no one expects it to be true anyway. They don’t pretend to be a legitimate news source so it doesn’t do any damage.
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Bryan, Your huffing and puffing does nothing to undermine the cost claims of the original news report and the subsequent ones that have appeared. Indeed, the costs of Obama’s expedition with 40 Aircraft, 34 Warships, 3,000+ Entourage, et al., is gigantic by any estimate and attempting to spin this away just won’t do.
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Kung Lu says:
US is super power! $200 million should not be a big deal.
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Kung Lu, Those willing to help fund such extravagance are welcome to do so, but no one should be forced to fund the spending habits of U.S. politicians or anyone.
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Coconuts and Chinese Submarines
The secret service is removing coconuts from trees in advance of President Obama’s trip. “Why take the chance,” one undisclosed agent said. In further shocking developments, an undisclosed Pentagon official has confirmed reports that the U.S. military will be paying the Chinese government to patrol off of U.S. waters while President Obama is on his trip to Asia. This is due to the large number of naval vessels traveling with President Obama. The new cost of this trip is expected to exceed $1 Billion daily. Support the Truth: http://a2yphotos.imagekind.com