Man Arrested in Plot to Kill Obama

As your Gaggler noted yesterday, security has been noticeably tighter around President Obama since his arrival in Turkey on Sunday night. Perhaps this is why: CBS News, citing a report in a Saudi newspaper, says a man was arrested in Istanbul on Friday for alleging plotting to kill the president. Their World Watch blog reports:

The man, who was carrying an Al-Jazeera TV ID card in the name of M.G., confessed after his arrest that he was planning on stabbing the U.S. president with a knife during the Alliance of Civilizations summit held in Istanbul, adding that he had three other accomplices to help him execute his plan. According to the paper, Turkish investigators were trying to verify whether the Qatari-based Arab TV channel has truly issued the ID card produced by the man, or if it’s a forged copy. The suspect, a permanent resident of Istanbul, has been regularly attending all conferences and events relating to the Middle East held in the city.
 
According to the paper, Al-Jazeera here in Turkey claim they don’t know the man. A cause for concern for the White House: The man was reportedly credentialed to attend Obama-related events here in Istanbul today.