NYC asks why feds waited to pass along subway threat

NEW YORK – As New Yorkers coped Friday with a new and specific threat of terrorism against the city’s subway system, they also wrestled with a troubling question: Why did federal officials continue to downplay the seriousness of the threat that Mayor Michael Bloomberg said required a major increase in subway security?

Less than 24 hours after Bloomberg made a dramatic, late-afternoon announcement about an “imminent” subway bombing plot, the nation’s largest transit system was operating smoothly, New York City officials said. Police, many in riot gear, were deployed in greater numbers than usual at many of the city’s 468 stations.

Although details of the subway threat were still sketchy, Defense Department officials disclosed that the plot, which purportedly involved placing bombs in baby carriages and other containers, had originally come to light from military sources in Iraq.

Based on that information – later given to federal and New York officials – military officers conducted a raid this week in Iraq designed to disrupt the plot, according to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, a Pentagon spokesman. Federal officials refused to say how many individuals were arrested, saying the operation was classified.

Bloomberg said the city acted responsibly, based on what was known.

He disclosed that the city had learned of the potential threat several days ago. But officials did not say anything publicly to avoid jeopardizing the lives of American military personnel who were carrying out a raid near Baghdad to disrupt the plot. Once the military operation was complete, the public was notified, the mayor said.