The strain of requests made by the Bush administration prior to his visit to the U.K. reveals a man very afraid of something. It started with the U.S. asking that Bush be shielded from protesters, but soon continued with a series of military requests that even the lap-dog Brits couldn't stomach.

Though they agreed to provide a "sterile zone" to keep protesters away from Bush's motorcade, Downing Street refused the more violent or paranoiac wishes, including closing London's subway lines during the visit, surrendering policing duties to American agents and military personnel and having their skies dominated by U.S. fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters.

The U.S. also wanted to haul around mini-guns - a rapid-fire, small-calibre weapon more commonly found mounted on tanks. To complement their hardware, the U.S. sought diplomatic immunity, in case someone got killed. The Home Minister refused that one, too, promising Americans would face the same repercussions for murder that anyone else would.

» Scott Saxon