Greece agrees to help U.S. screen containers

Greece agrees to help U.S. screen containers    With the Olympic Games in Athens just two months away, Greece agreed Friday to participate in a U.S. cargo security initiative designed to thwart terrorists from shipping people, supplies or weapons in sea containers.
   Greece is the 19th country to sign up for the Container Security Initiative, a program that places U.S. inspectors in foreign ports to select export containers for screening by home customs authorities.
   The United States will loan Greece x-ray type machines that can quickly produce an image of container contents in order to get the program running quickly at the port of Piraeus, a popular transshipment hub, Customs said in a statement.
   “I am deeply grateful for the support of the Hellenic Republic for the implementation of CSI in Piraeus,” James Loy, deputy homeland security secretary, said in a statement. “This is another important step in the war on terrorism.”
   It is unclear exactly how CSI will protect Greece or the Olympic Games from attacks using inbound freight since the program is focused on exports to the United States. However, the Department of Energy has said it would provide radiation detection equipment for Greek ports and border crossings, and it is likely the non-intrusive scanning machines will also be used by Greece to check other shipments.
   Greece is the first European country to join CSI since the United States and the European Community agreed to cooperate on setting eligibility requirements and standards for implementing CSI in EU member countries in April.