In an interview Greece’s defence minister Yiannos Papantoniou told the Associated Press that NATO allies and other countries will be on standby during the Athens 2004 Games to send forces or biochemical antidotes in case of a terrorist attack.
Papantoniou said that the plan is part of a broad web of military and intelligence cooperation that includes “reinforced” scrutiny among Balkan neighbours for possible signs of al-Qaeda or other terrorists in Greece’s backyard.
The defence minister described a vast security network during the Games that will include AWACS surveillance planes, 10,000 military personnel working alongside 40,000 police and a 200-member team trained by U.S. and British experts to face biological, chemical and nuclear attacks.
He said, “we shall try not to give the impression that Athens is a military camp”.
