SOCHI – AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  The Sochi Olympics are two and a half weeks away.  You can simply sense, by reading what comes across the internet, the growing concern among political and security officials in the United States, about a terrorist attack.  From Fox:

Top Capitol Hill lawmakers on Sunday expressed concerns about terror attacks at the upcoming Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, amid nearby terror attacks and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assurances that his country will “do whatever it takes” to protect athletes and visitors.

“The threats are real,” Texas GOP Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told ABC’s “This Week.”

McCaul is among those who think an attack during the games next month will most likely occur outside of the Olympic city and that terrorists will go after “soft targets” such as roads and transportation systems.

McCaul, who is in Moscow this weekend, declined to directly answer the question of whether he would tell Americans they would be safe to travel to the games, saying only that he will “do everything I can” to make sure the games are safe for everybody, including the estimated 15,000 Americans who will attend.

His comments were preceded on the show by an interview with Putin, who said the job of the Olympic host is to provide security and “we will do whatever it takes.”

The concerns follow a string of threats and apparent terror attacks in Russia.

On Sunday, in a new video that was posted on the website of the Chechen militant group Vilayat Dagestan, two militants vowed that tourists and Russians attending the games would not be safe.

In the video, the Russian-speaking men sitting in front of black banners with Arabic verses warn Putin that if the games are held, "we will give you a present for the innocent Muslim blood being spilled all around the world."

They add that "for the tourists who come there will be a present, too."

COMMENT:  We hope it's bluster, but the terror groups operating within Russia, and in bordering regions, have a deadly track record. 

Sochi was a terrible choice for the Olympics.  However, the International Olympic Committee has never been a bastion of purity or idealism.  

As the games approach, there'll be more and more stories about security. 

January 20,  2014