As Vancouver gears up to host the 2010, so are 15,000 armed men and women to make sure that the Olympic games stay safe this year. Canada is spending the most they've ever spent on a security operation in their history: a whopping $900 million. "Bud Mercer, RCMP assistant commissioner, describes it as 'planning for 17 Super Bowls in a row, day after day.'"
Since there is a large stretch of road 2 hours North of Vancouver, 4500 Canadian forces have been put on reserve should the need arise to activate them. There are also 900 security cameras all linked together in a network to detect biological, radiological, and chemical threats. "Frigates and destroyers will monitor approaches to Vancouver Harbor, says Rear Adm. Tyrone Pile of the Canadian Navy, and a close eye will be kept on all ship traffic approaching the west coasts of Canada and the United States."
This effort has taken 5 years to plan out and finally put into action, claims the Canadian armed forces. Even 40 agencies from the US are setting up a command station in WA to coordinate NORAD air restrictions way into US territory in case anything goes haywire.
With armed forces watching everyone's move, will the Olympic games feel like the actual Olympic games? Oh, and the US and Canadian officials say they don't want the security to feel overly obvious. but with 15,000? hmm.
Monday, February 1, 2010
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6 comments:
I think all this security is definitely a good thing. I dont think people will mind having all that security around because it makes them feel safe. I would much rather have the security around and very visible than not have them there at all. This is a world wide/viewed event, I would think that any terrorist that wants to make a statement or do something would pick the Olympics...therefore, a lot of security is needed. Especially after the Christmas bombing attempt, everyone is very nervous about terrorism. I definitely think it is better to be safe than sorry! I think the Olympics will still feel like the Olympics, there are still going to be races, competitions, etc and spending a few extra minutes in security or something like that is better than losing your life!
Talia, I completely agree without a doubt that security is a good thing. But I found it funny that after explaining how much security there was going to be at the Olympic games this year and how much surveillance there is going to be, officials said they didn't want security to be overly obvious. They did cite how the 1972 Olympic games and the killing of 11 Iranian individuals still rock through the minds of people as we move forward with future Olympic games and how that drove their decision to do a massive $900 million push for security. In any matter, I think the Canadians and the US have done a great job at making sure nothing goes wrong this year. Although, I'm sure after the Olympic games we'll all have a good laugh at something that happened during the games.
15,000 isn't that much if they can blend in. ;) Security is a good thing but too much security can also be costly and inefficient. (too many places to keep track of/ groups)
Well obviously, it never hurts to be too cautious rather than not being cautious at all. But in the global scheme of things, the Olympics are a big thing for any country. Think about how much time and effort people from each country put in to petition having the Olympic games in the country. Then if they get it, they spend even more time and effort making it as grand as possible. Just think about how much planning went into the entire Olympics in China.
Having the Olympics in your country is very big for increasing its reputation as you get coverage from all over the world. Even though Canada may be spending way too much on security, it just doesn't want to be known as the country "where the Olympics went wrong" and take attacks to its global reputation.
Haha..."blend in" huh? They are armed men...and I'm pretty sure if their weapons will be visible...so that doesn't really help an effort to blend in. Also, one issue with all this heightened security could be that tourists and even the athletes will have to deal with a lot of unnecessary hassle.
But then again...Walmart spent several million dollars on security for the Black Friday Sales...so...I dunno.
Well I totally agree with Michael and although I see how a lot of security could be a hassle for all those involved in the events I think it is better that than risk something going wrong. On top of that, I think that once the games start it won’t be so much about the security as it will be about the athletes and the actual competition itself. I know how excited I am for the Olympics and if I can see some security wandering around it really doesn’t bother me as long as we know the athletes are safe.
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