BUSH IS NOT WELCOME IN THIS COUNTRY!
The fact that Her Royal Majesty is having him over for dinner is an absolute and unmitigated disgrace, shame on her!
Plans for US President George W. Bush to make a triumphant procession during his state visit to Britain next month have been abandoned by the British government for fear of anti-war protests, the British Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported on Sunday.
The decision, taken by Downing Street after consultations with Buckingham Palace, the White House and Scotland Yard, has disappointed Bush and his senior aides, the paper said.
"We are liaising with the White House and they have made no attempt to hide their disappointment. They saw it, obviously, as agreat photo opportunity," an unnamed senior Buckingham Palace official was quoted as saying.
Although detailed plans had been made for the royal parade which is traditionally the public high point of a state visit, "Downing Street, anxious about possible anti-war protests from the start, has now decided to pull the plug on it," the official said.
According to the paper, Bush would instead travel by helicopterto avoid protesters who line road routes and would not address theBritish parliament for fear of a boycott by some British lawmakers.
The report comes after British anti-war campaigners this week voiced determination to make a protest during the first full statevisit of an American president since the British Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne 52 years ago.
Stop the War Coalition, one of various groups planning protestsduring Bush's visit from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21, said that "wherever he is, from the moment he arrives to the moment he goes, there will be protests of one sort or another."
Earlier reports said some protesters have planned to topple anddance on a mock statue of Bush in the center of London as part of demonstrations to "blight" his visit to Britain, which joined the US-led war against Iraq.
Bush is coming to Britain at the invitation of the British Queen and reportedly will spend time with his close ally British Prime Minister Tony Blair reviewing the problems in Iraq's reconstruction.
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