U.S. security officials on Friday announced that federal, state and local law enforcement are prepared following a warning from European Union officials and from Interpol that there might be a possible terrorist attack against the United States or Europe during the Christmas holiday.
President Obama's counter-terrorism czar, John Brennan, claims adequate security measures have been initiated or enhanced, although the White House hasn't yet released any details. Security in New York and Washington, DC, subway stations was stepped up Friday with random searches of some passengers' bags. (This writer's cousin is one of the NYPD officers involved in subway security operations.)
Fox News Channel's national security correspondent, Catherine Herridge, reported Friday that insurgents captured recently in Baghdad told interrogators that suicide bombers are likely to target the United States, United Kingdom, or other European countries.
Interpol issued an all-points-bulletin this week that told its more than 180 member nations that it "received information... from the Interpol office in Baghdad about possible threats, especially in the U.S. and Europe, due to orders given to al-Qaeda cells by al-Qaeda commanders.”
According to a report obtained by the Terrorism Committee of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, Interpol knew about the suicide bombing in Stockholm last weekend prior to the blast.
During the attack, a suspected al Qaeda attacker detonated a car bomb then killed himself in a separate explosion. Thankfully there were no deaths and only two people sustained injuries.
Swedish police identified the attacker as Iraqi-born Taimour Abdulwahab al Abdaly, who allegedly was trained by an al-Qaeda cell in the Britain. Warnings about further possible attacks also came from Iraqi government officials.
A member of the NYPD's detective bureau told this writer that a possible terrorist target would be a large public venue with large crowds of people in metropolitan areas. Among the holiday security measures is wider use of bomb-sniffing dogs in transit systems, airports, shopping malls and other public places.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority duplicates New York police measures such as asking transit riders to open their bags, backpacks and briefcases for inspection.
Police commanders believe that holidays and special events are prime times for terrorist attacks.
In addition to the New York City Police Department, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department, and others, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to state and local law enforcement agencies that said:
“Terrorists may seek to exploit the likely significant psychological impact of an attack targeting mass gatherings in large metropolitan areas during the 2010 holiday season which has symbolic importance to many in the United States. We continue to assess, however, the timing of a terrorist attack depends more on terrorists’ readiness to execute an attack rather than a desire to attack on a specific date.”
Last year, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a/k/a the underwear bomber, tried and failed to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day. The suspect was subdued and held for police by his fellow passengers.
Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a columnist for Examiner.com and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
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