|
 But U.S. officials have concluded there would be major obstacles
to mounting a large-scale effort by the military or other U.S.
government resources to evacuate Americans from Sochi, said a source
familiar with Obama administration debates.
The most formidable roadblock U.S. officials have discussed
regarding contingency plans for Sochi is that Russian authorities
have historically been reluctant to allow foreign military forces,
especially those of the United States, on Russian territory.
U.S. officials say Russia unquestionably has primary responsibility
for protecting everyone, including Americans, attending the Sochi
Games that start on February 7.
"No matter what happens," the Russians "are not going to welcome
with open arms" any intervention by outsiders, even in a situation
where outsiders might only be seeking to rescue their own citizens,
the source said.
U.S. contingency planners have also apparently determined that there
are few ways to prepare and potentially position supplies or forces
for a possible Olympics rescue because of Sochi's location, the
source said.
Sochi lies on the western edge of the Caucasus mountains on the
Black Sea in southern Russia, and militants trying to carve out an
Islamist state in the region have threatened to attack the Olympic
Games.
The State Department has warned Americans planning to attend the
games to be vigilant about their security because of potential
terrorist threats.
Owing to Sochi's location and the formidable security measures
Russian authorities have put in place at the site, most U.S.
intelligence experts say any attacks during the Olympics are most
likely to occur at places other than Sochi.
"WHATEVER IT TAKES" Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his political and
personal prestige on the success of the Olympics, has ordered safety
measures beefed up nationwide after 34 people were killed last month
in bombings in Volgograd, another city in southern Russia. About
37,000 Russian personnel are providing security in the Sochi area.
Putin, in an interview with foreign journalists including ABC's
George Stephanopoulos that aired on Sunday, said host Russia would
do "whatever it takes" to ensure the security of Olympic
participants and guests.
Asked if he were concerned about militants striking in other parts
of Russia, Putin said through a translator, "We have adequate needs
available to us through the federal security service, the Interior
Ministry, armed forces units that will be involved in providing
security on the water and in the air."
But some U.S. lawmakers complained on Sunday the Russians were not
telling U.S. intelligence enough about threats from militant groups
operating in the region.
[to top of second column] |
"We don't seem to be getting all of the information we need to
protect our athletes in the games," Republican Representative Mike
Rogers, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence
Committee, told CNN's "State of the Union with Candy Crowley."
"They're not giving us the full story about what are the threat
streams, who do we need to worry about, are those groups — the
terrorist groups who have had some success — are they still
plotting?" Rogers said.
U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul,
currently in Moscow, told ABC's "This Week" that cooperation with
the Russians on security "could be a lot better."
McCaul, who is also a Republican, said he would be meeting this week
with the Russian government's "command and control of operations" in
Sochi to assess the situation.
"We have 15,000 Americans traveling to Sochi for the Olympics. And I
want to do everything I can to make sure it's a safe and successful
Olympics," McCaul said.
Michael Morell, former deputy CIA director, said that while there
was a long history of cooperation between nations hosting an
Olympics and the U.S. intelligence community, "We did not get that
cooperation with the Russians" for the Sochi Games.
"I think fundamentally they don't want to admit that they don't have
complete control here and they might need some help," Morell said on
CBS' "Face the Nation."
One U.S. senator said he did not think the games would be safe
enough for him or his relatives to attend.
"I would not go. And I don't think I would send my family," Senator
Angus King, an independent from Maine, told CNN.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Mark Hosenball; Writing by Peter
Cooney; editing by Jim Loney, Meredith Mazzilli)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
