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NYC mayor defends publicizing threat
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-08 08:46 The memo, issued Wednesday to state and local officials, said that homeland
security and FBI agents doubted the credibility of the information, but it
provided four pages of advice about averting a possible attack, including tips
on inspecting baby carriages with bomb-sniffing dogs.
In Iraq, meanwhile, authorities seized a third suspect Friday and
investigated whether a fourth man had traveled to New York as part of the plot,
according to the law enforcement official.
The official said the man's trip to New York was described by an informant
who had spent time in Afghanistan and proved reliable in past investigations.
But the official added that authorities had not confirmed whether the fourth man
even exists.
Bloomberg called it the most specific terrorist threat that New York
officials had received to date and said it was essential to err on the side of
caution when protecting the city of 8 million.
A New York City police officer searches the
bag of a subway passenger in New York City October 6, 2005. A news
conference was called earlier in the evening to address a terrorist threat
involving the New York City subways.
[Reuters] | Bloomberg took office months after the Sept. 11 attacks and is seeking
another four-year term in next month's election.
Rep. Peter King said it was wrong for federal homeland security officials to
try to discount the security concerns of New York officials.
"That sends a mixed message which confuses the people, and besides that,
they're wrong," he said. "Even if there was some doubt as to what the right
thing to do is, you shouldn't be having public disputes over that."
US President Bush, asked if he thought New York officials had overreacted,
said: "I think they took the information we gave and made the judgments they
thought were necessary."
The dispute played out as new details emerged about the alleged plotters.
U.S. forces in Iraq arrested two suspected plotters who had been under close
surveillance until Thursday morning, the law enforcement official in New York
said. A third suspect escaped but was captured Friday.
Those arrested had received explosives training in Afghanistan, the law
enforcement official said. They had planned to travel through Syria to New York,
then meet with operatives to carry out the bombings, according to the official.
The official said that the threat was "specific to place," and that the window
for the attack ran from Friday through at least the weekend.
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