Captured terrorism suspects questioned by the F.B.I. in Europe and the Middle East have told their interrogators that increased security in New York made the city a more difficult place for terrorists to operate, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday. Mr. Kelly, in remarks at a City Council hearing and to reporters afterward, said that several weeks ago, the department learned from the F.B.I. that suspects had said that terrorist operatives now considered New York City “a much more difficult environment in which to function.” The commissioner said he believed that the department’s counterterrorism program and a wide range of heightened security measures (known as Operation Atlas) put in place when the war began in Iraq were in part responsible for a change of outlook among some terrorist operatives. “We believe a lot of things we’ve done, including our Operation Atlas, have acted as a deterrent,” he said after testifying before the council’s Public Safety Committee about the department’s budget. “That’s what it’s all about: prevention and deterrence. This is feedback from the F.B.I. indicating that potential terrorists see this as a much more difficult environment to operate in as a result of the things we’ve been doing.” Full Story
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