Winter Olympics 2002 and Homeland Security

                        Some athletes performing in the Olympics

              Since the September 11 attacks, homeland security has been a matter of great concern among the U.S. citizens and government officials. A number of people predict Salt Lake City to be the next aim of the terrorists. No one ever thought of Salt Lake City being a victim of terrorism before. However, Winter Olympics 2002 has given it a special significance. "My first thought was: who is ever going to bomb Utah? Then I thought about Olympics," says Wendy Crowther, a Salt Lake City resident.

              Knowing the significance of this situation, the U.S. and the Utah State government have taken solid actions to make the Olympics as safe as they could. More than $300 million in combined federal, state and local funds have been gathered for security for the Winter Olympics.  It will go towards making these games as safe and secure as possible. The United States Secret Service, under the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is the lead agency for designing, planning and implementing security at the Salt Lake City Games. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) do also have major security roles.

                "We are ready and this will be a secure place.  The best in the world are putting this security plan together and the best in the world will execute it," said Utah Governor Mike Leavitt. He said that two thousand Utah National Guard members are on call, Utah's major infrastructure, including airports, freeways, bridges, railroads, public utilities, schools and chemical plants have increased security. The Governor says Utah is prepared for any biological or chemical threat. At one time the state stored 44 percent of the nation's chemical munitions and has safely eliminated more than a third of them.  Protection plans from crowd control to emergency medical response have long been in place.  "If there is a community in the world prepared for such a dilemma, it is this one," says Governor Leavitt.

                Where the world's finest athletes will be showing the best of there talents, the finest security agencies in the whole world will be doing there best to make that place the safest place in the world. About 70-80 thousand people will come to Salt Lake City each to watch the Olympics under the safest security conditions, and millions of millions will be witnessing them over the television. These people shouldn't concern about any  outside dangers because the U.S. security is the best security in the world.