Delays increase terrorism fears
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff *|* June 1, 2004
ATHENS -- With the Summer Games set to begin in less than 11 weeks, missed construction deadlines at the Athens stadium site are compromising a highly sophisticated $1.2 billion security effort to prevent a terror attack on the 2004 Olympics, according to security analysts and several officials directly involved in the preparations.
Construction delays fuel fears of security vulnerability, say these security sources, in two potential ways: The first is infiltration. Work crews of many nationalities are flooding in and out of the sprawling construction site where the massive Olympic stadiums and other venues are undergoing hasty efforts to complete them on time.
The appearance of chaos and the crews working through the night have raised the specter of a terrorist posing as a laborer, conceivably embedding an explosive device with a timer inside the site. Last month there were long gaps in the chain-link fence separating the new stadium from a public road on the edge of Athens.
The other concern is lack of time. The delays in construction have narrowed the window for counterterrorism specialists to "lock down and clean" the sites prior to the Olympics.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2004/06/01/athens_games_under_scrutiny/
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff *|* June 1, 2004
ATHENS -- With the Summer Games set to begin in less than 11 weeks, missed construction deadlines at the Athens stadium site are compromising a highly sophisticated $1.2 billion security effort to prevent a terror attack on the 2004 Olympics, according to security analysts and several officials directly involved in the preparations.
Construction delays fuel fears of security vulnerability, say these security sources, in two potential ways: The first is infiltration. Work crews of many nationalities are flooding in and out of the sprawling construction site where the massive Olympic stadiums and other venues are undergoing hasty efforts to complete them on time.
The appearance of chaos and the crews working through the night have raised the specter of a terrorist posing as a laborer, conceivably embedding an explosive device with a timer inside the site. Last month there were long gaps in the chain-link fence separating the new stadium from a public road on the edge of Athens.
The other concern is lack of time. The delays in construction have narrowed the window for counterterrorism specialists to "lock down and clean" the sites prior to the Olympics.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2004/06/01/athens_games_under_scrutiny/
