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Major Olympic Security Exercise Begins
A secret security operation in Greece began today, just one day after the newly elected conservative Greek prime minister took personal control of planning for this summer’s Olympic games in Athens, Reuters reported (see GSN, Feb. 20). Codenamed “Hercules Shield,” the operation is set to involve several hundred U.S. troops who would be mainly responsible for command and control of 2,000 Greek soldiers, according to Greek military sources. The two-week exercise is set to use a range of scenarios, including a hijacked ship and a “dirty bomb” drill. Colonel Lefteris Economou, a Greek police spokesman, said an international effort was needed to secure the games. “If you want to tackle international terrorism, it can only be achieved through international collaboration,” he said. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis personally took over the ministry in charge of Olympic preparations and appointed new heads to other key ministries involved in the project after ousting the ruling socialists from power on Sunday. International Olympic Committee officials were privately pleased by news of the reshuffle, according to Reuters, as fewer than half of the venues are ready for use. The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney saw fully prepared venues one year ahead of opening. China has already promised that venue construction will be complete two years before the 2008 games in Beijing (Reuters/CNN.com, March 10).
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