As has been in the news seemingly everyday since it happened, on May 1st, a Pakistani-born American citizen drove an SUV with an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) into Times Square and attempted to detonate the car.
As this article from The Economist details, the NYPD has increased the number of detectives on its joint task-force with the FBI from 17 to 120, has hired a former senior CIA official to head its counter-terrorism branch, has posted detectives internationally, and has hired native speakers of Arabic, Dari, Persian, Urdu, Pushtun, and Bengali, all in an effort to keep the city as secure as possible. Additionally, according to the article, New York City has been the target of approximately 11 unsuccessful attacks since 2001, including attempts to demolish the Brooklyn Bridge and numerous attacks on Times Square, all which have been stopped.
Even with the billions of dollars spent on counter-terrorism in New York since 2001, on May 1st, the true counter-terrorist fighters were.............street vendors. While NYPD ultimately coordinated the evacuation of Times Square, it was the "I <3 NY" t-shirt, roasted nuts, and hotdog vendors, that first noticed the smoking car and reported it to authorities.
The article also mentions a disturbing trend that has taken place recently, with "home-grown" American citizens turning against the country that raised or welcomed them. From Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-born American citizen, to Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for attempting to blowup a New York subway, to the Muslim army major who killed 12 people in Fort Hood, Texas, one-third of all those charged as terror suspects have been American citizens.
While the work NYPD has done since 2001 is commendable, this new home-grown trend makes the street vendors that line the sidewalks of New York just as important in the war on terror as the detectives and former CIA officials that work inside its buildings.
