Let the Games go on — securely

Even before the devastating airborne attacks on Tuesday, Salt Lake Winter Games organizers have understood that the international games are a target for terrorism. There are ample examples in Olympic history — attacks during the Munich Games in 1972 and the Atlanta Games in 1996 — which clearly demonstrate why security must be the Games' No. 1 priority.

If anything, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will deepen the resolve of U.S. leaders to provide additional resources to help secure the 2002 Winter Games from attack. As a result of the attacks in New York and Washington, as well as the crash of a hijacked civilian passenger plane in Pennsylvania, 2002 Games security officials are now going into operational mode. This move should only bolster the security team's efforts when the Games begin in February.

Yes, the Games will — and should — go on. As Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney so eloquently put it, "As a testament to the courage of the human spirit, and as a symbol of world peace, the Olympics is needed even more today than the day before."

In light of the heightened security concerns, it is imperative that Congress restore the $12.7 million in Olympic security funds apparently left out of the final congressional budget because of an oversight. This page is confident that members of Utah's congressional delegation will shepherd through this much needed funding. This would also be an opportunity to consider increasing the federal participation in this effort.

When nations gather under the Olympic flag, it gives all people optimism for the possibility of peace and good will among all nations. At a time when world relations have been so dramatically strained by the surreal attacks on two of the United States' symbols of military and financial might, there is added concern about staging safe Games in less than five months.

Yet, to fold under this pressure would, in effect, give terrorism another victory. Staging the Games with heads held high is a golden opportunity, in the name of sportsmanship, athleticism and good will, to stare down the ugly face of terrorism.

This will require fine tuning existing plans and precise teamwork among the many agencies that will coordinate Games security efforts.

But with so much at stake — in terms of staging safe, memorable Games, and demonstrating to the world that an open society is one of the freedoms the host country embraces most — this page is confident that security will be the top concern of 2002 Games' organizers and a high priority in congressional budget deliberations.