The Russian Olympic Crisis

Oh, Russia...
I'm sure most of you are aware of the "situation" involving the upcoming Winter Olympics. It's not the two-toilets-per-bathroom-stall situation, either: it's the terrorist situation. Unfortunately, we don't quite know what exactly is happening, other than the fact that things are really, really tense in Russia at the moment. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/winter-olympics/10590819/Winter-Olympics-2014-Sochi-under-siege-as-fear-and-suspicion-reign.html) Things are so bad, President Obama has even offered to station U.S. troops and warships in the Black Sea if things get out of hand. Russia is extremely unlikely to accept this offer, as our current diplomatic relationship is far from smooth. The last thing President Putin wants is for American troops, many of whom think less than highly of his regime, to interfere. It would make Russia look weak, and the nation already struggles to live up to its past. Hosting the games gave Russia an opportunity to prove its strength to the world, demonstrated through the massive security precautions present in and around Sochi. These precautions, however, have done nothing to discourage terrorist threats. So far, Russia has received threats involving the procession of the Olympic torch, and other nations (including our own) have been warned that their athletes are at risk. So, who are these terrorists? Some of the threats, which involve suicide bombings, seem to involve radical Muslims. After all, Sochi isn't terribly far from Chechnya, the militant-plagued Muslim area of the country that gained fame last year as the homeland of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon Bombings. It's entirely feasible that incensed radicals would be willing to give their lives to attack the Russian government, troops and people they hate so. Other possibilities exist for some of the other threats, although they seem less likely. Tension is mounting in Ukraine, about as far from Sochi as the Chechnya region is (although to the north rather than the southeast), where protests are mounting against the president's Russian-backed decision to keep the nation from developing ties with the European Union. And what about Georgia, whose northern border lies under fifteen miles from Sochi, who waged war with the Russians not six years ago? It's a stretch, but history has proven that stranger things have happened. At any rate, I won't be watching the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics  without expecting the worst to happen.