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Europe
Group claims responsibility for Athens bomb
2004-03-15
A little known domestic guerrilla group has claimed responsibility for planting a bomb outside a Citibank branch, Greece’s official Athens News Agency (ANA) reported on Monday. Police discovered and blew up the bomb, made of two sticks of dynamite, a clock and a detonator left outside the bank in an Athens suburb after an anonymous caller tipped the Eleftherotypia newspaper. Two hours after the controlled explosion, an unidentified caller phoned the same newspaper and claimed responsibility on behalf of the Revolutionary Struggle group, ANA said. The Revolutionary Struggle group’s only previously claim of responsibility was last September for two bombs in an Athens court complex where one policeman was injured.

Security is a top priority for Greece ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games and amid widespread concern in Europe after bomb blasts on Madrid trains killed 200 people on Thursday. Despite dismantling the biggest domestic security threat, radical leftist group November 17, two years ago, bomb squads are regularly called in to defuse home-made explosive devices, left by fringe groups in protest at the Olympic Games in August.
Posted by:Fred

#7  Amen Mom I loved it in Greece but Iraklion was a bit isolated for my tastes. It was cheap and we drank a LOT while we were there. But after a couple of years we were ready to go home. They (AF) still operate a detachment at NAMFI, on the west coast of Crete. The islands used to be much safer then the mainland because the local didn’t like people messing with their livelihood (touristas).
Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter)   2004-3-15 4:44:33 PM  

#6  Hellenikon AB from March '83 to September '85. I rented a flat in Ano Glyphada, on the corner of Knossou and Delphon Streets with a view of Aegina and the Saronic Gulf. I wanted to stay longer, but AF needs dragged me away, kicking and screaming.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom   2004-3-15 4:16:58 PM  

#5  Sgt Mom, were you at Helinikon? I was stationed on Iraklion 83-84. Best kept secret in the Air Force. My wife and I had a beach house and rented it for $100 a month. We had no kids and boy were those good times! I would not want to be within a 1000 miles from the olympic games for security reasons.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter)   2004-3-15 3:24:28 PM  

#4  I hate to come out and say it, since I loved living in Greece in the 1980ies, and am still in contact with friends there... but I know only too well what a hash that Greek law enforcement made of such an elementary challenge as traffic control and driver training and safety. It made the Keystone cops look like Scotland Yard! I have absolutely zilch faith in their ability security-wise for the Olympics, and with sorrow, I advise Americans to stay the hell away, and watch it on TV, it's gonna be worse than a big disaster.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom   2004-3-15 2:47:50 PM  

#3  This may not come out sounding quite right, but I find it amazing that they are willing, or at least pretending, to want to put security measures in place, but are perfectly content to ignore the reason why such security measures are necessary in the first place.

Am I missing something?
Posted by: Michael   2004-3-15 2:36:08 PM  

#2  The Athens games have the makings of BIG disaster. First off the Greeks won’t let anybody help them with regards to security or with construction. If anybody wants to know what a good socialists government can do just look at this. They had seven plus years to prepare for this and now they might not be ready? This is what happens when you allow too much government into a project. Now I know why the Greeks kicked out the socialists. So here is the score: Socialists get a win in Spain but lose in Greece. But then Spain was sliding to the left for a while now.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter)   2004-3-15 1:54:43 PM  

#1  Feint testing defences.
Posted by: Mr. Davis   2004-3-15 12:29:52 PM  

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