Op Ed: Cricket Carnage a Warning for Olympics

The attack against the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore this week shows that the possibility of violence against international sport is a reality of 21st Century life.

Six policemen died in the assault Tuesday along with a driver. Seven members of the cricket team were injured. A Pakistani terrorist group is suspected for the mayhem.

While the violence may be a manifestation of trouble within Pakistan, the fact that Pakistanis would take aim at visiting sportsmen coming to compete in the national sport must be seen as proof that nothing is sacred when there are political and religious scores to be settled.

The blows against the Sri Lankans will likely spell the end of international cricket matches in Pakistan for some time. Other sports are likely to think carefully about whether to send teams to the country.

Repercussions could be felt beyond the borders of Pakistan, with concerns for the security of other sports events in south Asia.

India is concerned about the safety for the IPL, the professional league that's drawing large crowds and big TV ratings. The November attacks in Mumbai, while unrelated to sport, cast shadows of doubt over whether India can safely stage the 2010 Commonwealth Games set for New Delhi.

Given the distorted way terrorists think, the assault in Lahore will probably stoke flames of revenge. Will the vengeful blows be struck in New Delhi next year? Or, maybe at some other venue in south Asia or another part of the world?

And talk about a 2020 Olympic Games for India is still premature until questions about security can be answered.

Since the dreadful siege at the Munich Olympics in 1972, security at the Olympic Games has never been the same. Safety of the athletes is often named as the foremost concern when the IOC president is asked about what's most important for upcoming Olympics.

Placid Vancouver, host of the 2010 Winter Games, would seem to be an unlikely target for terrorist attack. But it has only been in the past few weeks, less than a year before the Games, that the government spend on security was officially revised. It is now several times the original estimate.

It also should be noted that the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history -- a 1985 airplane bombing that killed 329 people -- was organized by Sikh separatists living in British Columbia, far from the presumed battleground in India.

London knows even more recent tragedy: the tube and bus bombings took place the day after the city was awarded the 2012 Olympics. The timing of those attacks made inescapable the need for London to evaluate early on the level of resources needed to secure the Games.

But the events of July 7, 2005, as well as the alleged plot in 2006 to bomb aircraft flying from Heathrow to the U.S., are ominous. The suspects linked to the crimes are U.K. residents, not terrorists trying to slip into the country.

While London and Vancouver are proud of their diverse communities, the diversity also includes a tiny minority of citizens intent on causing anguish, no matter the cost.

It may be impossible to prevent the fanatic from acting on impulse, but we hope that both Vancouver and London have the people and resources to make it as hard as possible for evil to be carried out against sportsmen, sportswomen and spectators.

Written by Ed Hula

Op Ed is a weekly column of opinion and ideas from Around the Rings. Comments, as well as guest columns are welcomed: comment@aroundtherings.com