http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,9353718%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html APRIL 22, 2004 GREEK police will not have time to learn how to operate a security system properly before the Athens Olympics opens in August, a senior government source admitted. The system is still not fully in place, and its late delivery leaves little time for training, the official added. "It's like putting a peasant who only knows how to drive a tractor behind the steering wheel of a luxury limousine," the source told reporters on condition of anonymity. "The system should ideally have been in place spring last year," the source added. After lengthy haggling, Greece finally awarded in March 2003 a 245 million euro ($397.73 million) tender for the supply of the IT security package to a consortium led by US firm Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Despite the tight deadlines, the firm said it could deliver the system within 12 months but the Athens News weekly, citing government sources, has said the system will be at best 85 per cent operational during the Games. But a senior police official was adamant they would be up and running on time. "The system will be in place," he said. SAIC's so-called C4I system encompasses a centralised command for a network of security cameras and communications devices linking security agencies and venues in different parts of the Greek capital. SAIC was also in charge of security at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. Greece is spending 650 million euro ($1.06 billion) - an Olympic record - on security. _________________________________________ ISN mailing list Sponsored by: OSVDB.org
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