New York's police commissioner has 1,200 staff members devoted to counterterrorism, at home and abroad.
By JUDITH MILLER
A specter has haunted the New York Police Department during this week's torrent of 10th anniversary commemorations of 9/11--the 13 terrorist plots against the city in the past decade that have failed or been thwarted thanks partly to NYPD counterterrorism efforts.
| Those are the ones we've heard about, anyway. No doubt there are others. |
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and his 50,000-strong department know that the 9/11 gatherings are an occasion not only to reflect on that terrible day. They're also a prime target for al Qaeda and other Islamist extremists who long to convince the world, and perhaps themselves, that they're still capable of killing in the name of their perverse interpretation of Islam.
Commissioner Kelly allocates some $330 million of his $4.6 billion annual budget and 1,200 of his staff to counterterrorism. He and his staff, not surprisingly, spent the week bolstering security at the remembrance gatherings throughout the city. On Wednesday, he came to the Manhattan Institute to tout the NYPD's counterterrorism record and defend his department against press allegations that his intelligence division has been spying illegally on Muslims and infringing on their privacy and civil rights.
| Like Israel, New York City gets far more than its fair share of jihadi attention. And, like Israel, they handle it. Much more at the link. |
|