Security for Olympics Successful, Greek Defense Minister Say

 

By Roger Wilkison
 
Greece's defense¹ minister says his country's security preparations for the Athens Olympics have been so successful that it is now in a position to advise China, the host of the 2008 Summer Games, on how to avoid terrorist attacks. But the minister says Greece has no intention of lowering its guard until the Games are over.

The first week of the Games have gone by without incident, and Greek Defense Minister Spilios Spiliotopoulos is feeling a lot easier than he did a few weeks ago. That was when western security experts and the international news media were warning that the delay in completing Athens' Olympic structures was hindering the ability to test security systems at the installations.

At a luncheon² in his office for foreign correspondents, the minister said Greece had done everything possible to stage the safest possible Olympics in a new environment, shaped by the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States.

"All the Olympic Games that will be organized in the future, they will be having security as the main focus of consideration, and that will be the model for the future organization of the Olympic Games," he said.

Mr. Spiliotopoulos says a succession of pre-Olympic exercises allowed institutions as different as the military and police, the electric power company and hospitals, among others, to cooperate as they never have before. He says the goal was to prepare for what he calls a worst-case scenario³, a deadly attack that could cause thousands of casualties.

"We had to take into consideration that the security environment today is very unpredictable," he added. "That means you don't know when, how, where from, and from whom there will be any action, and against whom. That's why you have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. So we spent a lot of money, because we had in our mind the worst-case scenario."

The minister says Greece is spending $1.2 billion on security for the Games. That's less than private estimates, but still four times as much as Australia spent for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. Greece has been advised by a platoon of security experts from seven countries, including the United States, Australia and Israel, to help it direct operations. Mr. Spiliotopoulos says Greece is now confident that it can help China with security preparations for the 2008 Games.

"We have an invitation from China for some Greeks that are engaged, involved [in security preparations] to go there and advise [in] training," he explained. "So, next time, [there] will be eight advisory⁴ countries to China."

But Mr. Spiliotopoulos says that, even though everything has gone smoothly⁵ so far, Greece has no intention of letting its guard down, until the Olympics and the Para-Olympics for handicapped people, which will follow the Games themselves, are over at the end of September. Nobody is relaxing, he says. Nobody is being complacent⁶.

Roger Wilkison, VOA News, Athens.
注释：
hinder 阻碍
installation 安装, 装置
luncheon 午宴
correspondent 通讯记者
scenario 方案
casualties 人员伤亡
unpredictable 不可预知的
platoon（军队的）排
Israel 以色列
advisory 顾问的, 咨询的
handicapped 残废的
complacent 得意的

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

3 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

6 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。