TerrorismNYC mayor de Blasio facing criticism for curbing counterterrorism programs

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is facing backlash over his decision to curb several counterterrorism programs introduced by former mayor Michael Bloomberg. “He has reassigned people and vehicles and special equipment to non-counterterrorist activities,” said John Lehman, a former member of the 9/11 Commission, who recommended that New York City adopt stronger surveillance initiatives after the 9/11 attacks.

The New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program, which faced criticism for disproportionately targeting minority youths, has been restricted under de Blasio. Lehman believes the program was instrumental in discouraging would-be terrorists from carrying a bomb or wearing a suicide vest in high-risk areas of New York City. Critics say the policy change may discourage police officers from stopping a person who might appear suspicious. “If you see someone with a package or a bulky vest, you are taking a great risk if you stop and frisk them. If the person is a person of color and not carrying a bomb or evidence of potential terrorist risks, as a cop you’re in big trouble,” Lehman said.

The Hill reports that de Blasio has also been criticized for approving a program to issue municipal IDs of standards lower than those mandated by the federal government’s Real ID program. The municipal IDs are intended to serve undocumented immigrants and residents who may not be eligible for regular state IDs under the Real ID program. “They’re completely opposed to Real ID and the other issues that were adopted by Congress as a result of our recommendations,” Lehman said.

The Real ID Act of 2005 requires verified proof of identification, like birth certificates or social security numbers, before state identification cards are issued to residents. “You need a reliable way of identifying people. You don’t simply issue ID cards willy nilly to anybody who wants them and shows up and has his picture taken and tells you what his name is,” Lehman said.

With the growing threat of the Islamic State, critics are calling for the reinstatement of a special surveillance program which targeted Muslim communities in New York. In April, de Blasio disbanded the unit responsible for identifying Muslim groups connected to terrorism. Michael Mukasey, a U.S. attorney general from 2007 to 2009 told theHill that the unit was instrumental in identifying possible terrorist members within Muslim communities. “They weren’t simply conducting surveillance of mosques and Muslims. They were mapping communities, figuring out where someone from Lebanon or Yemen or any of the other hot spots would go if they wanted to come to this country and find refuge,” he said. Adding that “at mosques that had particularly militant imams, they did have people who would tip them off to what other people were doing or saying. To the extent they’ve curtailed that, I think we’re all less safe.”

De Blasio also replaced deputy police commissioner for intelligence David Cohen, a former CIA director of operations, with John Miller, a former Associate Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analytic Transformation and Technology. “To me it’s too bad the NYPD has to go through all this because their system was working,” said Representative Peter King (R-New York).