U.S. Security Support Informed by an Understanding of Italian Security Capabilities, but without a Formal Assessment of Italy’s Olympic Security Plans

Following the Athens Games in the summer of 2004, the United States  began planning for (1) the security support it would provide to the Italian  government and (2) the protection of U.S. citizens who would be  participating in or attending the 2006 Winter Games. While this interagency working group has been a  useful forum for coordinating the domestic side of U.S. efforts in providing  security support to overseas athletic events, it operates without written  operational guidance and without the authority for tasking participating  agencies in planning for future Olympic Games, according to State and  DOJ officials. Agencies Contributed to Security Support for 2006 Winter Games; United States Spent Millions on Security Support Activities, but Lacks Formal Mechanism for Coordinating Financial Requirements

Several U.S. agencies contributed to the U.S. security support effort in  Turin, identifying more than $16 million in costs—over fiscal years 2005  and 2006—to arrange and provide for this support. State coordinated the U.S.  interagency efforts in both Italy and Washington, D.C., and also provided  security advice and other assistance to U.S. athletes, spectators, and  commercial investors. For Turin, some agencies  provided funds to State in advance of the Games, particularly for lodging  deposits, while additional reimbursements were made after the Games. Such a framework would also be useful for anticipating  resource needs, coordinating budgetary requests, and addressing potential  funding issues associated with providing U.S. security support to future  overseas Games. Security Planning Lessons Learned Were Applied in Turin and Additional Lessons Were Identified for the Beijing and Other Future Games

Key lessons learned from the 2004 Summer Games were applied in the  planning efforts for Turin, including (1) planning early for U.S. security  support, (2) designating key U.S. officials to lead and deliver unified  messages, and (3) centralizing U.S. resources and interagency operations. According to U.S.  officials involved in the Turin Games, these lessons include the  importance of (1) establishing a fully equipped, temporary operations  center at the location of the Olympics when a U.S. presence is not nearby;  (2) establishing clear roles and responsibilities for U.S. agencies in event  planning and crisis response efforts; and (3) planning for Olympic-related  expenditures over several fiscal years. This lesson has been communicated by Washington-, Athens-, and Italy- based personnel to their counterparts in China and has been incorporated  into planning efforts for the Beijing Games. Agencies Identified Additional Lessons Learned in Turin

U.S. agencies have begun to collect lessons learned from the Turin Games  and disseminate them to their Beijing Games counterparts. For example, the U.S. Consulate in Milan used its staff to  provide logistical support to the U.S. coordinators in Turin, such as the  establishment of work space and other administrative support services. Planning Efforts Are Under Way to Identify U.S. Security Support for 2008 Beijing Games; Efforts Face Unique Challenges

The United States is currently taking steps to coordinate a U.S. security  presence and identify the types of security support that the United States  may provide for the 2008 Beijing Games. To ensure the safety of U.S. athletes, spectators, and  commercial investors, State has taken steps to identify and secure  logistical support. The Departments  of Energy and Homeland Security did not provide written or technical  comments. To identify efforts under way for providing support to the 2008 Summer  Games in Beijing, we gathered information from the various agencies  previously mentioned; reviewed China’s Mission Performance Plan;  attended meetings of the State-chaired interagency working group in  Washington, D.C.; and interviewed the Deputy Olympic Security  Coordinator and Olympic Coordinator at the U.S. Mission in Beijing.
Why GAO Did This Study

The 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, were the second Olympic Games to take place overseas since September 11, 2001. The United States worked with Italy to ensure the security of U.S. citizens, and it expects to continue such support for future Games, including the 2008 Games in Beijing, China. GAO was asked to (1) discuss the U.S. approach for providing security support for the 2006 Winter Games and how such efforts were coordinated, (2) identify the roles of U.S. agencies in providing security support for the Games and how they financed their activities, (3) review lessons learned in providing security support and the application of prior lessons learned, and (4) identify U.S. efforts under way for providing security support to the 2008 Beijing Games.

What GAO Found

In 2004, the United States began planning to provide a U.S. security presence in Italy and security support to the Italian government, and based much of its security strategy on its understanding of Italy's advanced security capabilities. The United States provided Italy with some security assistance, mostly in the form of crisis management and response support. To coordinate U.S. efforts, the U.S. Mission in Italy established an office in Turin as a central point for security information and logistics, and to provide consular services to U.S. citizens during the Games. The U.S. Ambassador to Italy, through the U.S. Consulate in Milan, coordinated and led U.S. efforts in-country, while the Department of State-chaired interagency working group in Washington, D.C., coordinated domestic efforts. While the interagency working group has been a useful forum for coordinating U.S. security support to overseas athletic events, State and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials have indicated that formal guidance that articulates a charter; a mission; and agencies' authorities, roles, and responsibilities would help in planning for security support to future Games. Nearly 20 entities and offices within several U.S. agencies provided more than $16 million for security support activities for the Turin Games. The roles of these agencies--which included the Departments of State, Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, and Energy--included providing crisis management and response support through personnel, equipment, and training and providing security advice and other assistance to U.S. athletes, spectators, and commercial investors. The U.S. Embassy in Rome initially paid for lodging and other administrative support needs, which were reimbursed by the participating agencies, although it struggled to do so. State and DOJ officials indicated that an interagency mechanism for identifying costs and addressing potential funding issues would be useful in providing U.S. security support to future Games. For the Turin Games, agencies applied key lessons learned from the 2004 Athens Games and identified additional lessons for future Games. Key lessons identified from the Turin Games included, the importance of establishing an operations center at the location of the Games, establishing clear roles and responsibilities for agencies in event planning and crisis response efforts, and planning early for several years of Olympic-related expenditures. These lessons learned were communicated by Washington, D.C.- and Italy-based personnel to their counterparts who are preparing for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The United States is currently taking steps to identify the types of security support that agencies may provide to support China's security efforts for the 2008 Summer Games and to ensure the safety of U.S. athletes, spectators, and commercial investors.