Smith Examines Security Measures to Bolster Safety at Future Olympics
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) held a hearing of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce and Infrastructure to learn more about how security lessons learned in past Olympic Games will help ensure the safety of future Olympic Games.
"Our Olympic athletes put their all into training for competition and need to focus on their performance, not their personal security," said Smith. "Athletes and spectators alike should know that we are doing everything to ensure the safety and success of the Olympic Games."
The hearing examined the evolution of Olympic security over the past 30 years, the advancement of technological and operational security tactics employed by domestic and foreign Olympic organizing officials to secure the Games, as well as the cost and effectiveness of such measures.
The Subcommittee heard testimony from former President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Governor Mitt Romney; former Secret Service and FBI Olympic Coordinators; and two Olympic gold medalists including Carl Lewis.
"I was asked many times whether or not it made sense to continue holding the Olympics, considering the increased security risks and the enormous expense of housing the Games," said Romney in his prepared testimony. My answer then, as now, is that it is more important than ever that the Games continue and that the United States play a major role in the continuation of the Olympic movement."
"As a member of the U.S. Olympic Team that was not able to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, I urge you ensure, that absent some clear and present risk, we never take that course of action again," said Lewis in his prepared testimony. "Our athletes have been training for much of their lives for this very special moment. Let's not take that away from them."
"While it is true that there exist global security concerns heading into this summer's Olympic Games in Athens, I am confident that the Greek officials are working in conjunction with security officials from around the world to ensure that the athletes and spectators who attend the Games will be well protected," said Smith.
After the public hearing, the Subcommittee went into closed session for a classified briefing from federal officials on the security preparations and operational issues related to the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Olympic security changed forever as a result of tragic events of the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, when eight Palestinian terrorists scaled the fence surrounding the Olympic athlete village and killed two Israelis and took nine others hostage. The standoff that followed resulted in the deaths of all nine hostages and five of the terrorists. During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia a pipe bomb filled with nails and screws exploded in a crowded Olympic Centennial Park killing one person and injuring more than 100.
