Having The Olympic Games In The Shadow Of A War Zone

An Olympics In The Shadow Of A War Zone -- Steven Lee Myers, New York Times

BAKSAN, Russia — On Friday, exactly a week before the Olympics were set to open just 180 miles away, Russia’s security forces appeared on Makhov Street at 8:30 a.m. and cordoned off the area around a brick and stone house. One of the men inside called his father, who said it was the first he had heard from his son in 10 months.

“He said, ‘Papa, we’re surrounded,' ” the father said. “ 'I know they’re going to kill us.’ Then he said farewell.”

The Russians and the men inside exchanged gunfire, pausing only to allow a woman and two children to leave the house. By the time the shooting ended in the afternoon, four men inside were dead, according to official accounts. The Russians then blew up the house, leaving a bloodied pile of rubble and a crowd of sullen, angry neighbors.

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Update: Sochi Olympics terror threat: How does it feel on the ground? -- Christian Science Monitor

My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that my nationality is Russian .... and I am also familiar with the Sochi region having visited there a few times in the early 1990s. Am I worried about the security situation at the Olympics .... definitely. Do I expect the worse .... also definitely. My prediction .... I will not be surprised if the Islamic militants in the region pull off a major attack near Sochi,.