US to send special forces to protect Olympics

Responding to a request from Greece, the US has committed 400 Special Forces soldiers to help protect the Olympic Games next month, an American counter-terror official said today.

The United States is in the process of discussing with the Greek government whether the armed soldiers, whose home base in Germany, would be sent to Athens, the site of the games, to nearby island Crete where the US team will train, or remain on alert in Europe, the official said.