In his thriller Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy described the elite and secretive NATO counter-terrorist unit and its role at the Sydney Olympics. London, in non-fiction and in much more overt fashion, is showcasing its own elaborate security for its Games that includes Typhoon jets and the surface-to-air Starstreak and Rapier missiles (click on photo below to enlarge)
“To guard against the ugly possibilities, officials have put together a plan that will cost more than $2.5 billion -- nearly 50% more than was spent on security in Athens -- and will severely stretch the country's security personnel.
More than 150 analysts at MI5 have put aside their duties to pore over intelligence that might contain evidence of a threat to the Games. Some 13,500 members of the military -- more than are currently deployed in Afghanistan -- have been detailed to the Olympic security effort, and the BBC reported Wednesday that another 3,500 troops might be needed.”
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