Live blog: commentary, news, analysis and video of the big day |
Protecting the President | Graphic: inauguration security | The world waits | Opinion: David Aaronovitch | A new dawn begins | Words to define history | The disadvantaged will go to the ball | Can Obama manage his money? | Leading article

Barack Obama was sworn in as America's 44th president today in front of an estimated two million people who flooded central Washington for a distant view of history.

But even as he arrived at Capitol Hill in an armoured limousine with his predecessor George W Bush, US security agencies were urgently investigating a potential threat against him from an East African terror group.

According to a joint bulletin from the FBI and Homeland Security, US intelligence officials had received information that people associated with a Somalia-based Islamic terror group might try to travel to the US with plans to disrupt Inauguration Day.

The alert said that US counter-terror officials have grown concerned in recent months about the threat posed by the militant al-Shabaab group and a cell of US-based Somali sympathizers who have traveled to their homeland to "fight alongside Islamic insurgents".

But Russ Knocke, a Homeland Security spokesman, said: "This information is of limited specificity and uncertain credibility... As always, we remind the public to be both thoughtful and vigilant about their surroundings, and to notify authorities of any suspicious activity."

Unaware of the threat, hundreds of thousands of people began arriving in central Washington from before dawn for a distant view of history and the right to say 'I was there' when America's first black president was sworn in.

Vast crowds braving freezing cold crammed into the National Mall and mobbed streets leading onto the central thoroughfare, clogging up the Washington metro system and roads into the city centre more than five hours ahead of the handover.

After attending a church service this morning, Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrived at the White House at 10am (1500GMT) for a courtesy call and a final cup of coffee with President and Mrs Bush.

He then travelled with Mr Bush to Congress to prepare for his inauguration shortly before noon (1700GMT) appearing on the steps of the Capitol about 15 minutes earlier to vast cheers from the crowd and the chant 'Obama! Obama!'

The inauguration took place amid unprecedented security. About 8,000 police were deployed and a total of 32,000 military personnel are either on duty or on standby.

The Secret Service launched its final security sweep of downtown Washington at 3am. An hour later special Metro trains were already filled to capacity and darkened roads into the city were packed with traffic.

The final crowd figure was anyone's guess, but it was expected to dwarf that for all previous presidential inaugurations, including the 1.2 million who attended Lyndon Johnson's swearing-in in 1965.

Mr Bush departs from office with the lowest approval ratings of any US president and leave his successor two foreign wars and an economy crippled by the credit crunch. Mr Obama's most potent weapon will be the vast fund of goodwill he enjoys both in the United States and overseas.

Yesterday, Mr Obama paid tribute to Martin Luther King on the holiday which marks the birth of the slain civil rights leader.

"We will come together as one people on the same mall where Dr King’s dream echoes still," Mr Obama said, in a nod to the transformative 'I have a dream' speech that King delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

"As we do, we recognise that here in America, our destinies are inextricably linked. We resolve that as we walk, we must walk together. And as we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this nation, let’s remember King’s lesson: that our separate dreams are really one."

Unknown on the national stage before an appearance at the Democratic Convention of 2004, Mr Obama, 47, was propelled to the presidency on the back of his own skill as an orator, allied with an unflappability and strategic conviction that enabled him to see off Hillary Clinton in a bruising campaign for the party's nomination.

His oratorical skills were to be on display again in a 17-minute inaugural speech that is expected to stress the themes of shared responsibility, echoing John F Kennedy's famous plea 28 years ago today: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country".

Mr Obama took the oath of office on a Bible used by his political hero, Abraham Lincoln, at his first inauguration in 1861. His swearing-in will be followed by the U.S. Marine Corps band playing "Hail to the Chief" and a 21-gun salute.

Times Recommends

• Please help: maimed children of war want their lives back
• Cabal seizes diamond riches to buy power
• White House gatecrashers got to the president