There are new concerns today that Iran may be plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil and that New York City could be the number one target, according to an NYPD terrorism expert.
The latest alert comes from NYPD’s director of intelligence analysis Mitchell Silber in an editorial appearing in today’s Wall Street Journal. It also comes on the heels of three coordinated bombings in the last two days in India, the nation of Georgia and Thailand — all thought to be connected to Iranian terrorists.
This month, heavily armed police and bomb sniffing dogs have been posted outside the Israeli consulate on Manhattan’s east side.
Government buildings have been placed on high alert and so have Jewish synagogues and community centers.
In the article, Silber says “the NYPD must assume that New York City could be targeted by Iran or Hezbollah. Indeed, as the west’s conflict with Iran over its nuclear program continues to heat up, New York City, especially with its large Jewish population, becomes an increasingly attractive target.”
The article cites a number of foiled plots as evidence that Iranian terrorists have targeted New York City in the past and likely will in the future, including three separate occasions between 2002 and 2004 when suspected agents were caught conducting surveillance on city landmarks and on subways.
“Unfortunately, the Iranians don’t like Israel and they don’t like the United States, so we become right at the top of their list in terms of targets,” said security expert Bob Strang. “They’re capable of actually committing a crime here whether it be murder, whether it be activating some type of terrorist attack.”
But while the warning is new, Silber says the threat is not.
(Source: 1010WINS)
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2 Responses
So, as Jews, we have to be concerned NOT ONLY about the possibility of a terror attack itself happening here, but ALSO about the real possibility of an anti-Semitic backlash because “New York City… with its large Jewish population, becomes an increasingly attractive target.”
BTW… What will it take for our yeshivas and shuls to wake up to the reality that they need armed security?!?
I think this speculation is a bit pre-mature. Until Iran actually has a nuclear bomb ready to go, I doubt they’ll go “big” and attack US soil, which would incur a massive a swift response. They’re more like in the meantime to attack diplomats’ wives in far away places like Thailand.
This, of course, is all the more reason why we need to stop Iran from getting a bomb. Once they have it, they will be emboldened to make an attack exactly like this article speculates, As Iran would assume the US would be measured in her response so as to not, C’vS, encourage Iran to use that bomb.