Biometrics @ the Olympics
-From the Journal....Can anyone name the company mentioned here?
Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition -- July 18, 1996
Officials Confident of Security
As Anxiety in Atlanta Grows
By MITCHELL LANDSBERG
Associated Press
ATLANTA -- The threat of terrorism had lingered in the background for months
while Atlanta prepared for the Olympic Games. It moved swiftly into the
foreground on Thursday following the crash of a Trans World Airlines jet in
New York Wednesday.
The fear that the crash was caused by a terrorist's bomb cast a pall over the
games one day before the opening ceremonies and set some people in the
Olympic city on edge.
"Yes, it has heightened my anxiety a little bit," conceded Don Mischer, executive
producer of the opening ceremonies, which President Clinton plans to attend.
"But I also have confidence that our security system is going to rise to the task
here."
Mischer said he might revise the opening ceremonies Friday night to
acknowledge the tragedy. Mayor Bill Campbell said the crash "certainly
overshadows the joy that we feel in preparing to host the world for the Olympic
Games." (A controversy is brewing over the Olympic opening ceremonies)
Security surrounding the Olympics has been extraordinarily tight. The games
were in the planning stages when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in
New York and the federal building in Oklahoma City, and officials here have
created an imposing battery of defenses to ensure that the games remain secure.
Only once, at the 1972 Games in Munich, did terrorism intrude on the Olympics.
But that catastrophe, in which Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and
coaches, left scars on the Olympic movement that remain vivid today.
Police and soldiers, 30,000 strong, have been a constant presence in central
Atlanta this week. At the offices and hotel used by Olympic officials, soldiers in
combat fatigues search every car that pulls into the garage, even using mirrors on
poles to scan the underbodies.
At highly secure areas, such as the Olympic Village, an elaborate clearance
system has been established that relies on "biometric" scanners to determine
people's identity through an optical scan of their hands.
William Rathburn, the Olympics' director of security, said there wasn't much
more he could do.
"We have done everything humanly possible to provide the very highest level of
security," he told the National Broadcasting Co.'s "Today" show. "Our security
has always been designed for the worst-case scenario."
Still, Olympic officials said they would probably try to ratchet up security
another notch.
"We have been informed that security measures have been tightened in
connection with everything related to flights, airport procedure and control," said
Francois Carrard, director general of the International Olympic Committee.
"This is the logical reaction which should be taken."
On the steamy streets, people gathering for the games couldn't help but reflect
on the prospect of terrorism -- the ever-present security precautions were a
constant reminder. But most took the latest news in stride.
"There's always that fear," said Sam Curtis of Phoenix, who was waiting in a
ticket line, hoping to get into some Olympic shooting events. "But I won't let
terrorism keep me indoors. If you do, then they've succeeded."
Not everyone was sanguine. "We are afraid," said Sylvia Achas, a tourist from
the Philippines who had come to Atlanta for the games. "This is my first
Olympics, and my last." |
