Letters: NYPD has a place in New Jersey
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly responds to questions during a news conference. (Feb. 24, 2012) Credit: AP
Kudos to New York police Commissioner Ray Kelly for keeping an eye on potential terrorists in New York, New Jersey and wherever it is needed ["Rally for NYPD," News, March 5].
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie should not hinder NYPD efforts by saying it's "disturbing" that this department is monitoring mosques, Muslim-oriented organizations and schools in Newark. Does Christie realize the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center was orchestrated out of a mosque in Jersey City? Maybe if New Jersey had adequate surveillance, that attack would have been thwarted. The World Trade Center attacks were against all Americans, not just New Yorkers, and many died from New Jersey.
I am retired from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and I lost 11 fellow employees and friends on Sept. 11. As a senior consulting engineer, I supervised the rehabilitation of Grand Central Terminal's underground services. I'm also a Vietnam combat infantryman veteran who hates the casualties. But we are now in a war for our lives.
A number of "lone wolf" attacks have been stopped by the NYPD. Christie should think before he speaks, and stop saying things to enhance his position as a presidential or vice presidential candidate.
Salvador L. Gonzalez, Lynbrook
The rush to criticize the NYPD and be politically correct ignores the fact that the numerous terrorist attacks against Americans, beginning with the 1993 World Trade Center attack and continuing right up to the present time, have been carried out by Muslim fanatics.
I have absolutely no problem with the NYPD's widespread monitoring of Muslims and Muslim-related organizations. It wasn't Christians who attacked the USS Cole, the Khobar Towers and the U.S. embassy in Kenya, and who brought down the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
Recent attacks, like the attempt to bomb Times Square, were also committed by Muslims driven by religious beliefs.
It would be ludicrous and dangerous to ignore the common Muslim faith denominator of the terrorists.
I applaud Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for their foresight and courage in continuing this much-needed monitoring for the reasons that should be obvious to all Americans.
James H. Wood, North Babylon
