what so proudly we hide

... at least until president bush is finished making the world safer:

associated press: frankfurt, germany — the official team bus to be used by the united states during the world cup will not bear a flag for security reasons. the 32 official buses were presented thursday in frankfurt and the other 31 buses have large national flags of the their teams painted on rear sides. ... at the 2002 world cup, the united states was among the most heavily guarded teams. when the americans arrived at incheon international airport, about 500 police formed a corridor the players walked through as they came out of customs, with swat team commandos mixed in. when the team's charter flight landed at daegu airport before a game against south korea, two tanks were on the runway. metal detectors were placed at the entrance of the team hotel throughout the team's stay.

(hat tip to think progress.)