Greeks to Work Together

Organizers of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens will join with Greek police in signing a pact creating the largest security operation in Greece’s history, officials here and in Athens said Wednesday.

In Washington, CIA Director George Tenet, testifying on Capitol Hill, said that the Greek government must consider the threat of terrorism at the Games as a “major vulnerability.” He also said “a lot of work” must yet be done in regard to Olympic security.

The agreement, while not spelled out in detail, calls for equal cooperation between a newly established police division dedicated to the 2004 Olympics and the local organizing committee, Athens 2004. It is due to be signed before a Feb. 15 visit to Athens by an IOC inspection team led by Belgium’s Jacques Rogge.

The timing is no accident. Security has emerged as a major concern in planning for the Athens Games. Greece is home to Europe’s most elusive terrorist cell, dubbed 17 November, whose victims since 1975 include four Americans. No member of the group has been arrested.

In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tenet said the U.S. government has held discussions with “the relevant Greek ministers about their need to take this terrorist threat far more seriously than it’s been taken in the past, that the Olympics are a major vulnerability.”

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done, a lot of work,” Tenet said in reference to preparations for Olympic security. His comments came in response to a question from the committee chairman, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

U.S. authorities have for years urged the Greek government to take decisive action against terrorists.

Last April, the U.S. State Department issued a report that described Greece as “one of the weakest links” in anti-terrorism efforts in Europe.

Last June, a congressionally mandated report issued by the independent National Commission on Terrorism proposed sanctions against Greece and Pakistan, both longtime U.S. allies, for “not cooperating fully on counter-terrorism.” Sanctions have not been imposed.

In a telephone interview Wednesday night, Athens 2004 spokesman Serafim Kotrotsos called the impending agreement “very important,” noting only that it provides the framework for detailed planning of Games security.

Equally important, according to a source familiar with the agreement, is that it highlights a “spirit of cooperation” between the government and Athens 2004. Since Athens was awarded the Games in 1997, organizers and the government have quarreled frequently on a variety of issues.

Government spokesman Tilemahos Hitiris, meantime, said in Athens, “There is planning on our part for the Olympic Games which has been approved. Specialists from six countries have participated in the planning and they are satisfied.” Two sources said those “specialists” include experts from the United States, Great Britain, Australia and other nations.

Athens 2004 officials said earlier this week here at a meeting of the IOC’s ruling Executive Board that security experts would accompany the IOC team led by Rogge to Athens--to consult with Greek police and Athens 2004 organizers.

Rogge, here this week in this west African nation for a meeting of the IOC’s policymaking executive board, declined to provide details of the agreement or any security arrangement. Calling security concerns “the No. 1 priority for all Games,” he said, “more than the maximum we cannot do. We strive for the maximum.”

The government reportedly has allocated more than $500 million for Olympic security. Tentative plans for the Games call for the deployment of thousands of security personnel, including soldiers, at all Olympic sites and related facilities, including airports, ports and hotels. Thousands of closed-circuit TV cameras will be installed around Athens.

IOC Director General Francois Carrard reiterated Wednesday that Olympic officials do not have “special” concerns about security in Greece.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.