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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Weakened security in de BlasioÂ’s Big Apple leaves the city vulnerable to terrorism Weakened security in de Blasio’s Big Apple leaves the city vulnerable to terrorism Posted by: Jon Dougherty January 8, 2015 By Jim Kouri and AR Staff Militant Islamic terrorists struck in the heart of the French Republic, the latest in a growing string of terrorist attacks on the West – now, what are we prepared to do about it? In the aftermath of the Islamic terrorist attack in Paris, France, on Wednesday — an attack that left 12 journalists and cops dead — cities throughout the world are increasing alert levels especially those in Western nations, according to a number of reports. However, the terrorists’ crown-jewel target, New York City, has become more and more vulnerable under the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio. For example, his dismantling of a special operations unit of police officers that conducted surveillance and investigations of the city’s and metropolitan area’s mosques has left the Big Apple arguably as vulnerable as it was on Sept. 10, 2001. The New York Police Department (NYPD) surveillance unit, that had gathered and analyzed intelligence on Muslim communities throughout the area, including mosques in New Jersey, wasn’t disbanded until de Blasio took power. During the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his tough-as-nails police commissioner, Ray Kelly, even after an enormous amount of political pressure from Muslim groups and left-wing organizations, such as the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the surveillance program continued. The NYPD’s anti-terrorism united known as the Zone Assessment Unit was created with the help of members of the federal intelligence community following the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks. The police commissioner at that time, veteran cop Bernard Kerik, was honest about its existence and its overall role in preventing another 9-11 attack by monitoring Muslim-owned business and mosques across the New York region. It was successful in uncovering a number of suspects including wealthy Muslims who were illegally transferring money to the coffers of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah and others. Unfortunately, it also was a favorite target protests and civil lawsuits. As a result of the firestorm created by the coalition formed by the ACLU, CAIR, most news organizations, and others, the NYPD and the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a statement in April 2014 that said: “The Zone Assessment Unit, previously referred to as the demographics unit, has been largely inactive since January. Recently, as part of an ongoing assessment of Intelligence Bureau operations, personnel assigned to the Zone Assessment Unit were reassigned to other duties within the Intelligence Bureau. Understanding certain local demographics can be a useful factor when assessing information regarding potential threats coming to the attention of the New York City Police Department, it has been determined that much of the same information previously gathered by the Zone Assessment Unit may be obtained through direct outreach by the NYPD to the communities concerned.” “Our administration has promised the people of New York a police force that keeps our city safe, but that is also respectful and fair. This reform is a critical step forward in easing tensions between the police and the communities they serve, so that our cops and our citizens can help one another go after the real bad guys,” Mayor de Blasio (not very popular with members of the NYPD) said in a statement at the time. “Just like the Obama administration, de Blasio believes that politically-correct, feel-good policies are more important than protecting American lives. In fact, Obama and de Blasio are more interested in the lives and the rights of illegal aliens than in preserving the sovereignty of the nation and the protection of U.S. citizens,” said former police lieutenant, Kiernan McDonald. “In fact, the Obama administration freely spies on American citizens and even targets them, but coddles lawbreakers and radical Islamists,” he added. Meanwhile, in France, another police officer – a female – was gunned down, allegedly by the two Yemeni brothers linked to al Qaeda who perpetrated the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday. French anti-terror police honed in on the suspects in an area northeast of France’s capital city later in the morning, after the brothers were spotted at a gas station. As reported by Reuters: "Two police sources said that the men were seen armed and wearing cagoules in a Renault Clio car at a petrol station on a secondary road in Villers-Cotterets some 70 kilometers from the French capital. "Amid French media reports the men had abandoned their car, Bruno Fortier, the mayor of neighboring Crépy-en-Valois, said helicopters were circling his town and police and anti-terrorism forces were deploying en masse. “It’s an incessant waltz of police cars and trucks,” he told Reuters, adding that he could not confirm reports the men were holed up in a house in the area. The attacks in Paris come just weeks after a deadly hostage incident in Sydney, Australia – again, involving a maniacal adherent to militant Islam. Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian troops killed in Afghanistan, who was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, took more than a dozen people hostage in a cafe. Sixteen hours and four deaths later (including Monis) the remaining hostages were freed by heavily-armed Australian SWAT police. What’s happening around the world is something that President Obama, de Blasio and others seem incapable of saying: The West and the civilized societies inherent to Western culture are under attack by militant Islam, and it’s not going to end anytime soon. No less than former CIA Director Michael Hayden, in fact, has said that the Paris attack demonstrates “the increased sophistication” of groups who use terrorism to advance their agenda. He also noted that the gunmen seemed “very comfortable in their own skin,” meaning, they were well-rehearsed and well-trained to carry out their attack. On NBC’s “Today” show, he called the assault “the high end of the new genre of attacks.” As CBS/DC reports: "Hayden adds that terrorist elements apparently are scaling back their plots, aiming more toward smaller targets and quick hits. Because of this, he says, “now what we have are drive-by shootings” and incidents like the SUV bombing plot against New York’s Times Square. He says larger-scale attacks aimed at causing mass casualties take longer to evolve and are more easily thwarted by law enforcement." What will it take to expose those who claim we must be tolerant and submissive to such threats? What will it take for potential Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton to call terrorism terrorism and stop asking the nation to empathize and sympathize with radical Islamic killers? What will it take for our own president to call terrorism terrorism? American cities very likely could be next – like de Blasio’s Big Apple. Maybe he could stop hating on cops there long enough to rebuild their trust and rebuild some lost security infrastructure. What are YOUR thoughts about the attacks in Paris, and elsewhere, by Islamic terrorists? What do YOU think countries should do in response to the growing threat? INFORM THE DEBATE below! Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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