An
Albanian street trader, Shqiprim Ilir, has confessed to
taking George W Bush's watch off his wrist during his recent
street 'meet and greet', in an 'intense' interview with
this web site.
The
watch has since gone on sale in the streets of Tirana priced
at the equivalent of $30 in local currency, "for you
$20 cash in dollar."
The
watch theft is being regarded as a triumph of pick pocketing
even though the watch was not in the president's pocket
at the time it was taken.
Harold Guiver, Professor of Pick-pocketing, Harvard, told
this web site:
"Whilst
you might think that you would have to pick a pocket to
be a pick pocket, taking a watch off an arm while the
wearer is still wearing it is still referred to as pick
pocketing in many cultures in Europe. Yes, I know, it's
an interesting academic debate but I must away."
Sources
close to Bush claim that the president put the watch in
his pocket and that the watch was not taken off his arm
at all.
Had
the watch been taken from the president's pocket this would
be one of the biggest breaches of presidential security
since Ronald Regan was shot.
President
Bush's pockets are probably the most secure in the world,
with at least one CIA operative concentrating on each of
his trouser pockets at any time.
The
president had removed his jacket which only left the shirt
pocket which was empty.
The
Bush CIA security manual on meet and greets with crowds
able to actually touch him, has not been updated since January
2001 because its operational likelihood was seen as 'remote'.
