Mayor Bloomberg today vigorously defended the NYPD’s monitoring of Muslim communities outside the city by pointing out that “an awful lot” of the 9/11 terrorists lived, trained and planned their attacks in New Jersey.
“The 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers often traveled to and from New Jersey and Muhammed Atta, the ringleader of the attacks, often met with others in Newark to coordinate and plan the attacks, including which flights to hijack,” said the mayor, defiantly pushing back against critics.
“There’s a reason to take a look at Newark here. It would just be naive to think we just stop following threats when they got to the border. And the courts say you can follow them.”
Newark Mayor Cory Booker — a friend and political ally of Bloomberg’s — has demanded an investigation of the NYPD’s activities, saying he was never notified of the cross-border incursions, which took place in 2006 and 2007.
Bloomberg countered that Newark cops were briefed in advance, even if Booker himself wasn’t.
Bloomberg suggested that the city’s residents should be thanking, not criticizing, the NYPD.
“Keep in kind, the people of Newark, New Jersey are protected as well,” the mayor said on his weekly WOR radio program. “The NYPD is trying to stop terrorism in the entire region. If we knew of a threat in Newark we wouldn’t say, `Oh, that’s yours, you worry about it.’ Quite the contrary.”
In one of his most ardent defenses of the NYPD’s anti-terrorism tactics, Bloomberg vowed that the department would not be cowed by criticism that it had overstepped its bounds.
“Everything the New York City Police Department has done is legal. It is appropriate. It is constitutional. They are permitted to travel beyond the borders of New York City to investigate cases. They can look at websites. They can watch television to detect unlawful activities or where there might be unlawful activities to get leads,” the mayor said.
“We’re going to continue to take all possible legal steps to keep this city safe…It is my highest obligation to the people of this city and I intend to honor that obligation.”
The mayor hinted strongly that the monitoring tactics are continuing.
“Let me be careful how I phrase it,” he said. We have not let down our guard.”