100 days to go, Canada testing Olympic security

WASHINGTON - Terrorists attacked a hotel in Vancouver on Tuesday morning.

In the confusion that ensued, communications among security personnel went down - including mobile devices and e-mail.

The attack was a simulation. But it was more than just an exercise.

It was preparation.

In 100 days, 5,500 athletes and team officials and 10,000 media representatives from more than 80 countries will already be set up in Vancouver, Canada for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators will pour into the eight venues. They will all mix with 13,000 security personnel, many of whom may be working undercover during the 27 days of Olympic and Paralympic competitions.

The cost of providing security against today's sophisticated threats for the 2010 Vancouver games is almost $1 billion.

Security officials will not discuss the main threat, but one very public fact is undeniable.

"The reality is that Canada is one of the nations that al-Qaida some years ago identified as a potential target. We haven't actually had an attack by al-Qaida but the threat to Canada is outstanding out there," says Ward Elcock, head of security for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Australia were all on a list that al-Qaida published in 2002. They have all been attacked, except Canada.

Considering the systematic dismantling of its brain-trust and work force by surgical missile strikes in the tribal territories of Pakistan, many intelligence experts doubt al-Qaida could muster the resources or precision required to pull off a significant attack at the games.

"You have to just prepare for the widest range of threats you would expect to deal with," Elcock warns.

Elcock says their best defense against any threat is intelligence.

"What is your best intelligence about the nature of the threats is the question you have to ask," Elcock says.

Elcock, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Deputy Minister of National Defense, says obtaining the best intelligence means "working with our allies, in particular the U.S., but with a wide range of other allies."

"We have good pictures about what might be the threats within Canada, but we have to look to others in addition to whatever we collect abroad to help us define the threat that we may encounter from around the world," Elcock says.

To that end, Elcock and his team have made several visits to Washington in recent months to make sure the two neighbor nations are on the same page.

"We share a border and Vancouver is very close to the U.S. border. If you take a ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island, the reality is you back into U.S. waters to take that ferry to a part of Canada. Your airspace is very close to Vancouver. If you want to manage the airspace in terms of security for the Olympics, very quickly you find yourself in U.S. airspace."

A former U.S. intelligence official, who chose not be identified, said, "Attacking the Olympics would be a tough operation for al-Qaida to pull off on the ground, but in today's world of homegrown threats and cyber vulnerabilities, there might be a better window. That's why it is absolutely imperative the two countries make sure all the bases are covered."

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