Winter games open in Utah with massive security effort

SALT LAKE CITY -- Now it's for real -- and it doesn't get any bigger than this.

The Olympics open today with a ceremony that will produce tears and cheers for millions around the world. Behind it will be an even bigger production in rehearsal for months, a massive stone-faced security effort unprecedented in the history of sport.

Three years and $310 million in the making, the plan to protect the games gets its stiffest test right away when President Bush, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and three other heads of state join 55,000 fans and the world's best winter athletes in the University of Utah football stadium.

On the field, the hundreds of performers in the opening ceremony can get away with a mistake or two. The thousands who provide security can't.

"There is no margin for error," Secret Service agent Mark Camillo said. "We don't get a second chance."

To make sure none is needed, sniper teams will be positioned on nearby roofs and Black Hawk helicopters will hover nearby. To be extra sure, all flights in and out of Salt Lake International Airport will be halted for four hours.

Outside the stadium, spectators will shiver in the frigid air as they stand in long lines waiting to get through metal detectors under the watchful eye of National Guardsmen carrying M-16s.

Peaking time

Everything is in place. Nothing, it is hoped, has been left to chance.

"We're peaking at the right time," said David Tubbs, executive director of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command.

Still, the security jitters surrounding the games in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were evident Thursday when a police bomb squad blew up a grocery bag filled with fuses and electrical wire in a parking garage near the downtown media center.

Authorities said there was no explosive in the bag, but they were concerned it was intentionally left in the garage as a test of how security agencies would respond.

A total of 59 agencies make up the security force, which rivals the size of a major city police department. More than 15,000 security personnel -- enough to give each athlete six bodyguards -- are charged with making these games safe for athletes and the 1.5 million ticket holders.

They've got history on their side, but the horror of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks fresh in their minds.

And if something goes tragically wrong, they know people won't forget.

"All that can be done to make this a safe place has been done," Salt Lake Olympic chief Mitt Romney said. "This will be a safe place. I think you can make the argument this will be the safest place on Earth for 25 days."

Top officials say there have been no credible threats directed against the games, which will take place in a sprawling area of 900 square miles in the Salt Lake Valley and Wasatch Mountains above.

Bloodless winters

Unlike the bloody past of the Summer Olympics, there has never been a terrorist attack at the Winter Games.

That hasn't stopped the Secret Service from deploying everything from the latest in high-technology bioterroism technology to bomb-sniffing dogs that will make daily sweeps through Olympic venues.

About the only thing they haven't figured out is how to move large amounts of people quickly through security checks. Waits of more than an hour are predicted.

"We're absolutely ready to go," Secret Service spokesman Mark Connolly said. "We're looking forward for the focus to move to the games themselves, the athletes and competition and away from the security preparations."

Security planners have tried to keep much of the protection as unobtrusive as possible. Hundreds of police will look much like ordinary spectators mingling with crowds, and cameras discreetly will keep watch on all Olympic sites.

It's hard to miss the National Guard, though, and a close look into the woods near the ski slopes will find agents walking through the snow.

That's fine with most athletes, who say they welcome all the protection they can get.

"The more F-16s I see flying around, the safer I feel," U.S. skier Picabo Street said.

Athletes warning

Athletes have been warned to stay in Olympic areas and follow Olympic paths. Those who stay outside the village only need to dial 911 in an emergency and they will automatically be identified as an Olympic athlete in need of help.

For Valentine's Day they've been told to accept only flowers bought inside the Olympic Village that have already been checked for anthrax and other possibly dangerous items.

"I've never felt safer in my life," said short-track speedskater Amy Peterson, in her fifth Olympics. "I'm not the least bit worried."

That confidence aside, there have been some anxious moments in the days leading up to the games, ranging from intrusions into restricted airspace to a man who jumped over a security fence at the Olympic Village.

The latest came when police blew up the suspicious package found next to a downtown parking garage and across the street from a park where Olympic celebrations will be held.

Within minutes, military helicopters swooped over the area, and FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents were on the scene.

The discovery illustrated what security experts like to talk about only behind closed doors -- that every precaution in the world won't necessarily guarantee a safe Olympics.

"You can't eliminate all the risks," Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt said.