| May 10 |  |
Editor says, what if Arutyunian's grenade had detonated? muses Eric Lipps. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the March 2011 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 2005, Vladimir Arutinian, a citizen of the formerly Soviet Republic of Georgia, assassinated U.S. President George W. Bush and Georgia's president Mikhail Saakashvili by throwing a hand grenade at them as they stood together on the podium at a rally in the Georgian capital of Tblisi.
Freedom Square
by Eric LippsQuickly apprehended, he was tried and executed for the crime.
Bush's death put Vice President Richard B. Cheney into office as the forty-fourth president of the United States. Although no evidence tied Arutinian to either Al Qaeda or Iraq's ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, President Cheney quickly proclaimed Bush?s killing the work of a "global terrorist conspiracy" involving followers of both Saddam and Osama bin Laden and called for an immediate escalation of antiterror measures both abroad and in the U.S., including drastic new measures to monitor political dissenters who, he explained, might be "linked" to terrorists.
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Eric Lipps
© Eric Lipps,2007-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Vladimir Arutyunian, Premature Death, Assassination, George W. Bush, President. Editor says, in in our history, Arutinian failed to kill Bush and Saakashvili at the rally but escaped, only to be apprehended two months later and sentenced to lifer in prison for the attempted assassinations and the killing of a policeman who had attempted to take him into custody.
~ It seems I may have gotten thename wrong; Bing has it as Arutyunian, not Arutinian. Please correct this.
~ I never heard of this plot! I have to say if he intended to throw a grenade at the two politicians, that's not a very good plan. Too many variables to do the job with any certainty. Most likely would have failed even if he threw it. As for motive? Maybe he thought the two big wigs were working together :)
~ Mike, I remember this when it happened. Bush, Saakashvili and all of those are lucky the grenade was a dud. I wondered when someone would post an ATL based on it going off.
~ With a name like "Vladimir" and a Georgian background, I don't think this guy would be a Muslim, so tying him to Al-Qaeda would be difficult at best.
~ The backlash would've make the Patriot Act look like a wrist-slap.
~ Eric Oppen is correct, and I'm afraid Jeff Provine is as well.
~ On the other hand, in this TL, one of those killed happened to be the President.
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