09655

01/19/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09655

WINTER OLYMPICS

Normally, the biggest concern surrounding the Winter Olympic Games is the weather and the availability of snow. But that will not be the case this year when some of the world’s greatest athletes test themselves and one another at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. This time, the event will be a major test of America’s ability to protect the competitors and the more than one million visitors from the threats posed by international terrorism.

The U-S government is working with the organizing committee on security for the winter Olympic games. Tom Ridge, director of the new Office of Homeland Security, said that officials "have done everything humanly and technologically possible to prepare, to prevent, to detect, to disrupt and, in the very unlikely event that something were to occur, to respond to it in an appropriate way."

Security will be more thorough and better coordinated than at any Olympics in history. The U-S is applying lessons learned from the terrorist attacks at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. For example, an Olympics terrorism task force has been established to analyze intelligence and investigate any threats. Also, much of the security will be highly visible, helping to deter potential threats.

Following the September 11^th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a thorough re-evaluation of security for the Winter Olympic Games was performed. More than three-hundred million dollars will be spent on security measures. Sharpshooters on skis will patrol the slopes, and jets will enforce a no-fly zone. High-tech scanners will be used to identify athletes and officials, allowing them to enter sensitive areas while keeping others out.

Visitors to the Winter Olympic Games have a right to be safe and to feel safe. As Office of Homeland Security director Tom Ridge said, "We’ve covered the landscape of possibilities and we’re prepared to deal with any situation."

Let the Games begin.