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American Morning
Authorities Want Security at 2002 Winter Games to be Very Strong
Aired December 06, 2001 - 07:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The Olympic torch for the 2002 Winter Games is making its way across the U.S., but before it arrives in Salt Lake City for the start of February's games, authorities want security at that site to be very strong. CNN's James Hattori reports on the extraordinary measures being taken.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first chain link and concrete barriers are already going up as Salt Lake City prepares for 2500 Olympic athletes, hundreds of thousands of visitors, and a possible terrorist attack.
MITT ROMNEY: In the world of counter terrorism, there are enormous challenges. You don't know when something could be attacked and you don't know what could be attacked.
HATTORI: It's a concern nearly over shattering the 19th Winter Games themselves. While athletes here continue training, anticipation and excitement grow, but so does anxiousness over protecting 10 venues spread across hundreds of square miles. Plans include a 24-hour a day operation center, an undisclosed number of monitoring cameras, shutting down air traffic during opening and closing ceremonies, and more than 7,000 military, law enforcement, and emergency services personnel.
DAVID TUBBS: We're going to have a lot of people on the street, gathering information, observing.
HATTORI: But it won't be an armed camp say officials who want to let visitors celebrate and party despite the extraordinary measures.
ROMNEY: Most people won't notice it. It'll be invisible to the spectator and will be able to have a good time watching the sporting event, and I think people will be more comfortable than ever knowing that this level of security has been provided for.
HATTORI: Government agencies are opening up the bank vaults to pay for security. In all some $310 million, three times what was spent for security at the Atlanta Olympic Games. Even at that, officials acknowledge they can't buy universal peace of mind.
Officials expect around 80 national teams to take part as planned. Athletes focus on the goal, a temporary respite from world turmoil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a sense of all over the world, you know, of wanting this to happen because anytime we need an Olympics or something that builds spirit, this is the time.
HATTORI: A time for sports and unity to take the world stage. James Hattori, CNN, Salt Lake City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And for more, I'm joined by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who's in Atlanta this morning. Good for you, then you didn't have to get up so early this morning for us. Welcome.
MAYOR ROCKY ANDERSON, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Good morning Paula.
ZAHN: Good to have you with us Mayor.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
ZAHN: You know I think it is so hard for Olympic fans to wipe out those searing images of the Israeli athletes who were murdered during the Munich Games along with the five terrorists, as well as one policeman and of course what happened right where you are today in Atlanta, the bombing at the Atlanta Games in '96 still very fresh in our memories. What is your city going to do to keep both the players and spectators safe?
ANDERSON: Well we've certainly learned a lot from past experience and I think that we have done everything humanly possible in terms of intelligence work over more than a three-year period, planning for - even before September 11th, an amazing planning effort for security and certainly since the events of September 11th, there has been a major ramping up including plans for a secured airspace above Salt Lake City during opening and closing ceremonies, major restrictions in airspace at other times.
We're putting in hardened parameters, as you saw, in some of the film earlier in area that would have been open otherwise. We've got some 3100 National Guard that have recently - it's been announced that they're going to be called up to help out during the Olympics. So the one thing that's important to realize, I think, is although there will be a conspicuous security presence, it's not going to be like a militarized city. It's going to be very open. There's going to be plenty of festivities.
People are going to have a great time, but I think for any event like this it's a matter of balancing between providing for the security and still allowing for the event to take place. And people - all of our visitors, the people who will be watching this on television, to have a great experience and that's exactly what we've planned.
ZAHN: Mr. Mayor, you've also been very vocal in your support for 100 percent screening of all check-in luggage at airports. Will that be in place by the time we see the opening ceremonies? ANDERSON: We have been working on this for several weeks. I've been pushing the FAA and Congress through the U.S. Conference of Mayors. We have been urging that there be a national requirement in all airports for 100 percent screening of checked luggage.
We have that underway. We have the plan in place. We have the equipment lined up. I spoke with the administrator of the FAA, Jane Garvey about this yesterday. We're continuing to have discussions, spoke with Secretary Mineta. The only thing we have left now is to get that federal financing lined up. It's been promised to us and we fully expect to have a 100 percent screening of checked luggage in place by the time of the Olympics, and I hope that we're able to do that nationwide at the earliest possible moment.
ZAHN: Now I also understand that you are doing whatever you can to prevent violent demonstrations that we saw - let's say for example in the scale of what was witnessed with the WTO demonstrations in Seattle, demonstrations in Montreal.
Describe to us these leaflets that you and city officials will be handing out and what they say and what the impact of them is suppose to be.
ANDERSON: Well we want to encourage people to demonstrate lawfully. If they have anything that they want to talk about, we want to provide them a reasonable opportunity to do that, and we've designated areas for them to do that. But we don't want them to be exploited by those who have been known in the past to infiltrate lawful demonstrations and provoke the police from inside those demonstrations.
We think that it's putting the lawful demonstrators' safety at risk and so we want to warn those who will be lawfully demonstrating to beware of those who might infiltrate their group and provoke the police and also that if they're ordered to disperse, there will be a very good reason for that and they need to get out of the way. We don't want to see anything like what happened in Seattle happening in Salt Lake City during the Olympics, and we are taking every possible measure to make sure that that's not going to happen in any of those kinds of efforts will be ...
ZAHN: Mayor Anderson ...
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: ... I'm going to give you the opportunity to practice some good old American boosterism here. Any predictions on the American medal count this time around?
ANDERSON: Well we think we're going to do very well. I'm not going to play the numbers game, but I know that we have incredible talent on all of our Winter Sports teams, and I think with the training facilities and the talent we have in this country, we're going to come out ahead in these Olympics, and I think - I think we're going to have a hometown advantage frankly. ZAHN: Well I had the pure privilege of running with the Olympic torch as it arrived in Athens, Georgia the other day. I ran my two- tenths of a mile to boost the interest in the Olympics. We wish you a great deal of luck, all of America, of course, and the world will be watching ...
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Thank you and I heard you participated, I actually went over to Athens and helped bring back the Olympic flame - very uplifting and I think now that it's happening throughout the country, this Olympic torch relay, we're seeing a very positive anticipation all over this country, and I think really we're seeing what the Olympic spirit's all about and we're very proud to be the host city for these Olympic Games.
ZAHN: And I think obviously as you would well acknowledge, it's become even more inspirational as a result of the wake of September 11th.
ANDERSON: Certainly has. I think at no other time has it been more important to bring nations together in peace and goodwill and that's exactly what we expect to see in Salt Lake City.
ZAHN: Mayor Anderson, best of luck to you and to your city.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Thank you very much Paula.
ZAHN: We'll be watching you.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
ZAHN: Still to come - my pleasure.
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