They Surf The Web, Just Like Us!

The NYPD’s vaunted anti-terror unit* collects intelligence from all the best sources, with the highest degrees of certainty:

In a show of force, the NYPD mobilized hundreds of anti-terrorism cops last night after an Internet report of a “dirty bomb” threat targeting the city surfaced, authorities said.

An Israeli-based Web site claimed al Qaeda communications accuse the United States of failing to take seriously the videotaped message last Sunday of an American member of the terror group, who vowed to attack the “spy dens” of U.S. and allied embassies throughout the Islamic world, police said.

DEBKA file — which attempts to report on the actions and chatter among al Qaeda cells — posted the story yesterday on its Web site, claiming that New York would be attacked in the coming days “by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material against America’s biggest city and financial nerve center.”

The threats were allegedly found in an exchange of messages over the terror group’s internal Internet sites.

Taking precautions against the threats, officers were mobilized and checkpoints set up throughout the city — at the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and various locations in lower Manhattan, including the Financial District — to conduct searches and monitor suspicious activity.

“While the threat remains unverified, our counter-terrorism posture has been modified to include increased deployment of radiological sensors,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

Then they refreshed their browser:

The New York City police pulled back their additional security checkpoints and radiological sensors in Lower Manhattan yesterday after determining that a report of a planned dirty bomb attack was unsubstantiated.

. . .

Mr. Browne said he did not want to overstate the importance of the site, saying the police monitored intelligence and multiple sources from around the world every day.

Still, the effect of Debka.com’s report was borne out by the relative swiftness of the department’s response on Friday.

*I feel so cheated — I believed every part of that New Yorker piece!