ATHENS, Greece - FBI director Robert Mueller arrived Thursday to review Olympic security plans and is expected to discuss Greece's refusal to allow the U.S. team's security force to carry weapons.
Mueller also will likely discuss concerns about terrorist snipers and preparedness for a biological or chemical attack during this week's meetings with Olympics security officials.
The decision on the weapons, confirmed by the head of a U.S. Olympic Committee delegation, came as American involvement in Olympic security expanded to involve the U.S. military - a sign of the growing concern over safety at the world's premier sporting event following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Within hours of Mueller's arrival, a series of firebomb blasts damaged three banks in central Athens, police said. There were no reports of injuries. The motive for the attacks was not immediately clear. Protests were also held shortly before the blasts to demand the release of antiglobalization activists jailed in June.
Greece's law enforcement minister, accompanied by senior intelligence, police and military officials, has just completed a two-day planning exercise organized by the United States at its European command headquarters in Germany.
"We have close cooperation and there are a group of officers from the FBI here. We are cooperating closely in the framework of preparing Olympic security," Greek police spokesman Col. Eleftherios Economou said.
He said Mueller will be briefed "on the course of Olympic security planning" during his visit. Today, Mueller will honor Greek law enforcement officials for their role in the breakup of November 17, Greece's deadliest domestic terror group.
Besides concerns about snipers and chemical and biological attacks, Mueller's agenda also is expected to include talks about the danger posed by the constant flow of illegal immigrants into Greece through its porous northern borders and by sea.
There are fears terrorists could use immigrant smuggling networks and routes to enter Greece ahead of the Olympics.
Athens is spending an unprecedented $775-million to protect the Aug. 13-29 Games. It is also working with a seven-nation advisory task force that includes the United States and Israel.
Security planning grew this week to include the U.S. military, which ran a simulated exercise at its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to help identify any gaps in Greece's preparations.
"The aim of the exercise was crisis management, on a political, strategic and operational level," according to the Public Order Ministry.
Though the United States has been working closely with Greece, the State Department plans to send at least 100 agents to help protect the 650 U.S. athletes who will take part in the Olympics.
Greece has demanded, however, that only its forces carry weapons during the Olympics.
At least two other nations, Australia and Israel, also reportedly plan to send security details, and the issue of whether foreign agents can carry weapons during the Games has caused friction.
Herman Frazier, who is leading a five-day inspection visit by the U.S. Olympic Committee, said the U.S. "supplemental" security forces would have no firearms. He said it was the first time such a force was being sent to the Olympics.
"These people will not be armed," Frazier told the AP.
He said the U.S. delegation discussed security issues with Olympic organizers and U.S. officials based in Athens. He declined to give specifics.
