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This is What Happens to a Disarmed Populace: Times Square As A Militarized Zone Edition

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“Nearly 6,000 police officers — hundreds of them with long guns, radiation detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs — will be guarding New York’s Times Square as a year punctuated by terrorist attacks draws to a close,” nbcnews.com reports. “The NYPD and the FBI unveiled plans to protect the more than 1 million people who will throng to the Crossroads of the World on New Year’s Eve — including multilayered checkpoints and a new 500-member Critical Response Command of elite counterterrorism cops launched two months ago. ” Show us your papers! Like this . . .

Crowds enter a frozen zone at 14 points, uniformed officers will inspect bodies and bags with magnetometers and hand wands. Counterterrorism officers with chemical and radiation detectors will be standing by, and a long gun team will be stationed 50 yards away “In case anyone tries to breach the entry point.”

After getting through that screening, people will be re-screened when they get to one of 65 massive spectator pens, Waters said. Around them, they will see K-9 cops, heavy weapons teams and emergency service officers “capable of responding within seconds.”

TTAG reader OneIfByLand1776 – who sent the link – is not impressed. Or is, in the wrong kind of way:

Sounds like loads of fun…doesn’t it? Also sounds extremely familiar. The only thing that’s missing is a uniform-clad officer calling out “Papers please. Show us your papers.” This speaks to more than just firearms and our Second Amendment right. Each time I see an article like this I think the terrorists are incrementally winning this fight, as our freedoms are whittled away under the excuse (guise?) of security.

And yet millions of Americans will willing and freely submit to beIng searched, poked, prodded and herded like cattle (or prisoners) simply to watch a crystal ball welcome in a New Year.

OK sure. But will it work? Will the assembled throngs be protected from terrorist attack? Confidence is high!

“We are very very confident that New Year’s Eve in New York City will be the safest place in the world to be,” said Chief James Waters, who is in charge of counterterrorism operations for the police department . . .

Asked whether all the attention on Times Square would leave lower-profile targets vulnerable, Bratton said police working overtime would be covering the rest of the city but added that “the ability to protect everything all the time is not possible anywhere.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York is better prepared to handle an attack than any city in the country.

“The eyes of the world will be on us,” he said. “We’re ready.”

Pride goeth before a fall. That’s all I’ve got to say about that. Well that and this is what happens to a disarmed populace. And maybe an armed one, too.

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