Mystery of President Bush's watch in Albania

Maverick · Jun 12, 2007

Looks like Mr Bush has finally found his supporters. One even got a souvenir -bigsmile

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Mystery of President Bush's watch in Albania

Now you see it. Now you don't.
George W Bush was visibly cheered when he received a hero's welcome in Albania at the weekend, with Albanians draped in the Stars and Stripes reaching out to hug him and shake his hand.
But perhaps the leader of the Western world should have exercised a little more caution and followed the standard advice to travellers in the Balkans to keep an eye on their belongings.
Film footage of the President being mobbed taken by the Albanian TV station News24 was broadcast today on Italian TV news bulletins and watched by thousands on YouTube - and it looks like Mr Bush may have had his watch stolen.

Mr Bush had taken his jacket off on a hot day and was in a short sleeved shirt, the watch clearly visible. It can still be seen as the heaving crowd presses round him - but the next moment it is no longer there.
Mr Bush was visiting Fushe Kruja, a small farming village some 30km from the capital Tirana whose businesses are financed by US grants. He had a cup of the cofffee in the local cafe and then in an impromptu move reached out to greet the crowd. He posed for photos and signed autographs while admirers shouting "Bushie, Bushie" mobbed him and even ruffled his hair.
"There were hands everywhere" said Corriere della Sera. "Most people just wanted to touch him and shake his hand. Someone however had another motive". It said the incident "sounds like a joke - the one about the Albanian crowd and the Presidential wristwatch".
Italian media reports said that Mr Bush only noticed his watch was missing when he got back to his armour-plated people-mover to be whisked back to Tirana airport. By the time he stood on the aircraft steps to wave goodbye someone on his staff had given him a replacement watch. He is said to wear a $50 Timex with the Stars and Stripes on the dial.
"Perhaps time has stood still for Bush since he gave the order to bomb Iraq" quipped La Stampa. It added: "Incredibly enough, none the 850 Inspector Clouseaus who were guarding him in Albania noticed a thing".
A White House spokeswoman denied today that that the President had been robbed. She also denied other Albanian reports that Mr Bush's watch did fall off during the vigorous walkabout but that it was returned to a bodyguard. Instead the spokeswoman said that Mr Bush had removed it himself. "He took it off," she said.
When challenged that this did not seem to happen during the footage shown on YouTube, the spokeswoman said: "I'm not going to change what I'm saying. I was told that he took it off about the one-minute mark."
Mr Bush's visit to ex-Communist Albania was in contrast to his reception in Italy, where thousands of protesters turned out. In Albania people wore top hats designed to look like the US flag and cheered him to the rooftops, commemorative stamps were issued and a street in front of Parliament in Tirana was renamed in Mr Bush's honour.
Albania backed the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and wants to join both Nato and the EU. Mr Bush praised Albania as a country that has "cast off the shackles of a very oppressive society and is now showing the world what's possible". He added: "I love to come to countries that are working hard to establish the institutions necessary for a democracy to survive."
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dim8sum · Jun 12, 2007

haha nice pickpocket work but only $50... cheap ass president

don · Jun 12, 2007

i would punch him right in the face if i was one of the people in the crowd but i bet one of those bodyguards would take care of me

ab289 · Jun 12, 2007

he should go there to become their president.

Taxloss · Jun 12, 2007

ab289 said: ↑

he should go there to become their president.
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Don't be so mean! -shock

Yeah saw it on the news and the watch did disappear...But perhaps he'd already calculated the risk of his watch getting stolen and wore a cheap ass watch.

[N] · Jun 12, 2007

holy shit lol, wonder what the person would do with it, if they try to sell it on ebay they would be op-ed

Taxloss · Jun 12, 2007

^even then, he would have no proof it's Bush' watch he'd stolen.

fearless_fx · Jun 12, 2007

lol yeah...

hahaha if it was like a 15 thousand dollar rolex or something that would be quite the story, but it was only junk

Supra · Jun 13, 2007

WHOA it looked like piranhas ate his watch lol

Knoctur_nal · Jun 14, 2007

and ebay this sucker will end up..haha

Mystery of President Bush's watch in Albania

Maverick Lord Vader

dim8sum ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪....

don ello

ab289 Well-Known Member

Taxloss Stripper Vicar

[N] RATED [ ]

Taxloss Stripper Vicar

fearless_fx Eugooglizer

Supra Well-Known Member

Knoctur_nal |Force 10 from Navarone|