| Greece has determined that its national security interests are being threatened by Al Qaida-aligned Arab agents in Bosnia. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Costas Simitis has convened to discuss what officials termed the threat from an estimated 2,000 Bosnian Arabs to the Olympic Games in August 2004. Officials said Western intelligence agencies have assessed that some of those Arab nationals could be training to carry out attacks on Israeli, U.S. or other targets during the Olympics in Athens. Officials said the threat of an Al Qaida-related attack will be one of the scenarios in a series of exercises scheduled to take place in February and March 2004. They said the United States has been pressing to revise security arrangements agreed upon a year ago. "Greece, as well as every other country, has the fundamental obligation to safeguard its internal and external security," Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said. "And it is evident that military planning for the country's security takes into consideration the simple fact that the country is a member-state of NATO and, consequently, our military planning takes NATO planning into consideration." |