# Who are the top 3 most secure people on Earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246 "2012-07-14T20:25:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/21 "2012-07-15T07:25:12Z")
There’s no way that the Queen is on that list. There have been a couple of high profile security failures by here team: a British journalist got a job at the palace and was able to wander around the building unattended and don’t forget about that time a nut got into the Queen’s bedroom and he and the Queen chatted until someone finally came in to chase him off. ETA link: [Michael Fagan (intruder) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fagan_incident) ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/22 "2012-07-15T08:02:29Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > How about those guys on the ISS? Go ahead and try to assassinate one of them! Easy, just wait 6 months. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/23 "2012-07-15T08:12:54Z")
Actually, the ISS guys are definitely not amongst the Top 3, and they still wouldn’t be even if the ISS was armored, protected by a network of laser satellites and point-defense weapons, and with their own completely loyal bodyguards… Because they’re not on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/24 "2012-07-15T08:40:09Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > There’s no way that the Queen is on that list. There have been a couple of high profile security failures by here team Not to mention [Marcus Sergeant](http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/tag/queen-elizabeth-ii/). ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/25 "2012-07-15T10:52:03Z")
The general in charge of NORAD, all the rest are vulnerable to nuclear strikes. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/26 "2012-07-15T11:51:00Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > The general in charge of NORAD, all the rest are vulnerable to nuclear strikes. So’s the general at NORAD. Presumable more vulnerable, as he’s located at ground zero of a very big one. The place was never really proof against direct nuclear strikes. When they designed it, the idea was that any hit from a nuclear attack would be “close” rather than “right on”, but the weapons became more accurate over time. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/27 "2012-07-15T13:20:38Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > So’s the general at NORAD. Presumable more vulnerable, as he’s located at ground zero of a very big one. The place was never really proof against direct nuclear strikes. When they designed it, the idea was that any hit from a nuclear attack would be “close” rather than “right on”, but the weapons became more accurate over time. Good point, besides, it’ll be a bit hard to evade if you are stuck at the bottom of a megabunker. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/28 "2012-07-15T13:24:50Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Good point, besides, it’ll be a bit hard to evade if you are stuck at the bottom of a megabunker. Just hop through the Stargate to the Beta Site. Though, to be fair, the Beta Site seems to get attacked as often as anything else does on that show. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/29 "2012-07-15T13:34:38Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Bin Laden was hidden with tons of civilians, which was a reason he was not targeted with a drone strike (a drone strike killing dozens of children would look pretty bad) and instead a hit team was sent in. I don’t think this is accurate. We would have taken Bin Laden out, along with anyone near him with any asset we had available at the time. We’ve killed plenty of innocents with drone strikes on much less valuable targets than OBL. We just didn’t know where he was until recently. The SEAL team was used under the cover of darkness to a) be sure we got him b) possibly capture him and c) to hide our activities from the Pakistani government until it was too late for them to do anything about it. We didn’t bring the Pakistanis in on the job because our government doesn’t fully trust Pakistan’s government. OBL likely would have been tipped off and fled by someone in their intelligence agency. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/30 "2012-07-15T15:29:10Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > To be fair, that was more not knowing where he was. But then again, the best protection against bullets is not being seen by the gunman. Oh here’s a documentary about that. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifmRgQX82O4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifmRgQX82O4) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/31 "2012-07-15T18:17:27Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > There’s no way that the Queen is on that list. There have been a couple of high profile security failures by here team: a British journalist got a job at the palace and was able to wander around the building unattended and don’t forget about that time a nut got into the Queen’s bedroom and he and the Queen chatted until someone finally came in to chase him off. There was a French guy who became vaguely famous by inviting itself in various official events. His greatest success has been to watch the Bastille day parade from the official tribune, sat close to the president and to a foreign prime minister (can’t remember which one), amongst the ministers. He also attented once a party at the presidential palace. He did the same thing in foreign countries too. I remember him describing how he had attended a royal marriage in one of the Scandinavian countries : basically, he began to chat with a member of the royal family, and the security people didn’t ask an invitation from someone who was entering along with said royal. That was his general tactic : mixing with important people and acting very confident. Weird that he repeatdly proved that it was sufficient to get access to kings, heads of state, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/32 "2012-07-16T00:15:31Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > It took a decade-long military manhunt and, finally, Seal Team Six to get bin Laden. Methinks it would’ve been a lot easier for them to get the Queen, the Pope and all of the Kim Jong’s combined in less time. I would suggest being able to hide is more valuable in this case than being able to fortify yourself. Although if the Queen, Pope, or Kim Jongs credibly thought that a seal team could be after them, they could be hidden rather better than Bin Laden I should think. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/33 "2012-07-16T02:41:31Z")
Barack Obama Hu Jintao Vladimir Putin Kim Jong-Un I’m less certain about Queen Elizabeth II because some people actually managed to enter her bedroom, and the PM because he’s house is on a London city street. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/34 "2012-07-16T04:09:41Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I’m less certain about (…) the PM because he’s house is on a London city street. The entrance to which is blocked by a huge metal fence and guarded 24/7. The White House is also on a city street. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/35 "2012-07-16T04:28:17Z")
Waldo. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/36 "2012-07-16T05:38:09Z")
> [@Fish\_Cheer](#): > > The entrance to which is blocked by a huge metal fence and guarded 24/7. The White House is also on a city street. But to put it another way, he’s trapped behind a huge metal fence, whilst the person with the most to gain from his demise, the chancellor is lives right next to him. Also, the chancellor happens to be the guy who controls the Police and secret services’ budget and thus has the most ability to ensure there ‘cooperation’. (I read way too much fiction) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/37 "2012-07-16T06:22:02Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Waldo. Oh, I’ve found that bastard. Carmen Sandiego on the other hand, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/38 "2012-07-16T12:55:48Z")
One could also mention a handful of prisoners who are held in solitary confinement in a supermax prison such as the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX). These inmates also “enjoy” the “benefit” of never being exposed to the public where they could become a target. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246/39 "2012-07-16T13:02:39Z")
> [@Fish\_Cheer](#): > > The entrance to which is blocked by a huge metal fence and guarded 24/7. The White House is also on a city street. It’s not very _well_ guarded, at least to appearances. There’s usually a couple of armed police there. And the metal fence has only been there for about twenty years because the IRA parked a bomb right outside it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-top-3-most-secure-people-on-earth/628246.md?page=1)