SurveillanceFormer CIA chief: NYPD surveillance would have prevented Boston-like attacks

Published 31 May 2013

Former CIA director Michael Hayden said a terror attack like the Boston Marathon bombings would never have taken place in New York City. Hayden, who also headed the National Security Agency (NSA), said the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) broad campaign of spying on the Muslim communities in the city would have helped officials identify the radical tendencies of the alleged bombers, thus preventing the attack.

NYPD officer stands watch at anti-surveillance march // Source: irna.ir

Former CIA director Michael Hayden said a terror attack like the Boston Marathon bombings would never have taken place in New York City.

Hayden, who was also  headed the National Security Agency (NSA), said the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) broad campaign of  spying on the Muslim communities in the city would have helped officials identify the radical tendencies of the alleged bombers, thus preventing the attack.

“If these two mopes were living in New York this attack would not have happened,” Hayden said during a Tuesday panel discussion which was organized by the Institute for Education.

“The New York police department is far more aggressive, far more invasive, going what’s been termed ‘mosque crawling’ and a whole bunch of other things to permeate the Islamic-American community. Boston doesn’t do that,” Hayden added.

“The probability that these two young [men’s] — particularly the older one, Tamerlan [Tsarnaev] — behavior shows up on the scope in New York is much higher than it was in Boston.”

The Hill reports that the NYPD recently came under fire after the AP revealed that the department, for more than six years, had been tracking the movements as well as monitoring conversations of Muslims who live in the city.

Hayden went on to tell the panel that that instead of having other law enforcement implement the NYPD system, he would like to see a balance between privacy and security, but admitted there was  a thin line between the two.

Following the 9/11 attacks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies have bolstered significantly the  monitoring and surveillance of  Muslim communities,  but officials are still struggling with what can be done  to prevent “lone wolf” small scale attacks.

Hayden argued that the government and law enforcement agencies do not have many options which would keep track on potential threats and, at the same time, maintain the civil liberties and personal freedoms that U.S. citizens enjoy.

The former CIA and NSA head also said that Americans need to come to grips with the idea  that enjoying the personal liberties and freedom increases the chances of other attacks.

“We’ve already squeezed American privacy, American commerce, American convenience,” Hayden told the panel. “My personal view is: we’re just about okay. I don’t know that I can promise you any more dramatic returns for doing more to make this kind of attack less likely.”

“In order to preserve our way of life, our DNA as a free people, we’re all going to agree that sooner or later something down here is going to happen.”