UPDATE (JULY 26, 2024, 11:15 a.m. ET): French officials say a “massive attack” on part of France’s high-speed rail network disrupted service for hundreds of thousands of passengers Friday morning but that the attack has had no direct impact on the Olympic Games themselves other than inconveniencing rail passengers. As America continues to process the shocking act of political violence that was the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there’s another pressing security concern 4,000 miles away. The 2024 Summer Olympics begin in Paris on Friday and run through Aug. 11. Securing a Trump rally on a field in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a couple of hours proved to be a fatal failure, and the challenge of the Olympic Games makes Butler pale in comparison. The threat in Paris has already manifested in the form of arrests and disruptions, and the Games haven’t even started.

UPDATE (JULY 26, 2024, 11:15 a.m. ET): French officials say a “massive attack” on part of France’s high-speed rail network disrupted service for hundreds of thousands of passengers Friday morning but that the attack has had no direct impact on the Olympic Games themselves other than inconveniencing rail passengers.

As America continues to process the shocking act of political violence that was the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there’s another pressing security concern 4,000 miles away. The 2024 Summer Olympics begin in Paris on Friday and run through Aug. 11. Securing a Trump rally on a field in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a couple of hours proved to be a fatal failure, and the challenge of the Olympic Games makes Butler pale in comparison. The threat in Paris has already manifested in the form of arrests and disruptions, and the Games haven’t even started.

During my FBI career and subsequent corporate security stint, I led or supported security plans for five Olympics. The Games play out on a global stage. An expected 15 million visitors are expected in France’s capital, including 2 million from outside the country. More than 10,000 competitors from 206 countries, including almost 600 U.S. athletes, will be there, and there will be billions of viewers watching on television and streaming platforms. The Olympics are supposed to transcend politics and bring the world together through peaceful competition, if only for a couple of weeks. But that large a bull’s-eye, with so much of the world paying attention, makes for an almost irresistible target for those whose causes are antithetical to peace.

During my FBI career and subsequent corporate security stint, I led or supported security plans for five Olympics. The Games play out on a global stage. An expected 15 million visitors are expected in France’s capital, including 2 million from outside the country. More than 10,000 competitors from 206 countries, including almost 600 U.S. athletes, will be there, and there will be billions of viewers watching on television and streaming platforms. The Olympics are supposed to transcend politics and bring the world together through peaceful competition, if only for a couple of weeks. But that large a bull’s-eye, with so much of the world paying attention, makes for an almost irresistible target for those whose causes are antithetical to peace.