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Expert: Security Checkpoints Near Soft Targets May Soon Become The Norm

A Day May Come When You'll Be Patted Down Going Into Stores

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Penn Station

Security experts believe transit hubs, like NYC’s Penn Station, are among “soft” targets terrorist may choose to attack in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden. (Photo: CBS 2)

Death Of Bin Laden

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Counter terrorism experts say a retaliation attack for Osama bin Laden’s death is inevitable. Terrorists are expected to aim for more vulnerable soft targets like shopping malls or museums.

They are places jam-packed with people — pedestrian malls, shopping centers and stadiums.

“Yeah, I feel safe. But of course in the back of my head I know that things can happen,” one person told CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez.

Counter terrorism expert Juval Aviv said terrorists seeking revenge for Osama bin Laden’s death will turn to attacks less dramatic than the destruction on Sept. 11 — focusing instead on soft targets like hotels, places of worship and mass transit hubs.

“It’s easier and less complicated to carry out,” Aviv said. “What they’re going to achieve if they’re successful is to kill as many people as possible.”

Security consultant David Boehm said the future could include security check points entering all soft targets — like your local department store. Boehm said even with a police presence, the areas are vulnerable.

“The reason they’re called ‘soft’ is because it’s so easily accessible to anyone. There has to be security checks for the safety of all people,” Broehm said.

Added security is a turn-off for some New Yorkers.

“There’s a police presence and they search someone with a backpack. Somebody that looks suspicious, but it’s random. I would go if that if that is the case; not if everybody is being searched,” one New Yorker said.

“It’s better to be safe than to be sorry,” another person said.

Despite the challenges to secure high-volume soft targets like Times Square, security experts said one of the best lines of defense is already in place and doesn’t cost a thing.

“We are millions and millions of eyes and ears. We need to assist the police. We need to assist each other and keep each other safe,” Boehm said.

It’s freedom, coming with an increasingly heavy price.

Would you be okay with security checkpoints outside department stores or places of worship? Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below.


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  • JGreen

    “Would you be okay with security checkpoints outside department stores or places of worship?”

    NO, I would not be. I am an American citizen born and raised. A professional, mild-mannered suburbanite who never causes any trouble. I don’t own a gun and have had no problems with the law.

    At some point, (if this trend of over-zealous security in the name of my or “the children’s” safety) is taken too far, I, and hope many of my compatriots in the silent majority WILL stand-up and say enough. When and if that day happens, all this nonsense about keeping me safe will be out the door because we will no longer be listening nor believing what we’re being told.

    Meanwhile, I haven’t seen any of the major security increases being discussed. So, for the moment, its just talk.

    • Donna Franklin

      And ten years ago woudl you have believed that parents would let their children be strip searched before getting on a plane? No, but there you go, it’s happening now. It’s enough already IMO

  • Jesse R Smith

    “inch by inch, row by row”

    Bit by bit they play the fear card to strip away the freedom of America. This whole Bin Laden thing is a political/sociological move to take us a step further to worldwide totalitarian government.

  • Hank Warren

    More fake terror so the US will continue to support endless Wars for Israel, it all started nearly a decade ago under a false flag attack.
    9/11 and Israel, here:
    http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526

    • Donna Franklin

      So right Hank. Unbelievable how insane this all is.

  • Joe Doakes

    The Day After . . . Part Two

    May 3, 2011

    Dear President Obama,

    When we won WW2 what happened? Did President Truman issue orders to protect the indigenous population from domestically based Nazis or Imperial Japanese? No. Did President Truman use the word “I” 5,000 times in a speech to the nation after we made the tough but necessary decision to drop Atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? No. So why do you? America is a team, divided now because of your failed efforts to lead this nation, that, for lack of a better word elects the President. So why do you insist on taking credit for things you are not doing and not standing by decisions that will make a doctor, a hospital bed, and a gallon of gas more expensive?

    See that is the real rub Mr. Obama. Sure the liberal left can hope to resuscitate legions of useful dope smoking idiots to vote for you, and to be fair most will, but in the end there is this other party that has it’s ears on, I’m not talking about the big ones you are sporting. Recently Mrs. Pelosi remarked how she wished that elections did not matter; in essence she was hoping for a dictatorship lead by a liberal socialist that stood for “social justice.” Now that is some of the most un-American sentiment I’ve ever heard expressed. Elections must matter, because of all the peoples of the Earth, of all the countries of the Earth, the citizens of The United States of America deserve to have the final say on whether we place that final nail in our coffin as a nation in the form of “Obamacare,” or we choose the wiser path. When I was in my formative years a man named Ronald Reagan was the President.

    Mr. Reagan did what ever he could do to remind us, the American people, that it our success wasn’t his doing. On his desk he had a plaque that read “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” People of your political stripe hated Mr. Reagan and worked against his efforts. Of note is a movie called “The Day After.” This movie depicts nuclear devastation and subconsciously blames President Reagan for it. What we really had though was peace, then victory, and prosperity. Even for the defeated Soviets as they focused not on building bombs, but oil rigs and trade. Not all good trade, but at least their main focus was not dropping a hydrogen bomb on the White House. The American people know exactly what you are, and the political class thinks you may not win. By November of 2011 we will both know whether or not you are going to face a primary challenge. You see Mr. Obama we no longer live in an era when we are only given a limited number of media choices, we have changed the channel on you so many times no matter what you do, other then change your mind entirely, will we ever click back.

    We’ve had it.

    Or as my father used to say, “If you don’t clean up this f-ing room I’m throwing everything the f- out!” Well, he did. And the American people are going to take your toys away on November 6, 2012 because, brother, you are making an f-ing mess, and there is not a garbage bag big enough to clean it up if we allow you to hold onto the Presidency.

    Respectfully,

    Joe Doakes

    • Mune Shadowe

      You sign the letter “Respectfully”, how are you able to do that when he has no respect for the people of this nation?

      • rtt

        There is a difference between respect and Acquiescence, he may be a mush mind but he is human, that fact however ooes not mean he has no boundaries – if I may be so bold to suggest, I think that’s the point.

      • Lilly

        Holder has special feelings for his “people.” Depends on what color you are if Obama respects you or not. Holder puts his “people” above the law.

  • Nogmo

    “It’s freedom, coming with an increasingly heavy price.” hahahahahahahaha The novel 1984 wasn’t suppost to be an instruction manual. CBS News is the ministry of truth. Freedom is Slavery, War is peace

  • mike

    kinda funny that this is what the..”conspiracy theorist” have been saying was gonna happen

    • nogmo

      yes. we knew this was coming… This is the new freedom in America.

    • Donna Franklin

      I know – it’s a weird day in America when Alex Jones is the only one asking legitimate questions LOL It’s too crazy to believe but it’s happening. Our country is dying and we are just standing by watching it happen.

  • Joe Doakes

    That’s why I left NYC. This nation is not prepared to fight for it’s freedom anymore. We must define and destroy the enemy so we can live as free citizens. We did it in WW2. We must do it again. The fact that we will be at war with Islam should not be an issue. They are at war with us. They’ve been at war with us. Why are we so slow to realize what is happening?

    • nogmo

      Your brain washed…

      • Joe Doakes

        I wish I was. I wish I could just take the happy idiot pill and go back to the days before Islam attacked us with our Airplanes. I wish I could go up to those towers and take photographs of them like I used to. But thats a fantasy.

        Remember it’s easier to imagine one is safe and secure then deal with the reality and then do something about it. That’s tough. It takes leadership. We don’t have that.

      • Jimmy

        You’re…

      • Donna Franklin

        Joe – do some research. Watch more than one news station and read more than one newspaper/blog. Become an investigate reporter yourself – don’t just accept what someone tells you, assume that they have an agenda and VERIFY.

        Realize that people all over the world are basically the same, we all want the same things, a decent life, to live in peace and pursue our dreams. Don’t assume that because you are an American people want to kill you because you are “Free” – people don’t want to kill other people for no reason – there is always more to the story, do the research and find out what is really going on. Start thinking for yourself.

      • gdf

        @ Donna

        What makes you assume he is assuming? Are you one of the smartest people you know by any chance?

      • Lilly

        You’re brainwashed with political correctness. You don’t want to name the enemy nor admit the long history of this enemy attacking Americans. Rather than all of us lose our freedom to protect the nation from Islamic attack, lets focus on the Muslims – where the terrorism problem is.

    • karl anglin

      Because of political correctness.

  • Bill W

    Since 9-11, terrorists have had a multitude of opportunities to hit soft targets, such as crowded malls at Christmastime. But they have not done so. The terror threat in the USA has been grossly exaggerated. We always seem to have bogeymen after us, yet most people fear the idiocy coming out of Washington DC more than anything.

    • Joe Doakes

      Faisal Shazad’s (son of a pakastani officer) attempted attack on Times Square? They want the big one next. Remember Osama was in Pakistan for six years, that’s an awfully long time to be in a country with nuclear weapons. They are a very patient foe.

  • virginia

    not interested in being sexually assaulted by the “good guys” before the bad guys blow me up ?
    white house – evict all the illegals and known terrorist types and stop inviting all these into the country if your serious about security

  • PepperAnne

    “They who give up essential LIBERTY to obtain a little temporary SAFETY deserve neither LIBERTY nor SAFETY.” -Benjamin Franklin

    • Betty

      Amen, sister.

  • Jayne

    NO I AM NOT OKAY WITH ADDED SECURITY – THIS IS CRAZY – WE ARE NOT NORTH KOREA FOR GOD’S SAKE!

    • Donna Frankin

      Give it a year – we will be.

  • Dawn

    I cannot believe how many American’s are so willing to give up their freedoms. This is ridiculous. Looks like instead of doing MOST of my shopping via the Internet, I’ll be doing ALL of my shopping via the Internet.

    • Donna Franklin

      Maybe we should all just stop shopping until this nonsense ends.

      • Dawn

        Stop….shopping?! Are you insane?!

  • Bryan

    I’ll go one step further John. No special training for concealed carry, just meet the same requirements to be able to own a firearm, which should be relaxed in many states, and you should be allowed to carry concealed. Why should a person’s ability to defend thief life hinge on training?

  • Jody from NYC

    This idea is absolutely insane and not necessary. I believe security experts should be profiling. It is much cheaper and more effective. Is is a proven method that works as shown in Israel time and time again. Everybody is not equal and therefore should not be treated equally.

    • Randy from Abilene

      I agree! We must get over the political correctness in this country and profile. It would be crazy to have to pass through security to go to church or to the mall.

  • boscarbrough

    The politically correct nitwits in washington would not even recommend putting an imam or otherwise muslim looking trouble maker off a plane for fear of offending someone. If they think they are going to pat down regular everyday americans everytime we go to the mall, they are going to find out they have some real problems on their hands. People are sick of this idiocy!.

  • nomercy55

    our goverment told us that the airplane fuel melted the steel in the towers,experts have said that,that fuel does not burn hot enough to melt steel,so what did bring these towers down,what caused tower 7 to come crumbling down,you want us to believe some guys who live in caves did all this,if you tell a lie long enough,people will believe it..do some research people wake the hell up

    • Jarhead6981

      Conspiracy addict. The experts never said the heat melted the steel, it weakened it. As the steel beams sagged, they put pressure on the 5/8″ bolts holding them to the steel skeleton of the towers and broke the bolts. Get facts right. And we never went to the moon either, right?…morons like you are a dime a dozen…..and over-priced at that.

      I really don’t expect someone like you to actually research this, but I am attaching a link for you from Popular Mechanics. “Debunking the 9/11 Myths”. Read and learn bunky.

      http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/architecture/4278874

      • nomercy55

        i already read that article jarhead,your name says it all,youre a sheep

      • nomercy55

        tower 7 moron…what caused that,pentagon whers the damage from the wings,pensylvania no aircraft remains….

      • JJNYC

        HAHAHAHAHA Popular Mechanics…. NOW THAT’S FUNNY

      • Jarhead6981

        Gee, thanks for the name calling. That shows YOUR intelligence. You can’t put together a logical argument, just SAY I’m a moron and you think that makes you smart? You said you read the article? So facts don’t make sense to you? I am afraid the future will be gone with those like you in the way of mentally stable leaders…..just like we have now.

      • Jarhead6981

        Wow, beautiful retort there JJ (that’s called sarcasm btw). Just read the article. It’s called fact, not fiction. And filled with much bigger words than what you seem to have at your disposal, so you actually may learn something. You think Popular Mechanics is funny? Why, the words to big for you, so you make up funny stories to compensate for your lack of education.

      • oooorah

        @hdfeyey@ryurt.net

        Carry on Marine! Ijust heard one of these whackos saying that no planes actually hit anything, it was all a faked video… This is amazing as the government has also figured out how to infuse that video into all those cell phone cameras and the minds of all those people fleeing the scene. Laughable.

    • treebs

      God your a blithering idiot. Fire causes steel to fail ALL THE TIME. It does not melt the steel, it yields the steel. I guarantee that in the state that you currently live in your Mom’s basement there has been an instance of a traffic accident with a fire that has damaged a steel bridge to the point that it is no longer structurally sound. It really is not that complicated or far fetched. You just choose to believe some nut job on a random website rather than engineers and scientists who have continually proved and shown what happened to the towers.

      • nomercy55

        and you believe your govermant,youre a fool

      • ryuu

        @nomind55 – no I believe my own mind – had you one you could reason out how stupid you sound

      • Jarhead6981

        I’m called Jarhead ‘cuz I literally got my head stuck inside a jar of pickled eggs on a dare. To this day I gag at even the hint of brine.

      • RandyC

        treebs, Jarhead, and ooorah there have been many buildings that have burned for well over a day. The WTC buildings are the only ones that have failed due to fire. None of you are metallurgists or architects and quoting Popular Mechanics is a potent as quoting FOX News, MSNBC, or CNN. Educated people are done with mainstream media lies. Judging by your handles you might respond to a couple of stories that hit close to home. Just as reminder that lies effect us all, remember the Pat Tillman story and then jog your memory with the Jessica Lynch story. Lies are told and people who blindly accept them do nothing to protect the truth. Planes hit two tower but what about building 7? NIST has finally admitted that building 7 fell at freefall, the speed of gravity. I would hope you would take a moment back and consider that the story you have been given might be true in some aspects but not in a few crucial ones….

    • Alex in NJ

      Saw on a TLC program they placed a steel beam identical to the beam in the WTC over a pit of jet fuel and lit the pit on fire. It didn’t even take a half hour or 45 mins for the steel to begin to melt and contort. It took FOUR MINUTES! You 9/11 conspiracy people are idiots.

      • RandyC

        Alex in NJ. Here is science not TV: (2750ºF) – melting point of structural steel. (1517ºF) – maximum temperature of hydrocarbon fires burning in atmosphere without pressurization or pre-heating . What you saw was a hoax.

      • Anuel Jackson

        are you sure it was steel, do you know the temperature lead melts about 450 degrees, surely the major media would not lie to the public especially the learning channel, but then again the history channel is becoming a joke, its like they are trying to rewrite history the way they see fit, and who owns most of the media can you say the “Government” OK Mr Rodgers is finished

  • John

    Terrorists win with this consultant’s recommendations.

    How about we adopt a much tougher policy on terrorists and treat them as the enemy and give them a swift bullet to the head instead of Miranda warnings?

    How about we allow law-abiding folks who have been background checked and trained to carry a firearm concealed about their person so they may fight back if and when a terrorist or criminal predator attacks, as they do successfully in Israel?

  • Keith

    Let this execution be a warning to those who would pracitice violent jihad and/or stealth jihad in this country

    • JJNYC

      Guess you’ve never read the Constitutuin…

      • Julie

        Why should illegals, terrorists, and traitors have the benefits of the United States Constitution?

      • dfgh

        feel free to quote the portion that you think you have read that justifies your stupidity – here’s a hint don’t Google on “Constitutuin”

    • Yay!

      Keith,

      Exactly! Be warned Jihadists: We’re gonna get you, uh, several years after the fact. So no funny business, okay?

      • RandyC

        We as a species decided long ago that it is a better system to afford people with simple basic rights. The Magna Carta and The Constitution protect people regardless of emotion or prejudice. This is important because all of our founding fathers were technically terrorists had you asked King George. I’m for rule of law and bud guys getting theirs but if you promote injustice then you’re going to create disenfranchised people who do desperate acts. It might feel good to talk tough about Jihadists, terrorists, or illegals but history shows that the tables can get turned pretty quickly.

  • nomercy55

    first it was the TSA at airports,now its gonna be at the bus stations, train stations and shopping malls.we no longer have any freedoms left in this country…

    • Jarhead6981

      And I suppose you blame the USA, right? Is that why your complaint is aimed at YOUR freedoms and not your or your child’s safety? These efforts are a direct result of a people saying they want to kill us and you’re worried about f’n checkpoints at the f’n mall

      • boscarbrough

        Jarhead, If you take your family to a mall and there is a group of people behind you dressed in burkahs and turbans etc, they are not going to get searched buddy you will because government doesn’t care if they offend you, Besides why would you be willing to give up your right to defend your family and leave it up to the powers of government to keep you safe?

      • nomercy55

        youre a moron.why dont we hae a guy standing outside your door when you come out of your house and pat you down you sheep…

      • Betty

        You can have some pedophile pat-down YOUR tot, pal, in the “name of safety” and the “common good.” As a legally armed citizen, I fully expect these “security measures” to disarm me and leave me easy prey for the real terrorists. I’ll do my shopping online and leave the malls to the blissful walking targets. If you are truly a jarhead, then you know what rights you PROTECT when YOU take up arms for our country.

  • dave

    Let’s just go back to profiling

  • nomercy55

    all this is being done under a false flag operation….

    • affsd

      does it hurt to be so stupid?

  • Nick

    There is absolutely no need for the expense of all this “security”. Just cure that disease called Islam. Put a $1 bounty on each muslime much like we did wolves. Man is great at causing extinction of unwanted harmful species.

    • Dee

      Deport all non-citizen Muslims except those who are clearly fleeing Islamic thuggery. Won’t get them all, but it will help a lot.

      • karl anglin

        Obama loves Muslims too much
        for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • texasbohemian

    Until ALL citizens say stop it and quit going anywhere there are already violations of personal privacy nothing will stop and it will get worse! It’s your own fault, people! Stop being cowards!

    • boscarbrough

      You are absolutely right Tex, we have to get people with common sense together and act as one person!

    • Betty

      You are right. Most people have become too lazy and frightened to take upon themselves the tools and skills for their own self-defense. Instead, they rely on the gov’t to protect them… and this is what happens.

      Gov’t: Bend over and spread them.
      Subject: Yes, sir. More please, sir.

      Gov’t: Bend over and spread them.
      CITIZEN: You first, and I have a rolled up copy of the Constitution to ram up there.

  • Charity Limosine

    we already live in a police state.
    BULL****

  • muggsy bogues

    This is 100% the textbook definition of a POLICE STATE.

    The U.S. Constitution will mean NOTHING anymore.

    Anyone who thinks it is a smart idea to trade liberty for safety is a fool.

    The moment we have mandatory checkpoints at these so-called “soft targets”, America ceases to exist and the terrorists have completely succeeded.

    • Betty

      Unfortunately, you are absolutely right. And unfortunately, if we don’t fight back against this, our children and children’s children will think the police state is the accepted norm.

      • Mune Shadowe

        Unfortunately there are all too many sheeple out there going for this and not fighting back and little by little Ben Franklin’s statement will be true.

    • Bill J.

      You are absolutely correct.

      People should be allowed to arm themselves and that should be good enough.

      I’d like to see terrorists try to attack a mall in Texas which allows handguns on the property. These pussified liberals think the government needs to protect everyone and the liberal-light (aka: republican) seem all too willing to follow allong.

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