US 'confident' over Olympic security

OLYMPICS SECURITY Budget: £350m ($600m) Staff: 58,000 police and military Security partners: US, Britain, Spain, Germany, France, Israel, Australia

US State Department officials have expressed confidence in Greece's ability to protect the 2004 Olympics.

The comments came as FBI director Robert Mueller continued his tour of Athens reviewing security measures.

"The Greeks have the will and the resources to hold a secure and successful Olympics.

"And we have every confidence they will," said a State Department official.

There are fears the event next August could be a potential magnet for international terrorist networks such as al-Qaida.

The FBI and other US agencies are concerned that Greek police may not be taking adequate steps to protect athletes, officials and spectators, despite the Greek Government increasing spending on security to a record £350m.

Despite the State Department statement, Associated Press reported that sources close to the talks said the FBI were far from happy with the Greek plans and feel "a lot of work still needs to be done".

The FBI has played a key advisory role in several Olympic Games.

The most recent was the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, which came only a few months after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

This week the US military also helped organise a planning exercise at its European command headquarters in Germany aimed at helping the Greeks identify any gaps in their planning.

"The US has offered the expertise and resources of several of its agencies to Greece in order to ensure Olympic security. We are providing equipment and security training toward that end," the State Department said.

Although concerns focus on international terrorist networks, some small domestic groups remain active.

Within hours of Mueller's arrival on Monday, a series of firebomb blasts damaged three banks in central Athens, police said.

Profile: Robert Mueller

There were no reports of injuries and no one claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Mueller planned to meet with Public Order Minister Giorgos Floridis, the chief of the Greek police, the head of the Greek intelligence agency and members of a seven-nation group advising Greece on security planning.

Those nations include Britain, Israel and the United States.

Mueller's agenda is also expected to include talks about the danger posed by the flow of illegal immigrants into Greece through its porous northern borders and by sea from the Turkish coast to the east.

He is also expected to discuss a Greek refusal to allow foreign security agents to carry weapons during the Olympics.

The US plans to send about 100 such agents to help protect the 800-strong US Olympic delegation.