Mike Morrell, the former deputy director for the CIA, warned on Monday that the Sochi Games are “the most dangerous” he’s ever seen, and that Americans traveling to the region should stay on high alert.
“I think these are the most dangerous Olympics I’ve experienced in my adult life,” Mr. Morrell said, during an appearance on “CBS This Morning.” He went on: “You have a capable, dedicated, determined terrorist group that has been around for a long time [and] that recently conducted two attacks in Russia, who say that they want to attack during the games.”
Last month’s suicide attacks by the Islamist group Vilayat Daghestan – or, Daghestan Province — left 34 dead and dozens wounded in the city of Volgograd, about 400 miles from Sochi. Mr. Morrell said that while the Olympics venue is probably well-protected, the real threat to visiting Americans could very well be in the hotels, motels and airports outside of the Village.
“I’d worry about airports elsewhere in Russia,” he said, in The Hill. “I’d worry about Western hotels elsewhere in Russia, that’s where I’d put my focus.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Morrell added that he would take his family – but that he would be “very careful” and “very aware of my surroundings,” he said, The Hill reported.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said on Sunday on CBS: “I would say that the security threat to this particular Olympics are the greatest I think I’ve ever seen because of the proximity of the terrorists to the Olympic Village.” He also said that “if this things gets worse, maybe we would consider” cancelling the U.S. participation in the Games.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.