Entry 3- February 5

An Olympics in the Shadow of a War Zone

New York Times
Steven Lee Myers
February 5th

In Baksan, Russia on Friday a week way from the start of the Olympic Winter Games. 180 miles away. Russian forces appeared on Makhov Street at 8:30 am. They condoned and area around a brick and stone building . Inside of the house one of the men told his father that they were surrounded. They said farewell because they knew they were going to die. The men in the house exchanged gunfire only stopping to let the children leave. The shooting lasted until the afternoon where four men were dead. The men in the house blew it up leaving angry neighbors. This is the first time an Olympic Games are being played outside of a war zone.This war is one of the longest running in the world. It is being fought between two groups; increasing radicalized militants who operate in the shadows of society and a security force that can be brutal but useful. The Olympic being held in Russia has such a importance for Russia and President Vladimir V. Putin which has cause many Islamic terrorist groups to vow a wave of attacks. They are trying to establish an independent caliphate across the North Caucasus. The Russian Government has put into place what experts describe as the most extensive security operations in sports history. They are sealing off the city and have been doing months of operations to crush the terrorists. This has left 529 people dead.

I think that is very important to make sure to keep everybody safe at all times during the Olympic Games. What the Russian Government is doing to keep them safe is important. This is a very important time for Russia therefore they should do whatever they can to keep them safe for everybody watching. There might have been better choices location of the 2014 Olympic Games but in 2007 they did not know that they was going to be such a threat.