Sochi Winter Olympics: Video threat emerges amid security concerns

[Isabelle]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...-suicide-bombers-one-believed-to-be-in-sochi/

Looks like she has had a rough life. Probably feels like she has nothing to live for.

 

[Cherry]

Urgent Search for 'Black Widow' Suicide Bomber, May Be Already in Sochi



http://news.yahoo.com/urgent-search-39-black-widow-171341177.html

It's fact that they and LE have been "looking" for her for years as well as others.
I dk why they think with hundreds of thousands of other people in the area they actually think they would find her now...

Before I got ill I started to notice that I had reservations about these Games. Then the Bombings happened, then the Car Bombs and dead people rigged with explosives in their cars were found. I think that was the bottom line for me...I have fear that these games are not going to be safe...or go off without a hitch; esp with Putin at the Helm. He is IMO an egotistical maniacal leader...he is more concerned with how HE looks than keeping Anyone safe. Have you all seen the crumbling buildings, I mean he was given 87mil by the OIC! This is more than quadruple the amt any other country has received for the Games. I think a lot of it ended up in his pockets because when the camera's pan out, all I see is crumbling buildings and an area you couldn't pay me to go to.

Putin, isn't going to keep americans safe....no way.:scared: So I have a lot of reservations and fear...about these games. I think they should be cancelled and as an ex athlete that is Very hard for me to say

 

[katydid23]

I am so concerned for the athletes and attendees. Sorry. I don't trust Russia has all the necessary precautionary measures in place. Only 2 weeks to go. lease:

I went to a football party at my neighbors last Sunday. I met a woman there who was in a huge emotional crisis because her son plays on the US hockey team--and she was so worried about letting her young sons go along with them to see the games. Her husband is 100% saying ' NO PROBLEM'---don't worry. But she is very concerned. Especially worried about her son and the US athletes, but also about traveling to and from the games with her family. She said she wished she could stay home and watch the games on tv. So sad.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Sochi Olympics terrorism threat: Two more 'black widow' suspects identified

By Albina Kovalyova, Richard Engel and Erin McClam, NBC News

SOCHI, Russia — Russian security officials are hunting for two more young Muslim women — so-called “black widow” terror suspects — who they believe are planning to target the final stages of the Olympic torch relay with suicide bomb attacks.

Wanted posters distributed by police say that the women have been dispatched by underground groups to attack between Tuesday and Thursday in Rostov-on-Don, where the torch is expected to arrive Wednesday on its way to the Olympic city of Sochi.

The posters warn that the suspected terrorists may wear clothes that do not adhere to Islamic tradition, such as long dresses and hijabs, so that they can blend and “infiltrate into places with mass gatherings without hindrances.” ...

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/...two-more-black-widow-suspects-identified?lite

 

[Trino]

Olympics themselves probably will be safe, but the perimiters around them - questionable.

From Sen Michael McCaul, Tex R,
"I think the greatest vulnerability is a soft target that could be hit… that would take place outside of this perimeter," McCaul said. "When I talked to security officials, they see that as the greatest risk and the greatest vulnerability. Because as long as [terrorists] can hit somewhere close, it's still a victory in their mind."

"But in terms of actual physical security, I think they've (Russians) done a good job."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/house...r-fears-black-widow-bombers/story?id=21611173

 

[cuffem]

I would be more concerned with hotels and restaurants and public transportation than the actual competitions.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

"Fearful Olympic skater tells his parents to stay home in Wisconsin and not travel to cheer him on at the Sochi games as athletes' concerns rise over terror threat"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-say-theyre-not-going-Sochi-terror-fears.html

 

[jjenny]

I would be more concerned with hotels and restaurants and public transportation than the actual competitions.

I agree. There will be lots of security at the competitions.
Places in danger are likely to be "soft targets"-places such as public transportation, etc.

 

[Softail]

Europeans on alert after Olympic athletes in Sochi receive terror threats

Five European countries said Wednesday that they have received messages containing terrorist threats ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, but Russian organizers and the International Olympic Committee are downplaying the threats, describing them random messages from a member of the public.

Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia said they received the threats in the form of emails and hand-written letters, according to Reuters. The messages threatened that athletes will be targeted with terrorist attacks at the upcoming games.


http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...tees-reportedly-receive-sochi-terror-threats/

This is so sad. Such a shame that this cloud has to hang over the Olympics. :rings:

:notgood:

 

[Isabelle]

The choices seem limited.

If the Olympics were cancelled or the US withdrew due to terrorism threats, Putin would be irate, damaging US-Russia relations. (As an aside, Putin is now considered by Forbes Mag to be the most powerful man in the world.) Then, too, consider the athletes and the time they have spent training. They would totally be angry. It's a Catch 22, caught between a rock and a hard place. We (and other countries) seem to be left with "just trust us."

The latest threat seems to be against the Olympic torch as it passes through certain anti-Russian government areas. (No idea why it's going there anyway.) Guess we could "take" damage to a torch rather than to athletes and tourists.

The US State Dept has just issued a travel warning for the Olympics. (Never in my lifetime would I have anticipated this.) What would you do if you already had event tickets, plane tickets, and a hotel, as many families of athletes do? I think athletes will be protected, but will tourists?

Let Putin be irate! Let him throw every kind on temper tantrum he can throw. I say the US Olympic team must pull out. Could some of the terror threats be coming because of the Boston Bombing, one dead and one in jail, both from that area of the world or near there (Dagestan). When has the US ever had to have contingency plans to remove citizens to safety during Olympic events in another country. Just sickening!

 

[Isabelle]

I agree. There will be lots of security at the competitions.
Places in danger are likely to be "soft targets"-places such as public transportation, etc.

True about the soft targets, but I fear there could well be someone on the inside doing a good job of keeping a low profile. It would be foolish to trust anyone.

 

[jjenny]

Let Putin be irate! Let him throw every kind on temper tantrum he can throw. I say the US Olympic team must pull out. Could some of the terror threats be coming because of the Boston Bombing, one dead and one in jail, both from that area of the world or near there (Dagestan). When has the US ever had to have contingency plans to remove citizens to safety during Olympic events in another country. Just sickening!

US isn't the safest country in the world by any means. All the mass shootings, and terrorists attack that went on here.
One can never be a 100 % safe.

 

[Isabelle]

Not good:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/white-...1YWdzBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1ZJUDMzNF8x

 

[MLO]

US isn't the safest country in the world by any means. All the mass shootings, and terrorists attack that went on here.
One can never be a 100 % safe.

This made me LOL! We have spoken about wanting to visit the US with our kids, but have copped a lot of criticism for it. We've had a "fine risk your selves if that's what you want, but don't put the kids in danger", amongst others. A few of those people have been soldiers who visited the US after leaving Afghanistan which I find amusing.

I think a lot of countries and a lot of peoples home are not as safe as they should be at the moment. Or have they ever been?

 

[katydid23]

Olympics themselves probably will be safe, but the perimiters around them - questionable.

From Sen Michael McCaul, Tex R,
"I think the greatest vulnerability is a soft target that could be hit… that would take place outside of this perimeter," McCaul said. "When I talked to security officials, they see that as the greatest risk and the greatest vulnerability. Because as long as [terrorists] can hit somewhere close, it's still a victory in their mind."

"But in terms of actual physical security, I think they've (Russians) done a good job."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/house...r-fears-black-widow-bombers/story?id=21611173

That's what the woman I met is most afraid of----being in a hotel or restaurant outside the games. She said she will feel safe inside the games, but she and her family have to fly to Russia, and travel through targeted areas and in public transit and stay in hotels, etc. How can you feel safe on a train or city bus?

 

[ADoyle]

I'm also concerned for the safety of the athletes and fans, but I do think that the events themselves probably have the best security.

 

[RT51]

I am very worried about the games. I am old enough to remember Munich.

I agree, if they chose to hit, it will be a soft area, or housing for the athletes. It is so scary.

I am not going to be critical of Russian security as no matter what country the games were to be held in, the terrorists would attempt to infiltrate.

What upsets me the most is, the games are supposed to be a world wide event of peace and harmony for the sake of sport. I really do not want to see that ruined!

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

"How US will rescue Olympians if terrorists strike the Sochi Games"

"A catastrophic terrorist strike at the Sochi Winter Olympics would present the United States with a logistically mind-boggling and diplomatically delicate challenge: How to get more than 200 American athletes safely out of Russia."

"U.S. military officials have described plans to use two warships in the Black Sea and planes already on standby in Europe to evacuate Americans if the worst fears of security experts come true."

"But at least part of the American contingent for Sochi, the skiing and snowboard teams, is paying a private company, Global Rescue, for additional security."

"The company promises communications help, “rally points” for athletes to shelter in place and ways to get them around, or out of, Sochi. Dan Richards, the CEO, said in an interview that Global Rescue has six aircraft that it could “utilize for rapid response.”

"Exactly how that would work — a private security company landing its planes in or around Sochi in the immediate aftermath of an attack — is not clear, and Richards declined to provide details of the company’s plans."

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/...ans-if-terrorists-strike-the-sochi-games?lite

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

"Lawmaker cautions on travel to Sochi as some Olympians tell family to stay home"

"He expressed concern that terrorists may have embedded people or explosives in Sochi before security forces imposed a strict security zone that limited access to the Olympic areas. He also said that terror groups seeking to establish an independent Islamic state in Russia's North Caucasus could hit targets outside the security zones, The Globe reported."

“These terrorists can move it out from areas that are less secure, and make a statement there,” he told reporters, adding that possible attacks by "lone wolf" terrorists are also a concern."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...-sochi-as-olympians-tell-family-to-stay-home/

 

[~n/t~]

The Associated Press reported that Olympic committees from several other European countries, including Germany, Britain and Austria, have said they also received a similar message. At least one spokesperson said the email is a hoax.


“It’s a fake mail from a sender in Israel, who has been active with various threats for a few years,” Austrian National Olympic Committee spokesman Wolfgang Eichler told Austrian news agency APA. “It’s been checked out because it also arrived two years ago.”


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sochi/olympic...ail-as-random-message-1.1651671#ixzz2rDyUJa1K