Meeting the threat

Olympics are a draw for extremists seeking glory

A massive American flag now drapes the front of the 25-story downtown building that houses the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, a symbol of national pride in the wake of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

A symbol of "America's Games" just five months away.

Unwittingly, the flag also may represent a symbolic target, for the 2002 Winter Games have increasingly become the focus of anti-terrorism discussions and security preparations. From Salt Lake water treatment plants to downtown rail yards, the possibility of terrorist attacks — no matter how preposterous or unfathomable a month ago — is given very real consideration.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks proved anything can happen, and massive security precautions are under way to ensure the worst fears are not realized. Top U.S. officials, plus Utah's congressional delegation and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, will meet in Washington, D.C., to discuss protecting Salt Lake's Winter Games.

"I would not say it will happen. What I would say is the Olympics are a prime stage for terrorists," said George Eisen, an expert in international terrorism and consultant to past Olympics.

Eisen said organized terrorism has two distinct goals: inflicting the maximum amount of humiliation and publicizing the terrorists' cause to the widest possible audience.

In the case of attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the goal, he said, was to humiliate America's economic, military and political infrastructure. And, because of live television, the images of the terror forever will be ingrained in the Western psyche, officials say.

And that is why the Winter Games in Salt Lake City also could be a huge target for terrorists.

Not only is America the host country, but the Games are sponsored by international corporations that symbolize American capitalism, such companies as Coca-Cola and McDonald's. And they will be attended by political leaders from dozens of nations that support the American political agenda.

And some 2 billion to 3 billion people around the world will watch television broadcasts of the Games.

"The Olympics are the ultimate world stage," said Eisen, director of the Center for International Education at William Paterson University in New Jersey. "All the elements are there . . . to provide the ultimate venue for publicizing the terrorist cause."

Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney disagrees, saying the Olympics are a nonpolitical event that does not meet terrorists' objectives. And the Games, with their tight security and international flavor, are anything but an ideal target.

"Attacking the Olympic Games and young athletes would do nothing but alienate the entire world," he said.

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