Police Outnumber Athletes 7-1 at Olympics

Safety is name of the Games 

MEREDITH MAY / SF Chronicle 12aug04

[Several articles below]

Athens — From German shepherds sniffing bags to riflemen in scuba gear to sharpshooters peering from among olive trees, these Olympics will be remembered as the Security Games of 2004.

For the first Summer Olympics since the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and near Washington, Athens Olympic organizers spent $1.5 billion on security, six times what was spent in Sydney for the 2000 Games. Greece called together a platoon of experts from the United States, Germany, Israel and several other countries to ensure the Olympic dream doesn't turn into a nightmare.

"Every step you take, there are guards with machine guns in the Olympic Village," said hurdler Melissa Morrison of South Carolina. "I know they're there to protect you, but it's scary. I'm not used to it, so it makes me cringe a little bit. It wasn't like this at all in Sydney."

A force of 70,000 Greek police, military and security personnel will patrol the country, outnumbering athletes 7 to 1. Scanners like those used for carry-on baggage in airports have been installed at all sports venues, and 1,320 infrared and high-resolution cameras are recording people's movements throughout Athens.

The smoggy skies are getting congested, too, with police helicopters, security blimps and AWACS planes provided by NATO. Any suspicious craft that flies through Olympic airspace can be shot down. The seas are divvied up between the U.S. 6th Fleet, patrolling the Mediterranean, and the Turkish and Italian navies, patrolling the Aegean and Ionian seas. Scuba divers armed with waterproof rifles keep watch over the 11 cruise ships serving as floating hotels in the port of Piraeus.

When the American women's wrestling team arrived at the Olympic Village on Monday night, they were met by the U.S. Olympic Committee's security chief, who introduced them to a plainclothes officer who will travel with them wherever they go. Every American team gets its own bodyguard, provided by the U.S. State Department.

"We also got some pointers on how to stay safe," said U.S. Olympic coach Terry Steiner.

"Pretty obvious stuff, like don't walk alone at night, don't wear shirts that say 'Go USA,' that kind of thing," he said. "How the world is now, America isn't the favorite country."

Just look at the U.S. Embassy in Greece. After years of an amicable relationship with locals, it's now surrounded by a 10-foot-tall fence of pointed steel bars.

A few blocks south of the embassy, many Olympic officials are staying in the President Hotel, which has been encircled by a concrete barrier to prevent suicide bombers from driving their cars through the glass into the lobby. Sharpshooters hide among the cypress and olive trees in the hills overlooking the venues and athlete training centers. On street corners, guards in black berets and camouflage clothing rest their hands on machine guns as they stare at everyone who comes their way.

Only cars and buses with special passes can travel in certain lanes on the roads encircling the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, which houses the bulk of the venues, including the pool, the velodrome for indoor cycling and the Olympic Stadium. Tiny mirrors on poles are used to survey the undersides of vehicles.

Although there have been security lapses at the venues in the last few weeks as journalists passed through construction sites, today it requires a conference among five Greek police officers and two Athens officials to let one reporter into the whitewater kayak venue to look at the rapids.

"We can't even get in," complained one of the Greek police guarding the kayak center, who said he was ordered not to reveal his name. "And we drive from far away to sit out here in the hot sun working overtime!"

The Athens landscape is dotted with officers exactly like him; they are stationed in groups of two and three under white umbrellas at every overpass, bridge and major intersection. They smoke, play cards and tell stories to pass the time in the sticky heat.

Athens may feel edgy, but many athletes and coaches say they appreciate the vigilance. The city is uncomfortably close to the terrorist hubs of the Persian Gulf, the Balkans and North Africa. Last November, terrorist bombings in neighboring Turkey killed 63 and injured more than 700. Just last month, a bomb destroyed part of an Athens police station. It could have been coincidence, but the explosion occurred exactly 100 days before Friday's Opening Ceremonies.

Even so, athletes of Greek background, at least, including three-time Olympic fencer Greg Massialas of San Francisco, are confident.

"This safety story seems to always float around before every Olympics, and the U.S. takes things a little out of perspective," Massialas said. "I find it unfortunate that when I left San Francisco, several friends' last comments to me were 'be safe' rather than 'have a great time.' "

At the Parthenon on Wednesday afternoon, two security blimps from Sweden circled overhead as crowds gathered to watch the sunset. Two Greek police officers said they would stay up all night to guard the Olympic flame, which will illuminate the Parthenon's Doric columns for one night on the eve of the Olympics.

"We have to stay here to keep an eye for intruders, but we also want to do it," one officer said. "It's going to be the most beautiful thing Greece has ever seen."

source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/12/MNGN686KNC1.DTL&type=printable 12aug04

On opening ceremony's eve, security chief says
Olympics protected, no known threats 

MATT MOORE / AP 12aug04

ATHENS, Greece — Amid gun-toting police, Patriot missile batteries and circling surveillance planes, fears of a terror attack seemed muted on the eve of the opening ceremony for the Athens Games.

Security officials said they were confident Thursday that their measures — unprecedented in scope — would keep residents and Olympic visitors safe.

Greek Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis, who is overseeing efforts to protect Olympic venues, athletes and visitors, said he is convinced the games are in no danger.

"As you know, we don't go on gut feeling, but on logic supported by all available information, by an evaluation of danger based on a combination of different facts, by cross-checking specific details," Voulgarakis said Thursday in an interview with Athen's Skai Radio.

Security officials in Europe said the chatter between terror groups has dropped in recent weeks, following the capture of some 30 al-Qaida suspects in Pakistan.

"Based on all this, there is nothing to indicate that Greece is in any danger," Voulgarakis said.

Analysts say that Greece, a low-profile member of the European Union that opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year, isn't itself a prime target for terrorists. But the Olympics themselves, with their international appeal, nonstop global media coverage and close confines, provide a tempting terrorist platform.

The $1.5 billion Olympic security package includes about 70,000 personnel and a massive array of surveillance equipment, including undersea sensors, street cameras and a sensor-laden blimp. NATO also is providing sea patrols and AWACS surveillance planes.

"We are spending four times more on security than the Sydney Games and 20 times more than Atlanta," Sports Minister Giorgos Orfanos said. In fact, the security costs for the Athens Games — $1.5 billion — equal the entire cost for the Sydney Olympics.

Athletes, who also usually have to worry about the glare of cameras and prying eyes of fans, say the additional layers of security will free them to concentrate on their sport.

"This is the safest place on the planet," said Martina Navratilova, who, despite her three decades on the pro tour, is making her Olympic debut on the U.S. tennis team. "I can't even get through without a pass. I may be famous, but I still have to have my pass."

The security is in plain view.

Atop a hill just yards from the Hellenikon Sports Complex where athletes will play softball, baseball and field hockey, Patriot missile launchers are positioned to thwart a potential air attack, with the big, black launching tubes pointed at a 45-degree angle. A similar battery squats next to the Olympic Village.

As Greece's softball team was being introduced before playing a practice game Thursday, a helicopter hovered nearby and the security blimp drifted in the distance over Athens — yet more signs of the times.

"It makes you realize the world isn't entirely safe," said former U.S. softball star Dr. Dot Richardson, working the games as a commentator for NBC. "As Americans, sometimes we take our safety at home for granted, but over here you realize that there are people at war."

On Thursday, firefighters in chemical protection suits searched a central Athens post office that had been evacuated after suspicious white powder was spotted in the building. Authorities said the power appeared to be ordinary flour; preliminary tests showed no sign of toxicity.

At Athens' airport earlier in the week, a decontamination unit isolated a leaking package, but found the yellowish powder was harmless.

The games, which end on Aug. 29, come nearly a month after the July 15 end of a three-month truce offered by Osama bin Laden to European countries if they left Iraq, Afghanistan and other Muslim countries.

source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/oly_athens_security 12aug04

Extraordinary lengths taken to protect Olympics

Greece's $1.5 billion price tag for security largest ever for Games 

AMY SHIPLEY & CRAIG WHITLOCK / Washington Post 12aug04

ATHENS, Greece - Two days before the 2004 Olympics begin, about 70,000 Greek security forces are patrolling Athens and competition venues scattered around the country, while 1,000 security cameras and a couple of blimps are keeping an electronic eye on the proceedings. Greek fighter planes and NATO surveillance aircraft are guarding the skies. Patriot missile batteries have been installed to confront potential terrorist threats from above.

In the midst of international terror concerns, Greek government officials say they have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the safety of the Games. A seven-nation advisory group and NATO have lent their expertise and resources in an unprecedented cooperative effort of a scale unimagined when Athens won the Games in 1997.

But Greece alone has been left to pay the bill - $1.5 billion, nearly triple the original projections. Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said Greece "asked and happily received the assistance, good advice and contributions of all our allies," but no nation or group offered to defray the costs, which traditionally have been borne by the host nation.

"No country in the world may face the security challenges of our era by itself," Karamanlis said during an interview at his residence. "As long as we organize collective, big, international events and as long as security is a common thread for all of us, we've got to find a balanced approach to share, or at least be part of, the bill."

The price tag is more than four times the security costs for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and six times that spent for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. That, coupled with construction delays and other unexpected expenditures, has led to a cost overrun of some $1.7 billion, pushing Olympic-related expenses to at least $7.2 billion, according to recent estimates from government officials. The costs have contributed to a national budget deficit that has risen above the maximum permitted by the European Union.

"Greece has to make an effort to become an economically competitive country," Karamanlis said. "This, to an extent, has been aggravated, been burdened, by the cost of the Olympic Games."

The International Olympic Committee provided $905 million to the Athens Organizing Committee through its standard host city contract, though no moneys were earmarked specifically for security. The bottom line for these Games is difficult to predict given the cost overruns and sluggish ticket sales; as of Wednesday, more than 2 million tickets remained.

The centerpiece of the security apparatus is a $312 million command-and-control center built by a U.S. consortium that collects a constant stream of video, audio and other data beamed from around Greece, including eavesdropped telephone calls and conversations on street corners. Construction of the system was plagued by delays, however, and became functional only weeks ago.

Last week, Greek Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis said that the security measures were fully operational and working well. But others involved in the project said many kinks still had not been worked out and that the communications network was not as comprehensive as originally planned.

Although the security system is described as highly advanced, Greek officials have had little time to run tests on the network or to become familiar with its capabilities.

"The technology side is going to be very hard to manage, even if it is working perfectly," said Philip Giraldi, a former CIA official who oversaw security preparations for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. "How do you sort out 120 different video images that you're watching at once? I think the technology has its limitations and that your security is going to very much depend on the security that you have on the ground."

The Olympic security operations are geared toward preventing a large-scale terrorist attack intended to produce mass casualties, such as threats from a hijacked airliner, chemical weapons or hostage-seeking gunmen, according to Greek and Western officials.

Counter-terrorism officials from Greece and elsewhere in Europe said there have been no signs or specific intelligence indicating that such attacks are being planned. More likely, they said, was the chance that the Olympics would be targeted by one of Greece's many small anarchist or radical political organizations that regularly ignite pipe bombs and other small explosives in Athens.

On May 5, precisely 100 days before the Opening Ceremonies here, a police precinct in Athens was dynamited by a group calling itself Revolutionary Struggle. No one was injured in the blast, but in a statement delivered to a newspaper a few days later, the group said it carried out the bombing to show the "vulnerability" of Greece's security measures and to protest the coming influx of "wealthy" Western visitors and business leaders for the Olympics.

Mary Bossis, a Greek terrorism expert and an adviser to the government, said it was an embarrassment that Greek officials had been unable to make any arrests in that case despite spending so much on security measures and intelligence gathering for the Olympics.

"We have all these very expensive toys floating all over the place, but they have not proven their worth at all in terms of finding domestic terrorists," Bossis said. "There are a number of these groups and they have voiced their disagreements with the Olympics very loudly, but so far I haven't seen any ability by the authorities to arrest or identify any of them."

Olympics officials said Wednesday that they have been conducting emergency drills - including practice evacuations of the newly built Olympic Stadium - and remain confident that they have done everything possible to ensure the safety of the Games.

"Athens is ready," Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, chief of the Athens Organizing Committee, said Wednesday. "What we promised, we delivered."

Even so, some countries are taking security matters into their own hands. The United States, Australia, Israel and Britain are quietly planning to bring armed security guards to provide individual protection for athletes and dignitaries, in spite of a Greek ban on foreigners carrying weapons, according to officials and media reports from those countries.

The Times of London reported on Tuesday that British officials were transporting handguns to Greece in diplomatic pouches for its 130-member security contingent from Scotland Yard.

A U.S. embassy official declined to answer questions about whether U.S. security agents would be armed. Greek government leaders have denied the existence of any agreements to allow foreigners to wield guns.

For months, U.S. officials have pressed the Greek government to allow U.S. security personnel to assist in safeguarding the U.S. team, made up of more than 500 athletes. Greek and U.S. forces will accompany U.S. athletes and those from other nations on the buses that shuttle them to events. Though the vast majority of U.S. athletes are expected to stay inside the heavily guarded Olympic Village, those that don't will be protected by security details.

At least 100 FBI and State Department security personnel will be in Greece during the Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee has provided emergency masks for the U.S. Olympians, urged them to travel in groups when they go about the city and encouraged them to show restraint when wearing red, white and blue or Team USA gear outside of the venues or Olympic Village.

"Nobody can guarantee absolute security, but everything humanly possible to be done has been done," Karamanlis said. "I'm very confident the Games will be both successful and secure."

Athens Divided as Olympics Begin 

MATTHEW DAVIS / BBC News 12aug04

While their leaders are talking in glowing terms of the "new energy" and excitement the Olympic Games has brought to Athens, many ordinary Greeks still have their reservations. The spiralling cost of staging the event, heavy intrusive security and the apparent absence of a tourism boom are all fuelling doubts over the Olympic project.

Undeniably, there is great pride in the return of the competition to its birthplace, but there are also fears that Greece will pay the price once the Olympics move on.

Lack of enthusiasm

And in the Athenian outskirts, away from the gleam of the city's new projects, some have the feeling that the benefits of regeneration will pass them by.

City Mayor Dora Bakoyannis was the latest in a line of officials to testify to the enthusiasm of Athenians.

"You can see it in their smiles," she said on Wednesday. "Athens is already alive with a new energy in its streets. You can feel the excitement in the air."

But not everyone is convinced.

Greek mediamonitor Sonia Seisoua said: "For most of the Greek press, the Olympics has been a national issue. Nobody really wants to be the ones attacking the games. "But on the streets, there is a lack of passion.

"When Greece won the European football championship, it was madness, everyone was out on the streets. But for the Olympics, I can't sense the heart there."

Even the mayor admitted that many Athenians would be leaving the city during the games, which fall during the traditional Greek holiday period.

Meanwhile, fears of extortionate prices or of potential terror attacks are being blamed for the failure of the "Olympic effect" to lift tourism from overseas - to the chagrin of the city's hoteliers and merchants.

So far this year, holiday arrivals are down at least 8%, according to industry estimates.

Economic concerns

Having a slow day on his gift stall, trader Nikos Evangelou said: "Hotels were too greedy and put their prices up too high. But it affects us all. Now they are cutting back, but tourists have been scared away."

There are also fears of tax rises in Greece, the smallest country to stage the Olympics. Businessman Jim Papadopolas, 42, said: "If you are not so rich and you make a very rich party, then you become poor."

The government says it is "too soon to say" what the economic impact will be on Greece.

A senior aide in the economics ministry told the BBC that while costs had been "revised" higher than anticipated, Greece expected a return on its outlay.

Alexander Logophetis said: "When you look at other cities, like Sydney, the cost could only be calculated after the games.

"But we are confident that if all goes well as we have prepared it, and the image that we want to portray is reflected, then any money spent will become an investment."

Brighter future?

But there have been a number of protests in the run-up to the Olympics, both at the myriad security measures Greece has put in place, and also at the commercialisation of the Games.

Anti-2004, a group of left-wing activists disaffected with the Games, said in a statement: "While 30 years have passed since the junta's overthrow... democratic rights and the civil freedoms are shrinking. The streets are full of cameras supervising and following up the citizens."

Meanwhile, BBC News Online has found evidence of great dissatisfaction among the Greek capital's Roma (Gypsy) community, who say they have yet to feel any benefits from the revitalisation of Athens.

But while the Games go on, most Greeks will be proud to celebrate them. Thousands have volunteered to help tourists in Athens and ensure the smooth-running of the Olympics - among them many Greeks from around the world.

As she hurried to work, Aggeliki Alexopoulou said: "We are the children of Socrates. We have a great history, but now we are doing something for our future."

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3559226.stm 12aug04

Athletes, journalists told to mind their manners at Athens Olympics 

TIM KORTE / AP 11aug04

ATHENS, Greece — Athletes, journalists and even Greek soldiers are being told to mind their manners.

American athletes arriving at the Olympic Village are being coached on how to avoid any cultural gaffes by keeping a low profile in a nation known for its anti-American sentiment.

The etiquette training began back in December when track and field athletes were being discouraged from being rowdy, or wearing red, white and blue or anything with the "USA" label.

Security officials estimate that Americans face the greatest terrorist danger, followed by Israelis and British athletes.

Mexico's ambassador to Greece, Alejandro Diaz, chided members of his country's media and asked them to respect their professional code of honor following a series of eye-raising incidents involving Mexican TV personalities. On Monday, the Mexicans — dressed up as homeless beggars — harassed passers-by to test the Greek police response. They were arrested.

Greek soldiers on Olympic security duty are being encouraged to stop using clichés and making gestures that are common to Greeks but may be offensive to other nationalities.

Greece Deploys Patriot Missiles To Safeguard Athens Olympics

Agence France Presse 27jul04

ATHENS — Greece has placed six anti-aircraft Patriot missile ranges in a military airport here to enforce a shoot-down policy against rogue planes entering the Greek capital's airspace during the August 13-29 Olympics.

"The missiles were progressively installed after July 1," Greek Air Force spokesman Constantinos Prionas told AFP.

The US-made missiles are part of Greece's security measures to ward off aerial threats against the Games. Similar action was taken in the 1996 Atlanta summer Olympics and the 2002 Salt Lake City winter Games.

The Tatoi airfield, where the ranges are deployed, is the only one within the greater Athens area and is located close to the Olympic athletes' village.

Anti-aircraft missiles of different types are also deployed in another four Greek cities hosting qualifiers of the Olympic football tournament.

Russian-made S 300 anti-aircraft missiles are protecting the city of Heraklion on the southern island of Crete, Prionas said.

source: http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=23235

Athens Olympics Security Zeppelin Starts Test Flights Tuesday

Agence France Presse 19jul04

ATHENS — A hi-tech zeppelin to keep watch over the Athens Olympics will start test flights above the Greek capital Tuesday, according to Greek police.

The 61-metre (200-foot) long ship, equipped with high-resolution cameras and filled with 6,000 cubic metres (215,000 cubic feet) of helium, is to patrol the Athens sky 16 hours a day during the August 13-29 Games, from an altitude of 1,200 to 3,400 metres. Anti-chemical detectors are also part of its fitout.

The zepplin, leased from Swiss company "Skyship," arrived in Athens on July 11 after a week-long journey from Lucerne, Switzerland.

Security zeppelins also flew in the Barcelona 1992 and the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

Hundreds of security cameras scattered throughout Athens are to feed image and sound to Olympic security command centre on the ground.

source: http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=22552 12aug04

US 6th Fleet Factoid

The Sixth Fleet is a US Navy operational unit, headquartered on the command ship La Salle (AGF-3) with its homeport in Gaeta, Italy and operating in the Mediterranean Sea. The Sixth Fleet consists of approximately 40 ships, 175 aircraft and 21,000 people and is the major operational component of Naval Forces Europe. The principal striking power of the Sixth Fleet resides in its aircraft carriers and the modern jet aircraft, its submarines, and its reinforced battalion of US Marines on board amphibious ships deployed in the Mediterranean. 

Mission
The Sixth Fleet has both US national and NATO responsibilities. The Commander of the Sixth Fleet, Vice Adm. Scott Fry, reports to the Commander-In-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe in the U.S. chain of command and to CinCSouth when the Sixth Fleet operates as part of NATO as StrikForSouth. 

Organization
The United States Sixth Fleet is operationally organized into task forces. Each task force is responsible to the Sixth Fleet Commander for specific functions related to assigned units. 

Task Force 60 Battle Force
Task Force 60 is Sixth Fleet's Battle Force. It is composed of one or more aircraft carriers, each with an accompanying complement of approximately six cruisers and destroyers. On board the aircraft carrier is an air wing of 65 - 85 aircraft. The air wing is the primary striking arm of the Battle Force, and includes attack, fighter, anti-submarine, and reconnaissance aircraft. Ships accompanying the carrier serve as defensive and offensive platforms with duties involving anti-air, surface and submarine warfare. In addition to its major role of controlling the seas, the Battle Force can also project its power over land.


Task Force 61 Amphibious Assault
Task Force 61 is the Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group (MARG). It is composed of approximately three amphibious ships and their embarked landing craft. From these ships, United States Marine ground forces can move ashore by sea and air in amphibious assault of emergency evacuation missions. Once ashore, the ships of Task Force 61 logistically support the ground forces, until the objective of the landing has been accomplished, and the Marine Forces return to the ships.


Task Force 62 Marine Expeditionary Unit
Task Force 62 is the combat-ready ground force composed of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of approximately 1,800 Marines. Transported in Task Force 61 ships, the MEU is equipped with armor, artillery, and transport helicopters that enable it to conduct operations ashore, or evacuate civilians from troubled areas.


Task Force 63 Logistics Force
Task Force 63 is the Logistics Force. Composed of oilers, provision ships, and repair ships, its mission is the delivery of supplies at sea, and effecting repairs to other ships and equipment of the Fleet.


Task Force 64 Strategic Missile Deterrence
Task Force 64 consists of nuclear-powered submarines armed with long-range strategic missiles (SSBN). Until the end of the 1970s these ships were homeported in Rota, Spain. The mission is strategic deterrence.


Task Force 67 Land-Based Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Task Force 67 is composed of land-based maritime patrol aircraft. These aircraft operate over the waters of the Mediterranean in anti-submarine, reconnaissance, surveillance, and mining roles.

Task Force 66/69 Submarine Warfare
Task Force 66/69 is responsible for planning and coordinating area submarine and anti-submarine warfare operations in the Mediterranean. Specifically, Task Force 69 is composed of attack submarines that provide capability to destroy enemy surface ships and submarines, as well as protect other Sixth Fleet ships from attack.


Partial List of Ships
USS La Salle (AGF-3) Command ship 
USS Bang (SS-385) 
USS Oriskany (CV-34) 
USS Tarawa (CV-40) 
USS Albany (CA-123) 
USS Essex (CV-9) 
USS Forrestal (CVA-59) 
USS Intrepid (CV-11) 
USS Baltimore (CA-68) 
USS Topeka (CL-67) 
USS Shangri-La (CV-38) 
USS Leyte (CV-32) 
USS Kearsarge (CV-33) 
USS New Jersey (BB-62) 
USS Gyatt 

History and Recent Operations

The United States has maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean since the early 19th century, when U.S. Naval forces first engaged the Barbary Pirates to prevent them from interfering with commercial shipping. "Millions for defense, but not a penny for tribute!"
The Sixth Fleet was formed in ??. It provided military, logistical and humanitarian assistance to support NATO operations in Kosovo during the Balkan crisis. It also participated in the so-called Operation Allied Force, Joint Task Force Noble Anvil, Operation Shining Hope and Operation Joint Guardian.

source: http://www.fact-index.com/u/us/us_6th_fleet.html 12aug04  Be sure to visit this website for many links and further facts.