WASHINGTON, July 21 (AFP) - US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that additional security for next month's Athens Olympics might be provided by NATO, but played down a report saying US special forces would be on the ground to guard US athletes.
"It wouldn't involve US troops per se, it would be only a NATO mission. That I know of, there's nothing going on other than the Greek-NATO relationship," Rumsfeld told reporters at a Pentagon press conference.
The US defense secretary declined to discuss any intelligence concerns Washington might have about the 2004 Games which authorities fear could present a target to terrorists.
"I'm not going to get into intelligence about things that are up ahead of us," Rumsfeld said.
He spoke after The New York Times reported Greece had relented to pressure to allow 400 US Special Forces soldiers and US, Israeli and British security officers to be armed at the Games.
The agreements will not be formally acknowledged to avoid raising anti-US sentiment in Greece, Greek and US officials told the newspaper.
"The United States is a part of NATO ... Greece is working with NATO," Rumsfeld said.
Greek Public Order Minister Yiorgos Voulgarakis denied athletes will be escorted by foreign, armed guards.
"Athletic delegations have escorts. But these escorts cannot be armed," Voulgarakis told private Greek radio station Flash.
Joint Chiefs of Staff head, General Richard Myers, told reporters at the press conference that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was mulling a request for further security assistance from Greece.