Terrorists Made in NYC
Thursday, August 16, 2007
According to a report released yesterday by the NYPD, the biggest terror threat to our city comes not from al Qaeda, but from our neighbors right here at home. Jack Riley, Associate Director of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment, and Acting Director of RAND Center on Quality Policing, and Richard Falkenrath, the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Counter Terrorism, help explain the details. Then Laila Al-Qatami, communications director for the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, responds to the report.
Comments [6]
As an American Muslim, I am not making additional comments on the substance of the NYPD report but the approach they used:
1) If the report was made available only to law enforcement officials is one thing but having it issued to the media would create a form of vigilante from members of the public who are not qualified to deal with related issues and may take inappropriate action on the basis of the report.
2) If issued to the public there should have been caveats and nuances added rather using a general language, like the one the NYPD representative talked about “radicalization permeated” the Muslim community. I believe this is irresponsible because this would result in a discriminatory attitude towrds innocent Muslims and further alienate them.
OK - I have heard this administration reiterate over and over again that we better stay in Iraq and fight the enemy over there, because if we don't, they'll follow us home. Now it turns out they're here anyway.
Here's my solution: The report indicates these radicals are hanging out not at mosques, but at book stores, right? So install at each and every bookstore a cash register that indicates time of purchase. Coordinate the time shown on the register with the time shown on the surveillance camera. So when at 12:31 PM the register shows the sale of fifty copies of a book on how to make pipe bombs, find the corresponding video footage and see who bought them. Either that or just continue to confiscate my sneakers and rifle through the trunk of my car.
As an American Muslim I am deeply hurt that this report casually denigrates my religion by saying we are 'permeated' with radicals. This is not true.
Chip S
Athens GA
It is hard to overstate how ridiculous your reporter sounds as he attacks your guest, Richard Falkenrath. He is speaking to an obvious expert who is dealing rationally with the facts on the ground.
Ask Falkenrath how he defines "permeated." It is not the same thing as "penetrated," and it means that such jihadist violence is everywhere. They might consider editing their report so that it is less inflammatory.
I am still reading through the report but have a question that may seem glaringly obvious to some, especially Americans who are Muslims or South Asian or Arab: how can this report on 'radicalization' of a certain group of youth in a certain geographic segment of America not even consider parallels with those groups which are also disenchanted with "government" institutions (e.g., Timothy McVeigh and his ilk), the resurgence of neo-Nazi movements, and in general, WHITE Americans who would intend to wreak havoc akin to "terrorism"? In other words, how can this report be considered comprehensive or even credible without considering non-Muslim populations where similar feelings and views (in a different frame) can incite others to the same kind of behavior? If this report is not a "framing" device of another sort, I don't know what is. Please withhold my name if this is read on-air, but I would really like this question to be used by today's host. Thank you.
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