SYDNEY, Australia (Sept. 6) - Members of an Australian TV comedy show, one dressed as Osama bin Laden, drove through two security checkpoints Thursday before being stopped near the Sydney hotel where [President Bush](javascript:
is staying.
Photo Gallery: Security Stunt
Police surround a man dressed as Osama bin Laden on Thursday in Sydney, Australia. Members of a comedy show used a fake motorcade to get near the hotel where President Bush is staying on an official visit.
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The stunt embarrassed Sydney police who have imposed the tightest security measures in city history for a summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries, including Bush.
Police arrested 11 cast and crew from the TV program, âThe Chaserâs War on Everything,â and impounded three vehicles, the Australian Broadcasting Corp., which airs the show, said on its Web site.
Cast members put together a sham motorcade, hiring two motorcycles and three large cars on which they put Canadian flags. Police waved the motorcade through two checkpoints before pulling it over near the Intercontinental Hotel where Bush is staying.
Cast member Chas Licciardello got out of the car dressed in a white tunic and cap and wearing a long fake Osama bin Laden-style beard.
âNo particular reason we chose Canada,â cast member Chris Taylor was quoted as saying on The Sydney Morning Heraldâs Web site. âWe just thought theyâd be a country who the cops wouldnât scrutinize too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade - as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him.â
Bush is a frequent target of âthe Chaser,â as are Australian politicians. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the stunt proved security was working.
âWhatever you think of the humor of âthe Chaser,â the honest truth is they were clearly not going to harm anybody in a physical way,â Downer said. âThey presumably were, as is the nature of their show, aiming to humiliate a lot of well-known people.â
