Holding our breath !

The world will be watching the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, but British security services will be holding their breath - wondering  if these Olympics will bring a replay of the terrorist attack that marred the 1972 summer games in Munich.

It was a simple escalation of tribal war crossing boundaries in a new era.  The original Olympics had been a way of resolving differences on the sporting field in preference to the battle field.  It was common for wars to be put on hold so that warriors could attend the games and sometimes the goodwill engendered stopped a resumption and the issue was finally resolved by negotiation.

All that flew out the window in 1972.   "  Black September " guerrillas invaded the Olympic living quarters and took Israeli athletes and coaches hostage.   They demanded that Israel release convicted compatriots from Israeli gaols and also called for the release of the leader of the Red Brigade terror gang.   The world watched as negotiations proceeded to the stage where the hostages and their captors were about to board a helicopter - and then disaster struck.   Shootings and explosions resulted in some of the terrorists and eleven of the hostages losing their lives.

Ever since, holding the Olympics has been a battle between games security and the wide spectrum of terrorist organizations who see the games as an opportunity to showcase their cause and to prove that they have the ability to strike when and where they please.   This has raised the cost of hosting the games by hundreds of millions of dollars and ensured that safe games are a measure of national pride.

This year's London games are the epitome of  stringent security.   There are missile batteries on rooftops around the venue and any aircraft straying into the " no fly " zone risks being shot out of the sky.   Every spectator entering the venue will be body scanned for explosive material and have their bags searched.  A ring of steel makes sure no vehicles used by suicide bombers can get anywhere near the main venue or the crowds  making their way to the many specialist sports  stadiums.   Nothing is being left to chance.

In seventeen days time - when the closing ceremony has been held - we will know if the security people got it right.  There is no doubt that plots existed to disrupt the games and cause casualties and some may be still bubbling away, primed to emerge where they would be least expected.

We live in dangerous times.   The world is still reeling from an incident in America where a seemingly average young man took an array of weapons into a movie theatre and killed twelve patrons and wounded dozens more.   The element of risk is not stopping Londoners and visitors from all over the world putting up with security measures and taking their seats to watch the games.

Perhaps it is a form of fatalism.  Today, people seem to accept risk because that is the sort of world we now live in.  It would be quite unacceptable to even think of cancelling future Olympics because the risk was considered too great.   Ordinary people will never hand terrorists that sort of victory !