Turks offer WMD help for Games
ANKARA (AFP) – Turkey said yesterday it was ready to send nuclear, biological and chemical experts to former rival Greece if need be in order to protect the August Olympics against a terrorist attack. The decision was reached in line with a Greek request for assistance from NATO to boost security at the August 13-29 Games in the wake of the March 11 bombings in Madrid, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. «It has been decided that two teams of nuclear, biological and chemical decontamination teams, one from the army and one from the Interior Ministry, be on standby in Turkey to be sent over to Greece should the need arise during the course of the Olympic Games,» the statement read. Concerns over safety at the Athens Games have increased amid tensions in Iraq and the Middle East. Greece is spending 1 billion euros on security and NATO will be on standby to help with air and sea surveillance as well as provide specialists for dealing with an attack involving weapons of mass destruction.
