|
|
May 23, 2013
|
|
|
|
 What We Learned From Times SquarePosted on May 6, 2010By Joe Conason Within hours after the car bomb fizzled in Times Square, the nonstop noise resumed on Fox News and talk radio, warning that the Barack Obama administration is failing to protect us. Evidently, the president and his aides don’t say “terror” and “terrorism” sufficiently often to make it go away, according to the professional noisemakers. If you believe that kind of nonsense, then you are listening too much to the professional noisemakers and may have caused damage to your mental health. It is not surprising that the right-wing media are preoccupied with ideological clowning and cheap partisanship, even at a moment when hundreds of Americans just barely escaped peril. This vapid entertainment was captured perfectly in a Fox News video segment (which can be viewed on the Media Matters for America website). At the very moment Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson groused that government officials “refuse to say the word ‘terror,’ ” the electronic scroll directly beneath her image reported that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had indeed referred to the car bomb as “a potential terrorist attack.” Such semantic carping suggests that the right-wing talking heads cannot find—or even invent—a serious complaint about the Times Square incident. Perhaps that is because the response of government at all levels so far has been effective. The blocks surrounding the bomb were swiftly evacuated, and the bomb squad quickly disarmed the device. Then the suspected perp was apprehended within 48 hours, just as he seemed to have been attempting escape on a flight to Dubai. So whether government officials talk about terrorism—or use it to frighten the public, as George W. Bush administration officials so often did—seems to have little to do with whether they can adequately protect us. The real lessons from the latest attempted attack on New York are less political and more practical. The first line of defense is an alert citizenry, a message that New Yorkers absorbed years ago. The next is a highly trained police force that can respond instantly and effectively, while constantly evaluating, anticipating and monitoring potential threats. Advertisement What is now known as “intelligence-led policing” has become a model for the nation and the world. Yet this time, the car bomb came close to completing its murderous mission despite the vigilance of New York’s people and the skill and bravery of New York’s cops. The reason is quite simple: There is no foolproof way to stop every single terrorist attack, even in countries that permit far less freedom of movement and association than the United States. Many of the worst attacks have been carried out in authoritarian countries, such as Russia, where the state security forces do not hesitate to use intrusive and brutal methods. Still, New York’s experience in protecting itself against an enemy that conspires to kill its people every day is instructive. Rather than stigmatize Muslims through profiling, as various numskulls in Congress and on TV would recommend, the city has cultivated relationships with the mainstream Islamic community. Among the critical lessons that Kelly learned from Sept. 11 was the importance of language skills—so he and his deputies have recruited scores of officers who speak useful dialects of Arabic and Pashto, among others. Another key lesson was that the most likely terrorist recruits were young men who had withdrawn from the local mosques, which don’t promote jihadism. Unfortunately, learning from New York is scarcely on the minds of right-wing pundits, some of whom even seem disappointed when the terrorists fail. But that kind of nihilistic rage is too often what passes for patriotism in this country now. Joe Conason writes for The New York Observer (www.observer.com). © 2010 Creators.com  TAGS:
|
Benghazi: Dissecting Congressional Follies, Media Coverage and ‘Cover-Up’ Charges
Email 
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Newsletter 
Like Us
Follow Us
Get Our Feed
Tags|Bazaar|Podcast|About Us|Contact Us|User Agreement|Privacy Policy|FAQ: Comments and Moderation | Google+
© 2013 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.
By amunaor, May 16, 2010 at 2:23 pm Link to this comment
Who Should We Believe? : Faisal Shahzad, and the Gulf of Tonkin
Should we believe ‘intelligence officials’? ‘Western diplomats’? ‘A senior intelligence official’? ‘A senior military official’? Or ‘the official who would speak of the investigation only on condition of anonymity’?
…we can assume with confidence that military, economic, academic, and journalistic interests will promote a scenario of a Pakistani Taliban/Al Queda connection to the failed adventure in New York. And we can expect that all these interests will promote the idea that such attacks, perhaps successful next time, can occur anyplace in the United States. We must live in terror of the terrorists.
Finally, we can be sure that “the cure” for perpetual terrorism will not include economic development, a just and humane U.S. foreign policy, ending drone attacks on Pakistani citizens, and stopping the demonization of peoples of color, in this case, those who embrace the Muslim religion.
FULL STORY HERE:
http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/who-should-we-believe-faisal-shahzad.html
Harry Tarq is a professor in American Studies
Peace, Best Wishes and Hope
“Just look at that pile of dead bastards over there”
Report thisWikiLeaks—Collateral Murder
http://wikileaks.org/
By rico, suave, May 10, 2010 at 2:16 pm Link to this comment
Conason says: “Fox News and talk radio, warning that the Barack Obama administration is failing to protect us”
Well, what if the bomb had gone off? NOTHING that was done by the witnesses, the police or the feds was responsible for the bomb being a dud. What ultimately protected us from this catastrpohe was the incompetence, intended (for you conspiracy buffs) or otherwise of the perp. And as for his apprehension, more incompetence: He left a trail only Barney Fife could miss.
Then Conason says, “the city has cultivated relationships with the mainstream Islamic community.”
Why the Islamic community? What is so special about the Islamic community? Why does the city feel it needs to reach out to Muslims, as opposed to say, TEABAGGERS, or Jews, or Hispanics??? Could it be the city deep down inside feels that Islam is the proximate source of all this terror? Isn’t that profiling?
Report thisBy A Khokar, May 8, 2010 at 3:34 am Link to this comment
Time Square Bomber: A Third Dimension to His Act
There can be some three dimensions or sides to this incident. Or say to this plan of carnage in order to create a scene of havoc in place like Time square in New York:
1. A terrorist act as claimed by TTP (Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan- a CIA brain child). Reportedly they are boasting around that they planned and carried out this act to show that they even can target well inside in the heart of America.
2. The man has been radicalised. Any American citizen as Mr Shahzad is; when ever he/she visits a war zone like the one we have in Tribal area in Pakistan. It is but essential that after seeing the destruction and carnage being brought to the innocent people owing to the atrocious acts of USA by Drone attacks and other CIA covert subversive operation being carried out by TTP on the behest of CIA, inside Pakistan. It is likely to stir the conscious of any human being and that he may turn against USA and indulge in such sort of activities.
3. The Third dimension is the CIA Covert Operations that a man who fits all the grounds to be a covert. He was jobless; a common US citizen problem; no job, loss of house and meagre amount available to run the life, a desperate needy man; plus being a person from the area of war zone—-very befittingly, he is selected by CIA; which is not unusual and has been involved in this terrorist act of violence that he makes the most crude pathetic type of car bomb; a recipe from the “Anarchist Cook Book” that——where as it make a big news but does not explode.
Every action has got certain aims and in present date and time when US is fixed up in Afghanistan war and has planned to quit this war in humiliation as this war has become an winnable war. This leaves behind Pakistan; an ambitious and potent Islamic nuclear state in charge of this region. US as well as India may well be desirous to strengthen the prevalent perception that Pakistan remains prone to the Terrorist attacks and her nuclear weapons be taken away from Pakistan or at least kept under a special international vigilance body where practically Pakistan is seen defanged.
Report thisConsidering the arguments explained above the third dimension may be the most appropriate and befitting and we may discuss it out.
By DaveZx3, May 8, 2010 at 12:36 am Link to this comment
By amunaor, May 7 at 1:49 am #
“Among the questions raised by the apparently central role of US Special Forces in the arrest of Faisal Shahzad is this: To what extent are US Special Forces permitted to operate on US soil under President Obama?”
To any extent determined necessary by the Commander in Chief, once any situation is identified as a “national security” issue.
“Posse Comitatus” refers to lower level domestic law enforcement, not national security issues. If a US citizen flies his private airplane too close to the White House, you will see military jets scrambled, because it has been elevated to a national security issue.
Tactical national security falls under the Executive branch, with the authority to use the armed forces under the Department of Defense to counter the threat.
The nature of the Times Square “bomb” led authorities to elevate the threat quickly to the national security level. It is a safeguard, as it is impossible to know if these incidents are not a small part of a large attack, or just a local quack committing a crime. There is nothing devious in utilizing SEMA aircraft to quickly identify and locate targets when lives could be on the line.
I flew an early type of SEMA airborne mission while in Vietnam. The EC-47 was an airborne radio direction finding aircraft, which was instrumental in locating and tracking NVA and Viet Cong troop movement. Primitive compared to current GuardRail aircraft, but effective in their day.
It is good to remember that all of your little communication devices are virtually devoid of security. Anyone with any expertise can intercept anthing you send through a wireless or wired system, unless professionaly encrypted. But, all encryption does is slow them down a bit. Todays computers can break down almost any encryption system pretty quickly.
Report thisBy walldizo, May 7, 2010 at 2:43 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
If the Americans continue to play the newcons defenitions of terrorism,then nothing will be learned fron the Time Squre failed attempt.Obama should go beyond the apparant propagandist matterial to ask,” why such a person,who waited for so many years to get his citizenship,would expose his future to such danger”??.Without reaching this depth in seeking true answers,both americans and Muslims will pursue their fear and anticipation game.
Report thisBy toby, May 7, 2010 at 7:09 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
To win a point Dick Cheney is having 4 million copies of ‘Bomb making for Dummies’ distributed is Muslim countries.
Report thisBy maddy, May 7, 2010 at 5:21 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Perhaps another patsy used in another plot so Fox news, and Beck can use to pass on more fear and hate propaganda.
Report thisBy amunaor, May 6, 2010 at 9:49 pm Link to this comment
Were US Special Forces Involved in the Arrest of Faisal Shahzad?
by Jeremy Scahill
(synopsis)
Reports are emerging suggesting that secret US military intelligence aircraft were used to find and locate Faisal Shahzad…
...A US Special Operations Force source told me that the planes were likely RC-12s equipped with a Guardrail Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) system that, as the plane flies overland “sucks up” digital and electronic communications. “Think of them as manned drones. They’re drones, but they have men sitting in them piloting them and they can be networked together,” said the source. “You have many of them—four, five, six of them—and they all act as a node and they scrape up everything, anything that’s electronic and feed it back.” The source added: “It sucks up everything. We’ve got these things in Jalalabad [Afghanistan]. We routinely fly these things over Khandahar. When I say everything, I mean BlueTooth would be effected, even the wave length that PlayStation controllers are on. They suck up everything. That’s the point.”...
... parts of the domestic counter-terrorism operations that they had set up during the Bush administration were reactivated,” says the Special Forces source. “They’re compartmentalized. So they kicked into high gear and were supporting law enforcement. In some cases, law enforcement may not have even known that some of the signals intelligence was coming from covert military units.”...
... “They sidestep Posse Comitatus,” said the source…
... Among the questions raised by the apparently central role of US Special Forces in the arrest of Faisal Shahzad is this: To what extent are US Special Forces permitted to operate on US soil under President Obama?
Also, Why did CBS scrub the initial mention of the involvement of Army Intelligence aircraft from its story?...
FULL STORY:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/05-7
***
This makes the lame joke that fell from our Presidents mouth; about predator-drones taking out any unqualified dates in pursuit of his daughters; even less palatable than they already were!
Peace, Best Wishes and Hope
“Just look at that pile of dead bastards over there”
Report thisWikiLeaks—Collateral Murder
http://wikileaks.org/
By Steel Toe, May 6, 2010 at 8:57 pm Link to this comment
I learned that a black suit has 6 buttons while a gray suit has 4.
Report thisBy anaman51, May 6, 2010 at 4:13 pm Link to this comment
Let’s see…9/11, something about not protecting us…it’ll come to me in a minute. Oh, yeah! That moronic little wart George W. Bush was in charge during that fiasco, wasn’t he? Where’s his share of the blame for this? If you’re going to blame Obama, you also have to blame Bush. “Bring it on,” I believe, was the idiotic phrase he uttered.
Here’s another, as good in our time as it was when it was coined: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Had it not been for the vigilance of a single intrepid citizen in Times Square,....
Report thisBy unfazed, May 6, 2010 at 2:35 pm Link to this comment
none of this event adds up
Report thisBy opensesame, May 6, 2010 at 2:26 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
This whole event is totally fishy. What a snoozer.
Report thisBy amunaor, May 6, 2010 at 1:33 pm Link to this comment
RE: Joe Conason—Many of the worst attacks have been carried out in authoritarian countries, such as Russia, where the state security forces do not hesitate to use intrusive and brutal methods.
***
You are absolutely right Joe!
“Just look at that pile of dead bastards over there”
WikiLeaks—Collateral Murder
http://wikileaks.org/
Peace, Best Wishes and Hope
Report thisBy marie, May 6, 2010 at 11:32 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
regarding fox’s contention that security is more lax now than with Bush ....9/11 happened under Bush. If there had been a terrorist attack nine months after Obama took over, can you imagine what they’d say? I realize this is a pissing contest because they argue it was Clinton’s fault. I will be gratified when the new silent majority (clue: it’s not members of the tea party) re-elects Pres. Obama by a large majority.
Report thisBy minutemenmedia, May 6, 2010 at 10:50 am Link to this comment
It’s the CIA, or the Mossad (perhaps both) feeding another low-cost, high-impact “lone-wolf” to a rabid corporate media.
Report thisBy DaveZx3, May 6, 2010 at 10:45 am Link to this comment
“Dry Run” is a distinct possibility. On the other hand, why not spend $100 bucks on a couple of junk clocks, bad fertilizer and amateur firecrackers, and still bring a nation to its knees, just to say you did it?
The terrorists must have a real sense of humor, I think. Maybe they wager on what our respnse will be to their latest “attacks.”
The “shoe bomber” made us take off our shoes at airports. The “underwear bomber” made us bring in full body scans. What will we call this guy, and what will be the response? All three doing no damage at all, except to make us spend money we don’t have in countering their ineffective attacks.
If the goal is to create fear and to bankrupt the country, it is working great, even without a bomb going off.
As easy as it is to get into this country, and as easy as it is to drive around looking respectable with a “real bomb” in a suitcase, it is a wonder to me how more damage has not been done, if damage is indeed the goal.
This Times Square scenario has proven that it is very easy to inflict massive damage and death, if that is the goal. And apparently, the authorities can do little to stop it, though Conason erroneously goes overboard in praising them for foiling this plot.
If these attempts are just incompetence, it will not last forever. Even idiots learn from their mistakes.
Report thisIf not incompetence, then what could it be, really?
By 8th Degree, May 6, 2010 at 10:26 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Join The Private Attorney General Network
Take the time to listen to the calls hear whats going on within our court system
http://privateattorneygeneral.spruz.com/?display=E6D836BF-CA7D-4133-917F-24A29EA250FB&save=html
Eric Holder in the no truth zone or just in a nation of cowards
Shep Smith calls Eric Holder a lying sack of…uhhh…untruthfulness
“Seems to be the norm for Eric Holder “
Holder had stated that the alert bystander “helped save lives, and thwarted a potentially devastating attack,” to which Smith replied: “this bomb was not thwarted – this bomb failed.”
Obama administration says Emirates Airlines Dropped the Ball; 9/11 Commission Vice-Chair Says U.S. Govt Is Dropping the Ball
“One statement so catch your notice”
Emirates Airlines provided its locked-in passenger manifest to the Customs and Border Protection agency. The plane at that point can leave. But a CBP official caught Shahzad’s name on the manifest and the plane never left the gate.
“Seems Eric Holder not the only one to lie. If you watched the news of late played recording between the tower & the acft.”
“It was taxing & they gave directions back to the gate.”
Eric Holder Lies: UAE Notifies US of Shahzad on Flight?
I listened as Attorney General Eric Holder gave a press conference on the arrest of the Times Square car bomber wanna-be, not long after midnight Tuesday. He said Faisal Shahzad was apprehended in the airport, trying to get aboard a flight out of the country.
“Shahzad was actually aboard a United Emirates flight bound for Dubai, and the flight had already taxied, but returned to the gate”
Do we really think Holder did not know Shahzad had made it onto the flight and the flight had taxied?
Text of Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement on Times Square bomb suspect
Mr. Shahzad, an American citizen, was taken into custody at JFK Airport in New York as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai.
“One should be asking how he got on a flight in the first place being on the no fly list”.
United Arab Emirates Airlines called U.S. authorities and told them Shahzad had just purchased a one-way ticket with cash. CBS News is verifying this report. If the flight had taxied, it is apparent that we almost didn’t get to Shahzad before the flight left the runway. There is no doubt the flight would have been called back, but the coverup of this administration is disgraceful.
NEW YORK (AP) — A Pakistani man accused of driving a bomb-laden SUV into Times Square and parking it on a street lined with restaurants and bustling Broadway theaters was to appear in federal court Tuesday to face formal charges for his failed attempt to set off a massive fireball and kill Americans, U.S. authorities said.
Report thisThe suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was taken into custody late Monday by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives while trying to leave the country, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials. He was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding a flight to Dubai, Holder said early Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing
Just what is the Description of Terrorism, Mr Holder
“Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that investigators have some good leads in addition to the videotape of the man. Holder said in remarks to reporters that it is too early to say whether the incident was of foreign or domestic origin or to designate it as terrorism.”
By minutemenmedia, May 6, 2010 at 9:51 am Link to this comment
I learned that even though the fertilizer in the car was tested, and did NOT contain Ammonium Nitrate, ABC went ahead and put the text “Ammonium Nitrate” on the screen when Diane Sawyer did her street-level feature, describing the potential “kill zone” of the fake bomb.
Report thisI learned that at least initially, nobody took credit for the botched attack, then SITE (a website run by a woman whose father worked for the Israeli Mossad, and a website that gets $500K each year from the US State Department) was the ONLY site that posted anything regarding a claim of responsiblity, and why they have such exclusive access to the Pakistani Al Queada is still a mystery to me.
I learned that fear sells, fear works, and it’s cheaper than ever to generate for TV.
By NYCartist, May 6, 2010 at 9:32 am Link to this comment
We learn that street artists and vendors are better than surveillance cameras.
Report thisBy William W. Wexler, May 6, 2010 at 8:57 am Link to this comment
Three points of view from balkas, skulz fontaine, Anarcissie, all addressing different issues and all 100% correct.
I was going to post something along the line of what skulz fontaine posted. Since s/he did such a nice job, I will just add that I have been suspicious of this from the beginning. I think the “dry run” theory has a lot of merit, so NY, stay frosty.
-Wexler
Report thisBy Anarcissie, May 6, 2010 at 8:16 am Link to this comment
One of the funny things that resulted from the Times Square attempted bombing was that they pumped up Giuliani and trotted him around to various television talk shows. Giuliani knows nothing about terrorism, behaved badly when in charge on 9/11 and afterwards, and here’s the most acute irony, did what he could to harass and get rid of the sidewalk vendors. (The person who noticed the smoking bomb car was a sidewalk vendor.) Fortunately, the cops do know how to deal with these things—here in New York City, they get a lot of practice.
Apparently Fox News has to squawk about something, but they can’t squawk about the prevailing stupidity (e.g. Giuliani) because they’re part of it.
Report thisBy skulz fontaine, May 6, 2010 at 7:57 am Link to this comment
“Fox anchor Wretching Carlson groused…” bitched, moaned, complained,
Report thisgriped, sniped, that no one was blown bloody. No blood no video. How can
Faux have decent coverage without the violent video? They can’t.
Fumbling Faisal Shahzad is a sorry excuse for a terrorist. Seems more than
likely that our pal Faisal was a “test run” for someone else. Mere conjecture on
my part and I can admit that. However, seems the US military was tracking
Faisal using one of those nifty “drones” and monitoring his cell phone use.
Suspicious? Seems the probing run of Faisal gave up some “details” that had
been overlooked and remained up to the Times Square moment, shrouded in
classified.
Wretching Carlson is an empty talking head. Faux is infotainment at it’s worst.
There is something not quite right about the entire Times Square incident.
Faisal Shahzad as a “terrorist?” Faisal is a clown and not a very good one at
that. Dumbass seems quite content to spend the remainder of his existence in
a federal prison. That is where buddy Faisal is headed. Thanks to NYPD and the
mysterious support of US military. Seriously. Now, why wasn’t NYPD and
Manhattan detectives given the chance to crack 9/11/01? There is just
something real stinky about all this. Oh yeah.
By balkas, May 6, 2010 at 6:38 am Link to this comment
I do not agree that we shld dichotomize killing people into terroristic and non-terroristic killings.
And then one cld tally the killings of muslims by US and muslim killings of americans.
Report thisBut this goes against conason’s wishes; thus, the omission of this fact.
Of all the killings involving muslims and americans, american deaths comprise 000001%. Both the terrorists and non-terrorists know this. Conason does not????