CityView: Olympics Security and Dumb Luck

Feb 20 2009

CityView: Olympics Security and Dumb Luck

Published by jnarvey at 8:58 am under Current Events, Olympics, Vancouver, politics, terrorism

The cost of security for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver has risen astronomically, surprising absolutely no one. One report says it’s going to go up five times the original budget (Reuters).

This is just the latest Olympics-related budget fiasco (For the big picture, check the OlyBLOG). But here’s the thing — even with all this extra money thrown at security, we still won’t be more secure, at least not by much. More inconvenienced, maybe. But if an attacker is determined to get through, it’s going to be tough to stop them.

Let’s say it was an absolute certainty that the bad guys were going to pull SOMETHING. Let’s say we knew for certain that they planned to send a massive car bomb into a crowded city street. So, what are they going to do – turn Vancouver into a giant pedestrian-only zone?

You can lock down a school, YVR, or Vancouver General Hospital. But an entire city? Our cops and soldiers won’t know a group of terrorists’ plans, but you can bet that any determined attackers will be aware of the kinds of counter-tactics being leveled against them.

If the bad guys do try something, it will only be dumb luck that prevents it from happening. Which isn’t to say that hasn’t occurred. You’ll recall the Los Angeles Airport bomber Ahmed Ressam was foiled before by nothing stronger than a lucky hunch by a border guard.

Am I on the wrong track, here? I kind of hope so. But I’m not convinced all those extra trained eyeballs in town for the Olympics are going to see what’s coming until it’s too late.