I think the world will watch the olympics this time around for about the same reason most people watch nascar racing.

Turkish military not used against its own people? that will be a change!

I have doubts Greece would invite a Turkish military team on their soil even in the event of a WMD attack.

I have doubts Greece would invite a Turkish military team on their soil even in the event of a WMD attack.

That is simplistic and wrong. Greece requested the Turkish WMD teams. Greek and Turkish military units helped each other on each other's soil during the two recent earthquakes. Within NATO Turkish military officers and troops participate in excercises and training in Greece and vis a versa. Unarmed WMD teams from Turkey would have no problem in Greece.

There are already armed US army, navy, coast guard and air elements in Greece for the Olympics. The request by Greece for WMD represents a good confidence building measure to bring in Turkish cooperation without the difficulties of having armed combat troops from Turkey on its soil.

Greece has of course been the leading advocate for bringing Turkey into the EU.

Other disputes between nations may be intractable, but Greece and Tueky's problems are essentially over. About 75% of the disputes between Greece and Turkey ended over the past couple of years, especially with Cyprus gaining ful EU entry, and Turkey's occupation now essentially an EU-Tuekey issue and no longer a Greek-Turkey issue. The boundy disputes over the Aegean waters are now in the regime of Turkey's relations with the EU and not so mcuh Greece, so that is less irksome as well.

Incidently an Al Queda WMD attack during the Olympics is quite unlikely, anyone who says it is likly doesn't understand Al Queda and is hysteric.
Al Queda has yet to execute a large attack that has such a narrow time window. The cole bombing was part of a plan to attack any ship over a six month period, the WTC plan had a longer time window and the embassey's in Africa weren't time based either.

I'll wait until 28 days after the end of the Olympics to relax -- to make sure the Closing Ceremonies weren't attended by terrorist disease carriers. It's not as showy and spectacular as a 9/11, but CNN doing "all dead people, all the time" out of Europe would make the media splash al-Q seems to like.

"I’ll wait until 28 days after the end of the Olympics to relax — to make sure the Closing Ceremonies weren’t attended by terrorist disease carriers. "

That is silly and ignorant of terrorist methods. There isn't a place or event in the US that is safer than Athens. Why would they do that when they could have "disease carriers" in Tel Aviv, London, Athens, Los Angeles and Atlanta?

That type of hysteric panic/fear mongering serves Al Queda. There are frightened people who haven't gone to the mall, a fourth of July, flown on a US air carrier since Sept. 11. They are sheep and represent a victory for Al Queda that far out lasts 9/11.

Mona, if you are staying in the US for the Olympics keep your duct tape at the ready right there. The l;ast terrorist attack at an Olympics was in the U.S., and the last successful WMD terrorist attack was in the US as well.

You also have something like 15 times the chance of being murdered, car jacked or the victim of serious assault in Atlanta than in Athens!

Thank you for your informative comments, CLV. I must, however, register a minor disagreement with you, more a disagreement of tone rather than substance. Although an attack on the Olympics may, if you are correct, not fit the modus operandi of Al Qaeda, there are other terrorist groups in the world, and some of these groups may wish to attack the Olympics. Recall that the 1972 attack on the Olympics, for example, was not Al Qaeda. Also, there exists the threat of a few lone nuts attacking the Olympics. The 1996 attack on the Olympics was just such an attack; no statements of any political agenda before or after the bomb went off, just a bomb to kill and hurt people. The large scale terrorism of recent years could inspire some of these violent nihilists to attempt bigger and more terrible things.

Average Joe, one such incident just occurred outside a church.

That page (Overseas Security Advisory Council) has links to other news stories about impending strikes by hotel workers, state employees and ambulance drivers.

CLV- Your suggestion that Mona is fear-mongering is unfair and a bit snide. This is the first Olympiad since 9/11 and quite apart from that, if an attack occurs at this Olympics it will occur in Athens. You can take that to the bank. You can also be certain that unless they're already here, Athens is going to be a lot easier for ME terrorists to reach than LA. And if the strikes threatened in the news reports I linked to above materialize, there'll be plenty of work available there with not so many questions asked (not to mention an additional set of potential security problems).

So I think your sense of certainty about the impossibility of bioterrorism in Athens due to some vague expertise you claim in "terrorist methods" is an evasion of collossal proportions.

Yikes, I goofed on that first Olympiad part, didn't I? ;)

"and quite apart from that, if an attack occurs at this Olympics it will occur in Athens."

That seems a tautology doesn't it? FYI the Olympics will be in Athens!

I think the Greeks have done all that is humanly possbile. I think they are going to put on a great Olympics -- they invented them!. On the non-security front, the New York Times had a piece last month with quutes about fiascos and predictions of organizational cattastrophes before Sydney, Barcelona and Atlanta, so nothing new there.

I tend to agree with CLV, it is probably more dangerous to spend any given day in Atlanta than a place like Athens where crime is relatively nil. I also agree there is a lot of shrill nonesense predictions that doen't fit the Al-Queda "M.O." The next big attack is going to be in the US, even the FBI has said so.

Wow, a "blast" outside a church... there are small homemade bombs that go off in the US in protest of something quite often. There were two such "blasts" in Norway this week! A "gas canister" bomb means the small propane tank (4"×4") the size of soup can that has been rigged, blowing them off is common in Europe. It is the same as a molotov. Just google news "molotov" and you will see dozens of attacks in the US every week!

There was an hospital workers strike during the Barcelona Olympics, and dozens of trade union actions in Sydney and L.A. during and right before the Olympics as well.

The gloom is so exaggerated. There is a strike threatened by the police handling the security at the Democratic convention in Boston!

I do agree that nihlist groups will take advantage for publicity and make some noise. Just as they do at events in the US.

Joel

No kidding they're in Athens. Read CLV's post again. He seems to think the fact the last attack on an olympiad occurred in the US means one can't happen at a venue putside the US. I don't know the Latin for it but it's sloppy reasoning in any language.

And it doesn't take a rocket scientist (though we've several here at the CP) to figure out why an event like this is ideal for distributing an airborne pathogen. Put that fine head of yours to work on it for a minute. It's not fearmongering, it's common sense. Kidnapping civilians and sawing off their heads wasn't standard alQaeda procedure either and you won't find it in your copy of their quality control manual. But it happens anyway.

"Incidently an Al Queda WMD attack during the Olympics is quite unlikely, anyone who says it is likly doesn’t understand Al Queda and is hysteric.
Al Queda has yet to execute a large attack that has such a narrow time window. The cole bombing was part of a plan to attack any ship over a six month period, the WTC plan had a longer time window and the embassey’s in Africa weren’t time based either."
When you bury your head in the sand it leaves your ass up in the air. So CLV, by your logic pointing out a few facts is fear mongering.
To fisk your points. The Time window for the Olympics is about a decade long. They are fighting over the 2012 Olympics now, and the '08 was awarded in '01 IIRC. So you can forget your window arguement. OBL owns part of a Construction Company. The Arab version of Bechtel. Do you KNOW who all the Contractors and subs are? I'll bet no one does. Untill every mothers son swinging a shovel or carrying a bucket is vetted, I'm asuming that Al Qaeda has people working on the job site.
Here is another thought. The Greeks have the laxest security in Europe.
Add it all up. You have the Major event AQ likes. They have had 8 years to prepare for it. The Event is in the softest taget zone in Europe and perhaps the world. The Physical site has to be assumed to have been compromised by experts. And you think everything is going to be all right?
I hope you are correct, but I doubt that you are.
How many body bags are the Turks bringing?
Can VX or Sarin be used to fill ballons? Or included in the ballon? Are the Greeks checking the balloon gas? Who is checking the vending machines for nuclear weapons? Wouldn't that be a kicker! pull the Snickers lever and get a 4 kiloton mushroom suprise instead. Has a professional Demolitions company been hired to look at the site to see where the best places to place explosives are? Would you be suprised to find some already there? How many bribe attempts have been reported by the Greek site engineers? Have they been tracked back to their source to see if they are legitimate bribes (well, the normal everyday type that occure on ALL construction sites, worldwide) or if they are more sinister.
Yep, tell me again how safe the Olympics are going to be. BTW, will you eat your pistol if they are not? The accepted term for the mental attitude you are displaying is 'arrogance of ignorance'. It is the biggest advantage AQ has. Remember, AQ counters our MIRV's, JDAM's, WBW's, etc. With Box Cutters. And so far the Box Cutters are fighting us to a draw. Fear is natures way of pointing out that things are getting hairy. Pain means they almost got you this time. If you pay attention to fear, you won't have to try and ignore the pain.

Thanks, ableiter, that's what I call a jar full of reality cookies. Coffee, anyone?

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