no need to carry anymore...

[joffe]

This comes down to the government using a hammer to pound at someone hiding in a crack - all they're hitting is the crack and the people around it. They aren't scaring terrorists by doing this, the terrorists (if they even still exist in NY) are holed up in apartments, run-down shacks, preparing whatever means they intend to use, and with the methods terrorists use a bunch of idiots standing around a building with rifles isn't going to help anyone.

The only people they are scaring are the common folk. Until, a few years later, everyone is so used to cops running around equipped like soldiers they don't even react. Tin foil hat or not, that's not the way it's supposed to be.

 

[jerkface11]

If you see a group of heavily armed men in plain clothes get out of an unmarked car. Call 911 on them. The article says NYC has 51000 people working for their police department so the chances of their right hand knowing what their left hand is doing are VERY slight. The chaos that would result from such a 911 call would most likely cause them to rethink these "drills".

 

[B yond]

Since these guys are responding to nothing in full battle dress with a bunch of gear they're probably not going to need, does that make them mall ninjas?

No personal offense intended to these guys, I'm sure they're well-trained and mean well (I hope), but this display of force seems unnecessary.

Wouldn't we all be just as safe (and a lot less terrorized) if they were hanging out in plainclothes with pistol caliber SMGs under their jackets. It seems like they'd have a better chance of actually stopping an attack that way. Being highly visible only moves the attack (if any) to a different location or time.

How could these guys stop an explosion or an airplane anyway (aren't those the only successful 'terrorist' attacks in NY)? I don't think we have trauma plates rated for 747 jets or fertilizer bombs. If we do, these guys should have two of them duct-taped to their backs and be wearing ninja boots so they can run up the side of a skyscraper to deflect a plane.

 

[Conqueror]

"We are in the business of scaring people--we just want to scare the right people."

Seems to me your odds of scaring a terrorist by showing up at a random location loaded for bear is a HELL OF A LOT LOWER than your chance of scaring a bunch of innocent civilians.

Of course (Tinfoil Hat - ENGAGE!) maybe the civilians are the "right people" he's talking about scaring into submission. (Tinfoil Hat - DISENGAGE!)

 

[doc2rn]

Ho Hum, I guess Connor is right about the sheeple. I would laugh at them for having to stand around in all that gear. Been there done that; takes more than an Matell toy and kevlar to get a rise out of me. Maybe if they brought some arty with them like SMAW, AT-4, or an M1A2.

 

[ceetee]

Okay, just to keep things honest: The point is NOT to actually do something about crime, or terrorism. The point is to make "the people" THINK you're doing something about crime or terrorism. Police departments are funded (or defunded) by politicians, and there never has been a politician that didn't want to make "the people" think he was doing something about crime...

 

[jpk1md]

The recent Militarization of the Police combined with the expansion and use of Mercenary/Para Military Forces INSIDE the US is a very disturbing trend that "The People" need to push back against.

These forces are NOT making us safer and are only scaring otherwise honest citizens...the would be terrorist is not deterred in any way shape or form by these people.

The best analogy I can make would be the relationship between heavy handed gun control and crime....we all know that heavy handed gun control only effects the law abiding citizen and does little if ANYTHING to prevent Criminals from obtaining firearms.....one needs to look no further than DC, Baltimore or Trenton for proof of this.

 

[critter]

I have seen them doing that in my first, last and ONLY trip to NYC. If my luck holds, I'll NEVER be back.

I thought it was a freaking joke and a big waste of time and money by some folks who just want to play 'cowboy'.

 

[RLsnow]

this doesnt sound very good....anyone wanna bet how long it takes for them to start arresting random people..?

 

[Texpatriate]

I've sometimes wondered if the government's reaction in response to to 9/11 is exactly what the terrorists had as their goal in the first place: a gradual (or perhaps not so gradual) erosion of liberty and justice in America and feeling of fear amongst the citizenry, and the eventual devolution of the United States into a fascist-statist quagmire. If it is, then we're giving them exactly what they wanted.

Something to think about.

 

[average_shooter]

I've sometimes wondered if the government's reaction in response to to 9/11 is exactly what the terrorists had as their goal in the first place

It has been said over and over that they want to "disrupt our way of life." They won, and we handed that win to them.

 

[matt87]

"The response we usually get is, 'Holy s---!'" Nieves says. "That's the reaction we want. We are in the business of scaring people--we just want to scare the right people."

The people the NYPD hopes to scare are the ideological brothers of the Islamic extremists who have successfully attacked New York City twice in the past 13 years. To stop these terrorists, the department fundamentally changed the way it protects the city after 9/11.

Similar to above posts, how long till these definitions are 'updated'?

 

[poor_richard]

So many good responses on this thread. The underlying theme being that most people understand that this is exactly what this country doesn't need. Scary that no mention of the 911 board being inundated with calls about a bunch of thugs running around the street in body armor carrying "assault weapons".

This is evidence that America hasn't learned from 9/11. It wasn't box cutters and knives that allowed the terrorist to fly planes into buildings. It was the American people's attitude to give the BG what he wants in order to placate him (or let someone else deal with the problem). It's what happened on 9/11, and it's what continues to happen on the streets of NYC.

Wouldn't we all be just as safe (and a lot less terrorized) if they were hanging out in plainclothes with pistol caliber SMGs under their jackets. It seems like they'd have a better chance of actually stopping an attack that way. Being highly visible only moves the attack (if any) to a different location or time.

Being highly visible, however does work well in scaring the regular, law abiding citizens into following orders and direction (as well as getting them used to a police state where soldiers patrol the streets with SMG's), better that hanging out in plainclothes. No tin foil hat here. If it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck then, "by golly it's a duck!"

 

[RLsnow]

wonder if it would be better to have the citizens walking around carrying smgs on their back instead....

then again im just a crazy person....

 

[Diggers]

All this is is a SHOW. It does NOTHING in reality. They put these guys out there and regular people go " OH wow look at the guys in black with black guns! They are bad ass! No terrorist will attack US again."

I love the line about "Does anyone seem especially startled by the out-of-the-blue appearance of a heavily armed NYPD squad? “ That made me laugh! Oh are the terrorists going to be startled by these guy standing in front of a building? Uh NO!!!!

And what are these guys going to do to stop a bomb, which is of course how the terrorists will attack us in the future as they have in the past. Well nothing of course.

It’s just all really silly. A SHOW of force is exactly what it is. It does nothing to make anyone safer.


This is just another example of how easy our government thinks it is to fool us.

 

[jakeswensonmt]

These are not "cops." These are thugs.

How can you determine who is the good guy and who is the bad guy when they dress and act the same?

So all the muslims have to do is get a black SUV, ski masks, and some surplus weapons and armor, and all the sheeple will stand back and let them pass.

 

[Invalid]

Police state, no tin foil hat needed. Maybe they'll start having parades soon.

 

[Soybomb]

That's the reaction we want. We are in the business of scaring people--we just want to scare the right people."

How disturbing and useless sounding.

 

[politicalgeek]

I sent this to a friend, but before I did, i described the unmarked SUV with unmarked police doing the show of force drill...her comment was "tell me this isn't in the US"

 

[Hoppy590]

At 51,000 strong, the NYPD employs more than 1.5 times as many people as the FBI

problem with that math. it only takes 1 FBI agent to step in, and give the orders.

 

[WSM MAGNUM]

At 51,000 strong, the NYPD employs more than 1.5 times as many people as the FBI, and its anti-terrorism initiative is a synchronized effort between the department's Intelligence Division and the Counter Terrorism Bureau. The Intelligence Division coordinates the Hercules teams, which are composed of specialist cops rotated in from throughout the force.[/QUOTE

We would not some Hercules team if New Yorker politicians would wise up and let the millions of residents own and carry their weapons. Imagine the counter- terrorist force we would have then to scare the so-called ideological brothers of the Islamic extremists, not to mention the huge amount of tax payers money we could save.

 

[SamTuckerMTNMAN]

Testing the waters.

I'd say get this out to anyone you know too...if no one says anything, well, our feelings aren't worth much.


Who the heck thinks this is actually going to 'deter' or 'scare' "the right" people? Well, depends on who 'the right' people are. Ridiculous, these guys are as high as kites on power and attention, superstar "cops".

best quote so far, "If it looks like a duck and it acts like a duck..."
HA!

indeed

st

 

[B yond]

If it looks like a duck and it acts like a duck...

...shoot that lyin' turkey and eat 'im!

 

[akodo]

isn't this kinda the same idea behind concealed carry?

individual criminals never know what small percent of citizens packing, and terrorist cells never know when some random swat team will come by for a photo op

 

[evilelvis]

Pathetic. Waste of time money, newsprint, and probably my tax dollars. Like someone said, successful attacks against the United States happened with low tech equipment. It will be done that way and always be done that way. As those Iraq IEDs have shown, it doesn't take a million dollar missile to destroy lives.