WASHINGTON – The latest issue of a magazine believed to be published by al-Qaida calls America’s anti-terror strategy “failing and fruitless” – and then goes on to say that the Buffalo-Niagara region isn’t prepared for an attack.
The spring 2014 issue of “Inspire,” an English-language magazine linked to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, includes an article called “24/7 Terrorism” that’s essentially an account of a September 2013 House subcommittee hearing – with a pro-al-Qaida spin put on it.
“All the participants agreed that the U.S. strategy in countering jihad is failing and fruitless,” the article said of the hearing, which was conducted by the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. “The following points presented by the contributors demonstrate how so.”
From there, the story goes on to list various quotes, without attribution, that note weaknesses in the American fight against terrorism.
And one of the unattributed quotes reads: “The Department of Homeland Security does not recognize the Buffalo-Niagara region as a high-risk area. Hence, local law enforcement in the Buffalo-Niagara Region is left without the resources that could possibly be needed if an attack from this dangerous organization were to occur.”
Rep. Brian Higgins attended that hearing and said today he believes that quote was something he said during the session, taken out of context and twisted into a threat to the region.
“Any reference that distinguishes one region from another in this way is a direct threat,” said the Buffalo Democrat, a member of the Homeland Security Committee and its counterterrorism subcommittee.
Higgins said the article serves at proof that the Department of Homeland Security made a grievous error several years ago when it removed the Buffalo-Niagara region from the list of communities eligible for the Urban Area Security Initiative grant program.
The department awarded the grants this week to 39 communities, up from 25 in 2013, but the Buffalo-Niagara region was once again excluded from the list.
Between fiscal 2003 and 2011, Buffalo-area police and fire agencies received more than $53 million under the grant program, using the money to improve communications and to buy equipment that would be used in case of a terrorist attack. Higgins said that improvements funded by the money also improved the region’s response to the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, the 2009 Gowanda floods and the 2006 October snowstorm.
But that was before the Department of Homeland Security trimmed the number of communities receiving the money by more than half, saying that the money ought to be concentrated in the most likely terror targets.
Higgins said Niagara Falls and the Niagara Power Project are just two of the many obvious terror targets in the Buffalo region that ought to prompt the agency to reconsider its funding decision.
In light of the region’s mention in the al-Qaida magazine, “Homeland Security has an obligation to take decisive action” and return the anti-terror funding to Western New York, Higgins said. “Anything less represents gross negligence.”
Higgins said Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour told him about the Inspire magazine article Wednesday night.
Voutor is scheduled to join Higgins, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and other public safety leaders at a press conference this afternoon to discuss the terror magazine and the lack of anti-terror funding for the region.
email: jzremski@buffnews.com
The spring 2014 issue of “Inspire,” an English-language magazine linked to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, includes an article called “24/7 Terrorism” that’s essentially an account of a September 2013 House subcommittee hearing – with a pro-al-Qaida spin put on it.
“All the participants agreed that the U.S. strategy in countering jihad is failing and fruitless,” the article said of the hearing, which was conducted by the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. “The following points presented by the contributors demonstrate how so.”
From there, the story goes on to list various quotes, without attribution, that note weaknesses in the American fight against terrorism.
And one of the unattributed quotes reads: “The Department of Homeland Security does not recognize the Buffalo-Niagara region as a high-risk area. Hence, local law enforcement in the Buffalo-Niagara Region is left without the resources that could possibly be needed if an attack from this dangerous organization were to occur.”
Rep. Brian Higgins attended that hearing and said today he believes that quote was something he said during the session, taken out of context and twisted into a threat to the region.
“Any reference that distinguishes one region from another in this way is a direct threat,” said the Buffalo Democrat, a member of the Homeland Security Committee and its counterterrorism subcommittee.
Higgins said the article serves at proof that the Department of Homeland Security made a grievous error several years ago when it removed the Buffalo-Niagara region from the list of communities eligible for the Urban Area Security Initiative grant program.
The department awarded the grants this week to 39 communities, up from 25 in 2013, but the Buffalo-Niagara region was once again excluded from the list.
Between fiscal 2003 and 2011, Buffalo-area police and fire agencies received more than $53 million under the grant program, using the money to improve communications and to buy equipment that would be used in case of a terrorist attack. Higgins said that improvements funded by the money also improved the region’s response to the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, the 2009 Gowanda floods and the 2006 October snowstorm.
But that was before the Department of Homeland Security trimmed the number of communities receiving the money by more than half, saying that the money ought to be concentrated in the most likely terror targets.
Higgins said Niagara Falls and the Niagara Power Project are just two of the many obvious terror targets in the Buffalo region that ought to prompt the agency to reconsider its funding decision.
In light of the region’s mention in the al-Qaida magazine, “Homeland Security has an obligation to take decisive action” and return the anti-terror funding to Western New York, Higgins said. “Anything less represents gross negligence.”
Higgins said Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour told him about the Inspire magazine article Wednesday night.
Voutor is scheduled to join Higgins, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and other public safety leaders at a press conference this afternoon to discuss the terror magazine and the lack of anti-terror funding for the region.
email: jzremski@buffnews.com