From the New York Times:
In the first counterterrorism strategy of its kind in the nation, roving teams of New York City police officers armed with automatic rifles and accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs will patrol the city’s subway system daily, beginning next month, officials said on Friday.
Mr. Kelly’s plan to heighten security and monitor a subway system that carries nearly five million people a day along 656 miles of tracks reflects the city’s continuing concerns about a possible attack.
Each team in the operation will comprise a bomb-sniffing dog and six officers: a dog handler and a sergeant and four officers from the Emergency Service Unit who will be outfitted in heavy, bullet-resistant vests and Kevlar helmets and will carry automatic weapons, either an M-4 rifle or an MP5 submachine gun.
I struggled to find a word to describe these 5-person teams, and all I can think of is “bomb squad.” Technically, it means a team that’s there to defuse bombs, but it’s really the same difference here. So… to wrap this up:
These 6-person teams are going to stand around on the subways with these guns:
…and a bomb-sniffing dog. And of course, this is all in order to protect us - too bad it took them over 6 years to implement a realistic long-term plan like this! It’s hardly realistic anyway. All it’s gonna do is scare the crap out of people and make them afraid to take the subway. And if something does happen, how many armed men does it take to shoot a terrorist? 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? 6? And a dog?
They need to rethink the security plan that took them 6 years to think up.
I couldn’t agree more. It will scare the hell out of people using the subway. I got off a plane in Columbia a few years ago and was met by gun toteing military men who were there to protect me and other arriving passengers to that country. Scary indeed! This policy will probably result in more people walking, for the spector of a possible attack will immediatly come to mind and spook everyone. And how is it going to deter a terrorist who is bent on suicide? This is result of an America under George Bush.
Grandpa Reed