While Mayor Bloomberg says theres no specific threat against the Big Apple after the death of Osama bin Laden, the NYPD was taking no chances. Bomb-sniffing dogs and officers carrying automatic rifles were patrolling transit hubs across the city.
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has no choice but to take a more pragmatic approach.
We are certainly not taking any chances. Our assumption is that bin Ladens disciples would like nothing better than to avenge his death, he said.
Obviously on top of the priority list is the possibility of a dirty bomb or, God forbid, a full-blown nuclear event, he said.
U.S. counterterrorism officials were said to be monitoring internet chatter from a stunned al Qaeda network. An intelligence source told CBS News that law enforcement officials were concerned terror operatives may be directed to come to the us to carry out a plot, or that a so-called lone wolf with no official terrorist group affiliation may carry out an attack without direction against the sheer number of available targets in our region, from train terminals, to tunnels, bridges, and our water supply, just to avenge bin Ladens death.
And the problem is we dont know who these people are. We dont know where they are and we dont know when theyre going to strike us, said security expert Bob Strang.
He pointed out a place like Grand Central Terminal, one of several possible targets under the watchful eye of the NYPD. Other targets include the tunnels underwater, the bridges spanning across and the train system underground. Also, there are symbols like the Statue of Liberty, or even our water supply.
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One Response
Eh, I was on a subway in NYC today. Big bluff. No security at all. Just one policeman here and another there.
They need to put every passenger through a metal detector at the subway station entrance.
Hashem should watch over us.