Security tight for Hillary Clinton visit

Hillary Clinton's first official visit to New Zealand began many months ago.

A number of advance parties of special agents and support staff from the US Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) have already discreetly spent some weeks here preparing the ground for the American secretary of state's January 15-17 visit, which will be the first by a senior figure from President Barack Obama's administration.

The DSS have the job of protecting Clinton around the clock. An entourage of about 100 people will accompany Clinton, and while some will be easy to spot in their Armani suits and earpieces, the bulk of her security team will blend into the crowd.

Clinton will also be accompanied by her own hairdresser but unlike husband Bill, who visited New Zealand for the annual Apec meeting in Auckland in 1999, will not be bringing her own heart specialist.

A US heart specialist accompanied Bill Clinton in 1999 because security officials, while satisfied that cardio facilities were adequate at Auckland Hospital, felt they were not up to scratch at Christchurch Hospital. The then president delivered a speech in Christchurch following Apec.

The army of security officials will carry a range of weapons, including 9mm pistols, 12-gauge shotguns and 9mm submachine guns, all of which needed New Zealand Customs exemptions to be brought into the country.

Among the tasks of the early reconnaissance teams - which will have come to New Zealand months ago - was selecting suitable accommodation for the secretary of state.

If a hotel car park has only one exit then it is usually ruled out immediately. The "standard security audit" includes background checks on other guests staying at the hotel.

In countries where the security risk is high, for example for visits to Asia or the Middle East, the DSS ensures hotel rooms alongside and below Clinton are vacant during her stay.

But even in New Zealand, bomb detection squad officers sweep the area in advance and hotel corridors might also be cordoned off. This happened when Bill Clinton stayed at the Stamford Plaza in Auckland in 1999.

Nearly everyone who accompanies the secretary of state will be assigned a single task, minimising the chances of error. During Bill Clinton's public appearances in NZ, for example, there was a person responsible for indoor lighting and a person responsible for outdoor lighting.

"None of the [New Zealand] venues were good enough for them," a former insider who helped organise Clinton's 1999 visit said. "And that was before 9/11. We went round all the venues with them and, as far as they were concerned, they were just not up to scratch.

"Not big enough mostly. With hotels, you have to have two ways out of the underground garage. The outdoor venues were easier to look after.

"They check out everything. Bill Clinton played golf with Jenny Shipley's husband, so the whole golf course had to be checked out.

"The Americans do it all themselves. We just roll over, put our legs in the air, and say 'do what you like to us'. They bring guns in, which no one else is allowed to do. They basically do whatever they like."

Officials would neither confirm nor deny any security details about Clinton's visit. Secrecy is the whole idea.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully's only comment was that he is looking forward to Clinton's visit, which was an opportunity to advance what he described as a strong bilateral relationship with the US.

"Secretary Clinton's programme will include discussions with the prime minister and myself, as well as a range of other activities."

- © Fairfax NZ News