The arrest of two members of a GA right-wing militia on
explosives charges -- and the subsequent misreport that the
Olympics were an intended target -- has the media examining the
issue of security in Atlanta. Jeff Beatty, described as "a
security expert with experience in three Olympic games," appeared
on NBC's "Today" yesterday. Beatty, who had the graphic "Atlanta
Chamber of Commerce" under his name: "Our government's record is
about one-and-three in being able to prevent and detect such
incidents. If you just do the math, that means there may be a
couple of other incidents out there yet that we have not
identified specifically." Beatty predicts there will be two
successful terrorist attacks in Atlanta if things are not
changed. He supports the "holistic" approach of Barcelona in
'92: 40% to protect venues; 40% to protect the "open sector"
(hotels, etc.); 20% to protect infrastructure. He went on to say
ACOG would do a "marvelous job" protecting the Olympic sites, but
his concern was with the open sites (NBC, 4/29). NEWSWEEK calls
Atlanta a "fat target" for both domestic and foreign terrorists,
with law enforcement officials divided on which may be the bigger
threat. Tom Morganthau reports the Feds are "building what may
be the biggest counterterrorist screen in history" (NEWSWEEK, 5/6
issue).
