Obama at Risk? Secret Service Disputes Own Tech Worries

The technology the U.S. Secret Service depends on to protect the president and carry out other vital missions is woefully out of date, and could put the life of President Obama or other White House protectees at risk, the service said in a new document. But that's not the case at all, according to a Secret Service spokesman.

A U.S. Secret Service agent keeps a watchful eye as Marine One lifts off from the South Lawn of the...

A U.S. Secret Service agent keeps a watchful eye as Marine One lifts off from the South Lawn of the White House with President Barack Obama on board March 27, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama departed the White House to spend the weekend with his family at Camp David.

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

First, the document – a 2010 budget request: Without upgrades costing an estimated $33 million, it says, the Secret Service faces the threat of a "near-term mission failure."

In particular, the document claims, Secret Service communications systems aren't compatible with the White House's own, leaving a "dangerous gap" that, (it states in dire but carefully-worded bureaucratese) could ultimately "prevent the attainment of the performance target of 100 percent protection."