U.S. lawmakers raise safety concerns
More security wanted for Americans
WASHINGTON — Membersof Congress expressed serious concerns Sunday about the safety of Americans at next month’s Olympics in Russia and said Moscow needs to co-operate more on security.
Suicide bombings last month in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, about 600 kilometres from where the Sochi Games will be held, have contributed to the safety anxiety. Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised that his country will do all it can to ensure a safe Olympics without imposing security measures that are too intrusive.
The U.S. State Department has advised Americans who plan to attend the Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, that they should keep vigilant about security because of potential terrorist threats, crime and uncertain medical care.
“We don’t seem to be getting all of the information we need to protect our athletes in the games,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “I think this needs to change, and it should change soon.”
But FBI Director James Comey said earlier in January that the Russian government “understands the threat and is devoting the resources to address it.”
Rogers, R-Mich., contended that the Russians “aren’t 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? There’s a missing gap, and you never want that when you go into something I think as important as the Olympic Games and the security of the athletes, and the participants and those who come to watch.”
Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said from Moscow that he planned to be in Sochi on Monday to assess the security situation.
“All the briefings that I’ve received, from the intelligence community to the FBI and others, indicate that there are serious concerns, and that we need to do a lot to step up security. I do believe Putin is doing a lot of that,” said McCaul, R-Texas. While he said diplomatic security has declared Russian cooperation on safety measures is good, he said “it could be a lot better.”