‘Unverified’ Terror Threat Prompts NYPD Caution
EmailDespite its apparent unreliability, an Internet report of a possible terrorist attack on New York City published by a private, Israel-based counterterrorism Web site has prompted police to increase deployment of sensors around Manhattan, officials said Friday night. New York Deputy Police Commissioner Paul J. Browne stressed that the threat was "unverified" and that the department’s increased vigilance was "strictly precautionary." The FBI and DHS confirmed they have "no credible information" of a specific, imminent threat to New York City, although they cautioned that "al Qaeda remains intent on attacking the West, especially the United States." A DHS official said this latest report was believed to be part of an al Qaeda propaganda campaign, and he expected to see more of such reports in the days approaching the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The alleged al Qaeda threats were reported on the DEBKAFile Web site Friday, which the NYPD characterized as "often unreliable." Based on "a rush of electronic chatter on al Qaeda sites," the site reported an alleged al Qaeda threat naming New York, Miami and Los Angeles as potential targets of an attack. One alleged al Qaeda Internet post noted by DEBKAFile said attacks would be carried out "by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material" in "America’s biggest city and financial nerve center." The likelihood of an actual imminent threat is slim to none, multiple intelligence sources say. Nonetheless, New York counterterror and emergency services increased their presence on Manhattan streets. The resulting calls from media, a spike in police scanner traffic and the rapid spread of rumors prompted the police to issue a statement. The NYPD announced it had "increased deployment of radiological sensors" on police cars, boats, helicopters and personnel, and set up vehicle checkpoints around the city. There have been no reports of increased police measures in Miami or Los Angeles.
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Terrorist threats are true. But it was difficult to reach certain websites in the USA yesterday.
Benny
Posted by: Benny | August 11, 2007, 5:10 am 5:10 am
No more terror, we must fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!
stop terrorist!!!!
Posted by: Rafael | August 11, 2007, 8:43 am 8:43 am
We are now relying on Israeli websites? Another example of scare tactics by the Bush regime.
Posted by: impeachbush999 | August 11, 2007, 8:53 am 8:53 am
Whatever happened to the time when things like this were in fact investigated by reporters before it was placed into the news.
Posted by: dra | August 11, 2007, 9:36 am 9:36 am
There are alot of independent anti-terrorist organizations and/or experts, who obtained similar information.
Benny
Posted by: Benny | August 11, 2007, 11:20 am 11:20 am
Steven Levitt of the New York Times has been soliting ideas on how to terrorize America, He suggested bands of Terrorist with weapons just shooting American in different cities, So maybe this is just another hot idea by the New York Times to up their readership. A bunch of True Americans at the NYT, HUH? No word from ABC on what they think of their buddies at the NYT
Posted by: Steve | August 11, 2007, 11:24 am 11:24 am
Come on folks. DEBKAFile is the Isreali version of Drudge. They get a few stories right, once in awhile, the rest is just loonie ranting.
Posted by: WDRussell | August 11, 2007, 11:45 am 11:45 am
I’ve read DebkaFile for years and though they have not been 100% accurate, they’ve been right a lot more than they’ve been wrong and they have extensive connections whose accuracy is usually as right or wrong as the information the security services have assembled and/or disseminated. As for whether Mr. Esposito investigated this story, how much more obvious could that be? He’s not saying DebkaFile is accurate, he’s reporting on the fact that the NYPD is taking the report seriously – that’s the story. And to the hate-Bush-first crowd, take a stroll down to Ground Zero, be thankful for your life and your freedoms, and remember who our enemy really is. Hint: It’s not President Bush.
Posted by: monte4amy | August 11, 2007, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
IMHO the Israeli Mossad is the best in the world, they’ve had years of practice. Don’t be too hasty to dismiss what’s found on that Israeli website. I read that article on Thursday afternoon, emailed it around in fact. Then Friday night at 11 pm it’s breaking news on CNN?? Good thing nothing happened in those 28 hours, or people would be saying why isn’t someone monitoring the Israeli websites.
Posted by: gymgal | August 11, 2007, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
I HOPE YOU ALL KNOW THAT TERE IS NO THREAT, IT’S ALLL MADE UP TO JUSTITY THE IRAQ WAR. SO RELAX, IF THEY WERE GOING TO ATTACK, THEY WOULD OF A LONG TIME AGO
Posted by: MOJO | August 11, 2007, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
To Mojo – hey! remember they did! in 1993 and 2001.
Posted by: Diane | August 11, 2007, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
Start your calendars everyone, and be sure to put a checkmark in the corner every time between now and election day when a “possible threat” occurs. Threats are worth 10 times the political capita between now and next November.
Posted by: Justin | August 11, 2007, 4:19 pm 4:19 pm
It is funny how no article notes that this DEBEKA news rag is the Isreali equivilant to Fox News in America. Please note also that it is the ONLY rag that reported this “no credible evidence”, and yet, we put resourses behind it, just like the block cheese and the broken freeze packs. Have the terrorists won? Are we afraid now of our own shadow? Americans…we need to back off and think rationally.
Posted by: Zanubiyah Ahmed | August 11, 2007, 7:19 pm 7:19 pm
The Bible says, the wicked runneth when no man pursueth. ‘Increased vigilance’ is just a term for ‘guilt-ridden paranoia’. If America wants to sleep peacefully at night, it should start by removing its soldiers from other peoples’ countries.
Posted by: Amusis | August 12, 2007, 12:07 am 12:07 am
Yeah, too bad the headline for that one didn’t read “Vermont Sharp solid object found in airline baggage. Quick thinking/ hungry appetite foiled possible terrorist threat.” lol
Posted by: Justin | August 12, 2007, 12:55 am 12:55 am
No one believed us even before 9-11. But it’s high terror alert during this period of time between August 2007 – February 2008. US-cities like New York and Washington DC might need to impose temporary curfew sometimes in order to capture the terrorist.
Benny
Posted by: Benny | August 12, 2007, 6:31 am 6:31 am
A temporary curfew is ridiculous, Benny; anyway, how would imposing a curfew “capture a terrorist”?
Posted by: Jazz | August 12, 2007, 7:57 am 7:57 am
The world is being deceived by a western intelligence agency (Mossad, MI5, or CIA). ABCNEWS keeps reporting unverified threats that are leaked to them through intelligence contacts. Note that nobody in the public can find these ‘terror websites’. Why is that? What are the adresses of the websites? The fact is, they probably don’t exist in the first place.
The way you control a population is by scaring them with propaganda that they can’t possibly verify. This is EXACTLY how the lead-up to the Iraq war went. Unverified ‘intelligence’ was leaked to the press on a consistently accelerated basis, and at a certain point the public ‘fear factor’ allowed the President to begin the war. What worries me is that one of these intelligence agencies may be staffed by a compartmentalized group that thinks it would be OK to stage a terror attack themselves in order to sway public opinion. The secrecy apparatus available to the intelligence agencies allows them to do things without fear of ever getting caught. The US media needs to question everything and VERIFY the information they report.
Posted by: Watcher | August 13, 2007, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
Watcher, try googling “terrorist websites”; that’s a start…
Posted by: Ozzy Ozbent | August 14, 2007, 2:25 pm 2:25 pm
First of all, Debka is not an ‘unreliable’ news source. It receives lots of information that is not reported on mainstream media. Frankly MM have gigantic holes in their reporting. There are few legitimate journalists that have not yet been bought off that are able to give truthful assessments of what is going on. One need only to take up searching news agencies other than (ABC, CNN, FNC, and all related to these) the ‘mainstream’ to find out what is really going on in our world. We are on the brink of a WW in the middle east and the american people are nonethewiser due specifically to the negligence and incompetency of MM to report. Look up the information for yourself America… why after 9-11 would our govt. & media go to the length it goes to avoid reporting terrorists, plots, and the like is beyond me…
Posted by: Jeremiah2911 | August 16, 2007, 2:08 am 2:08 am
The surest way to get a population to accept any abuse is keep them in a state of cognitive dissonance That is to keep them where they shut down the information that is being given and accept the most plausible concept that fits their belief.The best way to force a person to accept your concept of what is right or wrong is to bombard them with your version of the truth.This forces their mind to release their original concept and accept what must be the truth whether it is true or not just to stop the confusion in their mind.
Posted by: claude westervelt | August 16, 2007, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
The headline link to this story is “NYC Racked by ‘Unverified’ Terror Threat”…what a bunch of baloney…I live in NYC, and I do not know ONE person, or heard ONE city official who was “racked”…lol Oh my God, oh my God! I’m FREAKING OUT!! There’s terrorists in Brooklyn…oh no…gotta move to Des Moines! ABC, which one of you came up with THAT headline?!
Posted by: Jazz | August 17, 2007, 10:39 am 10:39 am
Is it ever going to go back to the way it used to be? Where I could wake up without feeling afraid. Oppression breeds contempt. Contempt breeds retaliation. Retaliation breed terrorisim. Terrorism breeds oppression. Do we always have to have a war? I’m not even sure which way the pendulum is swinging any more? Glastost. Berlin Wall falls down. We can do better than this. WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS.
Posted by: Lori | August 19, 2007, 6:11 am 6:11 am
No disrespect, Lori, but if you wake up everyday “feeling afraid”, you need to go seek professional help.
There are a few things that MAY curb terrorism in the future: resolve the Israeli/Palestinian situation, and cease the global dependence on petroleum…
Posted by: Jazz | August 21, 2007, 2:44 pm 2:44 pm