SECURITY AT ATHENS 2004: Greek Mythology?

The Olympic Games have suffered badly from doping and money scandals. Most fans probably hope the worst is past. It isn’t.

The clock is ticking toward potential bloody disaster at the Athens Games in 2004, the worst since the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Games in 1972. The International Olympic Committee is aware of the danger but wants to keep it out of the public eye, as it tried to do with drugs and corruption.

There is a difference. Doping and kickbacks belittle the Games and erode public confidence in the IOC, but do not take human life. Terrorists do.

Isn’t terrorism a danger to every Olympics and doesn’t every host country take the challenge very seriously and deal with it? Yes, until now.

Most Americans are unaware that Greece has a serious domestic terrorism problem and, worse, a critical counter-terrorism problem. We should be aware, because our country is the main target of the terrorists. So far--repeat, so far--four U.S. officials are dead, more than 30 wounded in attacks intended to kill, and many more have been targeted. The U.S. taxpayer spends more money on embassy security in Athens than anywhere else on earth, more than in Beirut or Bogota.

The main Greek terrorist group called 17 November is now in its 26th year of operation, employs a wide range of weapons and explosives and has recruited a younger generation of killers to ensure its future. It is considered one of the most successful violent political groups in the world.

The terrorists profess an extreme leftist program similar to that of the Shining Path in Peru, but at heart are virulent nationalists. 17 November hates foreign influences of all kinds and has targeted Americans, Europeans and many Greeks in scores of attacks.

What about Greek law enforcement? Sadly, “What about it?” is the right question.

In a quarter-century, no terrorist has been arrested or even identified as a suspect. In their manifestoes, the terrorists have ordered the police to look the other way, and been obeyed. Witnesses known only to the police get threatening phone calls from the terrorists.

Last year, both the State Department and a special congressional commission bluntly gave Greece a failing grade in fighting terrorism.

And the Greek media? Much of the Athens press sympathizes with the terrorists.

Hard to believe? After the brutal murder last June of Stephen Saunders, British defense attache, Scotland Yard sent a team of top investigators to Athens. They made progress, developing relevant wiretaps and other technical evidence. Greek police sources then leaked details of the British efforts to two local newspapers, which printed everything for the benefit of the killers.

I worked on this issue for three years at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and am convinced the ultimate problem is political. It is no secret that the ruling PASOK party had active terrorist links in the past. Whether direct ties still exist, the government treats 17 November with benign neglect amounting to appeasement.

Is terrorism a serious threat to the 2004 Olympic Games? Absolutely, both at home and abroad. Even if 17 November chooses not to attack the Games directly--bad for the Robin Hood image--it definitely views foreign sponsors of the Olympics as legitimate and attractive targets.

Seven of the 10 largest IOC sponsors are American corporations, the “Great Satan” of the Greek extreme left.

Even more ominous is the threat from international terrorist groups hungry for the global publicity offered by the Olympics. They can easily smuggle arms and killers through the notoriously permeable Greek borders.

They also know Greek police do nothing against 17 November. When Greek leaders treat home-grown terrorist attacks as routine--and there were more than 100 politically motivated bombings last year--they practically invite the world’s terrorists to exploit the 2004 Games.

What needs to be done?

First, the IOC should give the Greek government until the end of 2001 to wipe out 17 November--not more promises of arrests, but arrests.

Second, the IOC must insist that other European Union governments with serious, modern police forces be directly involved in preparing for and protecting the 2004 Games.

If, on Dec. 31, these conditions have not been satisfied, the Games should be moved. Seoul and Los Angeles have been mentioned as viable alternatives.

Greeks understandably want the Summer Olympics held in Athens after an absence of more than a century. Fine, but the Games belong to the world, not just to Greece. If politicians in Athens cannot--or will not--fulfill their minimal obligations to fight terrorism and to protect the world’s athletes and fans, they forfeit any legitimate claim to host the Olympics.

The IOC will elect new top leadership this summer. It must act promptly and decisively to protect the 2004 Games.

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Wayne Merry, a former State Department and Pentagon official, is senior associate at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington.

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Security on Mind of Greeks

Organizers of the 2004 Games in Athens said they are intensely committed to staging safe Games and will welcome help with their security plan. D7