I didn’t raise my son in that way. I feel bad about this situation.Carmen Sosa, mother of NYC “lone wolf” bombing suspect Jose Pimentel • Apologizing for her son’s behavior while speaking with reporters outside her Manhattan home this morning. Regarding the NYPD’s actions in this incident, Sosa praised them. “I think they handled it well,” she said. If it helps Ms. Sosa, the FBI didn’t exactly treat this case very seriously, a sign it may not be a strong case. source (via • follow)
They felt the NYPD’s evidence, and Pimentel’s actual threat, was shaky. If given the opportunity, could Jose Pimentel have actually pulled off a terror threat? The NYPD seemed convinced of this, but the FBI wasn’t quite so sure. On top of this, they felt the evidence was a little rough around the edges — particularly the use of a confidential informant, who recorded hours of conversations with Pimentel, but may not be the most reliable witness to whatever happened. As one law enforcement official, speaking off the record, put it: “If the FBI declines a case, it’s not a strong case.” Think it’ll hold up? source
Am I that paranoid (or cynical) in thinking this Bloomberg terrorism press conference was nothing but a PR stunt?
- Sunday at 7:30pm to announce the arrest of a potential terrorist? A lone-wolf terrorist, mind you, who, by definition of a lone-wolf, does not have a network of terrorists that would take over the terrorist plot should he be arrested. In other words, once you arrest the lone-wolf, there are no pack members who would pose imminent danger.
- The NYPD Chief of Police, the District Attorney and the Mayor - no FBI, CIA, NSA or Homeland Security, agencies who most assuredly would and should be involved in a terrorist threat against any city, but especially New York City.
This was a PR stunt by New York City law enforcement; they’ve been beat up in the press the last week due to their arrogant and insidious behavior against the Occupy Wall Street protesters (and arguably more importantly, keeping the press away from covering the midnight raid of Zuccotti Park and following days of protests).
So, they hold this conference, get the media salivating (I’m sure Fox News will be all over this for the next three days - which means CNN and MSNBC will follow) over terrorism and hope people focus on this and not the last week.
Crazy, possibly. I haven’t slept much this weekend, but either way, this conference just smelled fishy.
It was strange that Bloomberg was announcing this rather than the FBI, but we think of it this way — Osama bin Laden’s death got a Sunday-at-midnight announcement, so it’s not unprecedented for major terrorism stories to hit at such a weird hour. But cynicism warranted, even if it turns out that this was a credible threat.
powlsy said: “was” a US citizen..?
» SFB said: Don’t read anything into the word “was” (regarding Jose Pimentel’s status as a U.S. citizen) other than us emphasizing that he isn’t strictly a citizen of the Dominican Republican despite being born there. We were just keeping up with a live stream. — Ernie @ SFB
And in case you missed it, here’s the embed of the press conference about the arrest of Jose Pimentel. (Thanks ABC News/KGO)
Michael Bloomberg’s sweater at the presser was a little … festive … tonight. Dude looks like he was totally screwed out of an early Thanksgiving dinner. (via Robert Hernandez on Twitter and Google+)
A photo of NYC terror suspect Jose Pimentel, the alleged bombing suspect who the NYC had been tracking since 2009 only to arrest over the weekend, reportedly in the act of bomb-making. ”We had always planned to take him into custody before he could detonate a fully-operational bomb,” said police commissioner Ray Kelly. (photo via Reuters’ Basil Katz)
“How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom.” Yes, the al-Qaeda produced Inspire Magazine had an article with this title, and it was reportedly an inspiration for NYC terror suspect Jose Pimentel.
Here’s a photo of a simulation that the NYPD did to show what 27-year-old Jose Pimentel, a Dominican Republican-born so-called “lone wolf” and al-Qaeda sympathizer, reportedly planned to do to military and police officials. It’s the 14th such terror threat since September 11, 2001. He was is a U.S. citizen.
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