The NYC Subway Threat Deconstructed

Lots of people are talking about the NYC Subway Threat that turned out to be based on an informant who lied about the whole thing. Did we know about the lies four days ago? Certainly not. On the basis of all the information available at the time, we had to consider the threat serious - and we were told of the time, place, and manner of the attack.

It was prudent to consider the increase in security as a reasonable precaution against the threat.

Did New York City do the right thing? Absolutely.

New York City has arguably the best large-city police department in the world, especially when it comes to their approach to Terrorism. The Big Apple has its own intelligence service, liaison officers as well as highly trained terrorism experts. The Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, a good man, has real power. He can actually tell people what to do without forming a committee or asking “mother may I” to twelve other politically motivated bureaucrats. Kelly can get things done.

When New York City got the word that they might be attacked by multiple suicide bombers, they did not hesitate. They went full throttle and called out the Terrorists. They went public, the city mobilized and they did all they could and then some.

What we have since learned is that the threat was known for at least nine days before the threat was made public and the CIA, FBI, DHS, and NYPD were all trying to sort things out. The NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg went public about six hours before the go-date stated by the informant came to pass.

That wont stop some folks, like Freddy Ferrer, from trying to make political hay out of the alert. Of course, most folks wouldn't let Freddy near the controls the last time he ran for Mayor, so acting like a petulent child and complaining about what Bloomberg did based on the best available information at the time is not going over well among the electorate either.