618. Date: May 2, 2006
Target: Governor Maamoun Sami Rasheed
Location: Ramadi, Iraq
Details: A suicide bomber drove his car toward Rasheed's vehicle and blew himself up. Three of Rasheed's bodyguards were killed in the attack, and at least five people were wounded. A US Marine detachment with the convoy exchanged fire with unknown gunmen during the attack. Rasheed said it was the ninth attempt to kill him. His son was kidnapped in 2005, but returned safely. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
619. Date: May 30, 2006
Target: Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis
Location: Athens, Greece
Details: A bomb exploded near the home of Voulgarakis at a time when he would normally have been passing by on his way to work. He had reportedly been delayed a few minutes from leaving. The bomb reportedly contained four to seven pounds of dynamite and was strapped to a bicycle seat near a car. Other reports said the device was under the car. The blast destroyed several parked cars, but no one was injured. Voulgarakis was targeted in a 2003 firebomb attack by suspected anarchists, which destroyed three cars and damaged a building.
620. Date: July 31, 2006
Target: Governor Gul Agha Sherzai
Location: Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Details: A bomb planted in a parked car exploded as Sherzai walked out of a mosque after prayer service, killing at least five policemen and wounding 10 more. Sherzai was reportedly fifty feet from the blast and was not injured. The car carrying the policemen was destroyed while a second car nearby carrying the governor's bodyguards was damaged.
621. Date: August 14, 2006
Target: Envoy Bashir Wali Mohammed
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: Mohammed's motorcade was returning from a ceremony. Mines packed with hundreds of ball bearings and hidden in a parked three-wheeler taxi exploded as his convoy passed. They missed his car, but hit one of his escort vehicles, killing the four security men inside. The damaged Land Rover continued for about 50 yards before crashing through a wall. Shrapnel from the blast killed three passers-by and wounded eight more. The Tamil Tigers were blamed for the blast.
622. Date: September 3, 2006
Target: Senator John McCain and others
Location: Republic of Georgia
Details: It was reported that a surface-to-air missile was fired at a helicopter escorting McCain and a Senate delegation during their European tour. The information was made public after a helicopter carrying Georgia's defense minister was damaged by large-caliber machine gun fire and forced to make an emergency landing. No one was injured.
623. Date: September 18, 2006
Target: President Abdullahi Yusuf
Location: Baidoa, Somalia
Details: Yusuf escaped an assassination attempt unharmed when a car bomb exploded as his motorcade went past outside the parliament building. The blast killed his brother and four other members of the presidential detail. In an ensuing gun battle, six additional attackers were killed in a gun battle with Yusuf's bodyguards after the explosion. No one claimed responsibility for the blast. In a raid on September 28, police arrested three suspected members of a fundamentalist Islamic group and recovered explosives. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
624. Date: October 4, 2006
Target: Deputy Prime Minister Naima Behljuljija
Location: Gnjilane, Serbia (Kosovo)
Details: A bomb exploded near Behljuljija's residence. Although the device was said to be powerful, it caused only minor damage; there were no reports of injuries. It was the fourth bomb attack in Gnjilane in several weeks. Bombs also targeted the car of Kosovo's Internal Affairs Minister Fatmir Rexhepi and the homes of two chief government advisors.
625. Date: October 14, 2006
Target: Governor Gulab Mangal
Location: Eastern Laghman Province, Afghanistan
Details: Mangal escaped injury when a roadside bomb exploded as he arrived at his compound. The device was placed in a plastic bag and hidden in an irrigation ditch, and detonated by remote control. About a dozen suspects were later arrested. It was the second assassination attempt against him within two months.
626. Date: October 20, 2006
Target: Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
Location: Gaza Strip
Details: Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Haniyeh's convoy, destroying one vehicle in a burst of flames. Nobody was injured. Haniyeh's armored Mercedes wasn't hit, but the last car in the motorcade burst into flames and was destroyed. Haniyeh travels in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles and was believed to be about a quarter-mile away at the time of the shooting. Hamas officials accused Fatah-affiliated gunmen of carrying out the attack. Fatah denied involvement.
Section 1E: Failed, Aborted, or Prevented Incidents Worldwide
627. Date: December 11, 1960
Target: President-elect John F. Kennedy
Location: Palm Beach, Florida
Details: Kennedy was staying at his father's home in Florida, following his election victory. He emerged from the house to go to mass, accompanied by his wife, daughter, and several nieces and nephews. Across the street, Richard Pavlick sat in his car and watched Kennedy prepare to leave. On the seat next to Pavlick were many sticks of dynamite wired to a knife switch. He planned to ram Kennedy's car and throw the switch, killing Kennedy and himself in the process. Seeing the children with the President-elect, he decided to kill Kennedy another day and left. Pavlick had visited the compound to observe security prior to this aborted attempt. Later, he visited a church the President-elect frequented, to learn about its interior. Police were tipped off to Pavlick by a postmaster who had received alarming letters from him. Four days after the aborted attempt at Kennedy's home, Pavlick was arrested without incident. They found with him the sticks of dynamite, and a letter, written in the past tense, explaining why he had killed Kennedy.
628. Date: September 5, 1961
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: France
Details: A 54-pound butane bomb and 20 pounds of plastic explosives were buried in sand near a bridge over the Seine River. The plan was to explode the bomb when De Gaulle's car passed by, and then for several OAS terrorists to open fire with automatic weapons. The OAS bomb triggerman lost his nerve as the motorcade approached, and the attack was not launched.
629. Date: June 23, 1962
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: France
Details: De Gaulle's car was to be ambushed along the road to Rebrechien, where he was to attend a wedding. Unaware of the plot, he had taken a helicopter to the ceremony instead.
630. Date: June 25, 1962
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: France
Details: Another ambush was planned on De Gaulle's car. Police saw the OAS cars staged for the attack, and the terrorists were forced to flee. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
631. Date: August 8, 1962
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: Paris, France
Details: OAS terrorists planned to shoot De Gaulle in his car as he traveled to the airport to greet former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. A civilian car got in the way as the motorcade approached, and the terrorists aborted their plan.
632. Date: February 1963
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: Paris, France
Details: A plot was uncovered to assassinate De Gaulle during the Ecole Militaire ceremonies. A sniper on a rooftop was to kill De Gaulle, but for unreported reasons, the attack did not occur.
633. Date: July 1, 1966
Target: President Charles de Gaulle
Location: Orly Airport, France
Details: De Gaulle was being driven to the airport. A group planted
a car, containing a ton of dynamite, within inches of the road along the route. The night before the attack, the plotters were all arrested after an armed robbery. The robbery was an attempt to steal enough money to disappear after the assassination.
634. Date: February 1966
Target: Vice President Hubert Humphrey
Location: Australia
Details: Peter Kocan, a 19-year-old student, planned to assassinate Humphrey with a sawed-off shotgun, during his visit to Australia. Due to Secret Service precautions, Kocan was unable to get close enough. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
635. Date: April 5, 1967
Target: Vice President Hubert Humphrey
Location: West Berlin, Germany
Details: Humphrey was the target of a failed murder plot for which eleven conspirators were arrested.
636. Date: 1968
Target: Governor Ronald Reagan
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: Governor Reagan, then a presidential candidate, was awakened one morning by the sound of gunfire. Running down the hall of his Sacramento home in his pajamas, he was met by a Secret Service agent who explained that two men with a firebomb had been spotted outside his children's bedroom. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
637. Date: July 9, 1971
Target: President Alejandro Lanusse
Location: Argentina
Details: More than a dozen RPA men and women were arrested in a plot to kill Lanusse and Uruguay President Jorge Areco, while both were reviewing a military parade. The plan called for a tank truck loaded with gas to be detonated near the reviewing stand.
638. Date: January 12, 1971
Target: Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Details: Six defendants were indicted for a plot to kidnap Kissinger, and blow up the heating systems of federal buildings in Washington, D.C. Their plan was to dynamite five locations in Washington's underground tunnels.
639. Date: April 22, 1972
Target: President Richard Nixon
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Details: Having traveled to Canada with the intent to assassinate Nixon, Arthur Bremer heard the motorcade route announced over the radio. He attempted to get into the arrival site at a military airport, but was denied access because he didn't have a military ID. He saw numerous police officers, RCMP officers, and Secret Service agents along the route. He asked a police officer where he could stand to watch the president and was directed to an empty gas station along the motorcade route. Bremer waited in a small crowd with a .38 revolver in his pocket. In his diary, he described one Secret Service agent as "Mr. Moustache," and wrote: "I exchanged looks at the Mr. Moustache, my gun inside my pocket. Fantasied [sic] killing Nixon while shooting right over the shoulder of that cop." As Nixon's motorcade sped past, Bremer did not get the chance for a clear shot. Police and Secret Service agents prevented cars from following the motorcade. Bremer described it as "a neatly run operation." He blamed anti-war demonstrators for causing security to be so tight. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
640. Date: April 22, 1972
Target: President Richard Nixon
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Details: Nixon was scheduled to give a speech at the Parliament Building, and Bremer waited outside with a gun in his pocket. Bremer planned to shoot Nixon if he shook hands with people in the crowd (which he didn't). Bremer saw the motorcade drive past and thought about shooting the car. He later wrote in his diary: "Waiting for him to come out that last time I even thought of killing as many SS men as I could. Because I was pissed at them & myself & Nixon killing 5 or 6 Secret Service agents would get me in the papers SOMETHING to show for my effort. Killing 'em right in front of Nixon -- dig it? I wasn't sure my flat-tipped .38's would go thru the bullet-resistant glass. Didn't want to get emprisoned [sic] or killed in an unsuccessful attempt. To have absolutely nothing to show -- I couldn't take that chance." (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
641. Date: May 13, 1972
Target: Governor (Presidential Candidate) George Wallace
Location: Dearborn, Michigan
Details: Unable to get close enough to President Nixon, Bremer decided to kill Wallace. At a rally in Dearborn, Bremer stood in a crowd with his .38 revolver in his pocket. He glimpsed Wallace standing backstage, but did not attack because he would have to shoot through a window that separated the crowd from the stage. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
642. Date: May 14, 1972
Target: Governor (Presidential Candidate) George Wallace
Location: Cadillac, Michigan
Details: Bremer attended a Wallace rally in a high school gymnasium. He later described the scene in his diary: "Two SS men flank the stage on each side as Wally talks, center stage behind his usuall [sic] high bullet-resistant podium. More agents flank the crowd & stage entrence [sic]. Bored gargoyles. Unmoving. Unemotional. Searching. One with a coat on his lap. Rifle inside? I am, at the very most, 35 feet from my target. In the 5th row. Too far to risk. Need a sure shot ... I want to get closer. Shake Hands. Shake Hands, I cry." Wallace departed the rally without approaching the crowd. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
643. Date: October 17, 1972
Target: President Ferdinand Marcos
Location: Manila, Philippines
Details: Four assassins -- two armed with rifles -- were arrested in a car outside the palace grounds in a plot to kill Marcos. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
644. Date: March 4, 1973
Target: Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir
Location: New York, New York
Details: Khaled Jassem, an Iraqi national who worked as a PLO official in Cyprus, was accused of planting bombs in rented cars parked outside the El Al facility at Kennedy Airport and two Israeli banks, during Meir's one-day visit to New York. The bombs failed to go off, because of faulty detonators. The FBI identified Jassem as a member of the Black September and Fatah terrorist groups.
645. Date: February 22, 1974
Target: President Richard Nixon
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Details: Samuel Byck shot his way onto a Delta jet at the Baltimore-Washington Airport. He intended to hijack the plane, force the pilots to take off, and then crash the plane into the White House to kill Nixon. He killed a security guard and the crew, before police shot and wounded him. He then killed himself. He was armed with a .22 revolver and a gasoline bomb in a briefcase.
646. Date: September 5, 1975
Target: President Gerald Ford
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: Two men were arrested for theft in Santa Barbara. A grand jury on October 20 indicted both men in a plot to kill Ford. The plan was for one man to blow up a street sewer as the other shot Ford. Police found the written plan in a parked car at the airport.
647. Date: July 4, 1976
Target: Vice President Nelson Rockefeller
Location: Glassboro, New Jersey
Details: A man was arrested and charged with threatening to kill Rockefeller with a cyanide bullet. He also reportedly plotted to kill Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and U.N. Delegate Patrick Moynihan.
648. Date: August 17, 1977
Target: King Juan Carlos I
Location: Majorca, Spain
Details: Police discovered and defused a bomb under an overpass to be used that day by the King and Premier Adolfo Suarez. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
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9. Date: April 10, 1978
Target: President Jimmy Carter
Location: Lebanon, Missouri
Details: A stolen car, driven by a man who planned to kill Carter, broke down on the highway. He pulled a gun on a tow truck driver and demanded to be towed to Washington. The hostage was traded for an FBI agent, who disarmed the man. He reportedly planned to shoot Carter or stab him with scissors. He was upset over the Panama Canal Treaty.
650. Date: May 5, 1979
Target: President Jimmy Carter
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: An alert and intuitive Secret Service agent observed a suspicious looking man about 50-feet from the President, who was giving a speech. The agent detected a gun in the man's back pocket that turned out to be a starter pistol. Raymond Lee Harvey was arrested and explained that he was supposed to fire into the air, at which point two men with rifles would shoot the President. Soon after, a man named Oswaldo Espinoza was also taken into custody. He admitted going with Harvey to the roof of the Alan Hotel the night before and firing the starter pistol "to test how loud it was." Espinoza substantiated Harvey's story that two other men with Hispanic names, armed with rifles, had stayed in the hotel. Police found three rounds of live ammunition in a room that had been registered to a man named Umberto Camacho, who had just checked out. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
651. Date: 1979
Target: Shah of Iran's sister
Location: Beverly Hills, California
Details: Over 1,000 student demonstrators of Persian ancestry marched a mile above Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, to reach the home of the Shah's sister. There, they overturned a sheriff's squad car and set fire to the ivy surrounding the Shah's sister's home. About 25-30 police officers and State Department bodyguards held off the mob. Some of the Shah's relatives were reportedly evacuated down a slope behind the house. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
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