Time Square "Bomb" Fizzles

Yesterday, New York City was the target of an embarrassingly inept car-bomb attack. What appears to have been a stolen SUV with stolen plates was parked on 45th Street in the tourist mecca of Times Square. An alert T-shirt vendor noticed it was smoking and notified a cop on horseback. The police officer got his colleagues involved, who cleared the area, removed the car, and returned things to whatever normal in Times Square may be. In examining the attempted attack, one feels a great degree of contempt for the ability of whoever built the device. "Amateurish" was the word Mayor Mike Bloomberg used; that is an insult to amateur terrorists.

The device, if one can dignify it with that name, consisted of three propane tanks suitable for running a gas-fueled barbecue (although no true grilling aficionado would use gas as opposed to charcoal or hardwoods). In addition, there were two gasoline containers filled to their 5-gallon maximum. Between these two, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, lay, "16-ounce can filled with between 20 and 30 M-88 devices." One believes the Commissioner meant to say M-80 devices, which are just big firecrackers. In addition, the police found several pounds of "nonexplosive grade fertilizer incapable of blowing up." To detonate all this, the would-be terrorist had a few batteries attached to a cheap alarm clock. Since Al Qaeda uses much more sophisticated cell-phone triggers, this ham-fisted design suggests a home-grown fool. Had it successfully gone off, a substantial fireball would have ensured. Had it gone off, it would also have been a violation of the laws of pyrotechnics.

One overseas group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility. They said via a videotaped message that this attempt was in revenge for US and NATO strikes that killed leaders of the group. Commissioner Kelly stated, "we have no evidence to support this claim." And indeed, if they knew the caliber of device, they probably would disown any hint of responsibility.

As further proof of the seltzer-down-the-pants quality of the effort, the tiny plate on the dashboard that carries the Vehicle Identification Number [VIN] was removed. Thinking that was so clever, the bomber failed to remove the VIN from other places on the car (perhaps the door?). Clearly, he didn't know that the VIN appears in more than one place on the car; that's hardly the mark of someone who has done his homework.

The New York Police Department has a video of a man changing his shirt right next to the car bomb, and they want to talk to him. If that is the bomber, it is further proof that the guy behind this is a moron of the first order. If he's the guy, he should have walked into the nearest restaurant, gone to the men's room and left the shirt there, thus making any identification difficult. Instead, there is now video of him "disguising" himself.

Some day, New York will almost certainly fall victim to a successful car-bombing. However for now, the residents and visitors to the Big Apple can relax, secure in the knowledge that the bozos currently trying to do them harm can't even make propane and gasoline ignite.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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