AP Wire opposes NYPD's surveillance at mosques

The AP Wire is trying to undermine the war on terror and efforts to keep NYC safe with this latest article of theirs:

The New York Police Department recommended increasing surveillance of thousands of Shiite Muslims and their mosques, based solely on their religion, as a way to sweep the Northeast for signs of Iranian terrorists, according to interviews and a newly obtained secret police document.

The document offers a rare glimpse into the thinking of NYPD intelligence officers and how, when looking for potential threats, they focused their spying efforts on mosques and Muslims. Police analysts listed a dozen mosques from central Connecticut to the Philadelphia suburbs. None has been linked to terrorism, either in the document or publicly by federal agencies.

The Associated Press has reported for months that the NYPD infiltrated mosques, eavesdropped in cafes and monitored Muslim neighborhoods with plainclothes officers. Its spying operations were begun after the 2001 terror attacks with help from the CIA in a highly unusual partnership.

The May 2006 NYPD intelligence report, entitled "US-Iran Conflict: The Threat to New York City," made a series of recommendations, including: "Expand and focus intelligence collections at Shi'a mosques."

The AP makes it sound like they haven't read the Koran, and the news agency clearly has no interest in researching it.

Here's where the article really turns into bias:

The NYPD is prohibited under its own guidelines and city law from basing its investigations on religion. Under FBI guidelines, which the NYPD says it follows, many of the recommendations in the police document would be prohibited.

And assuming the above is true, the guidelines cannot be changed, lest even some Scientologists start really going bananas and the authorities don't know how to deal with it in advance?

The report, drawn largely from information available in newspapers or sites like Wikipedia, was prepared for Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. It was written at a time of great tension between the U.S. and Iran. That tension over Iran's nuclear ambition has increased again recently.

Police estimated the New York area Shiite population to be about 35,000, with Iranians making up about 8,500. The document also calls for canvassing the Palestinian community because there might be terrorists there.

"The Palestinian community, although not Shi'a, should also be assessed due to presence of Hamas members and sympathizers and the group's relationship with the Iranian government," analysts wrote.

The secret document stands in contrast to statements by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the NYPD never considers religion in its policing. Kelly has said police go only where investigative leads take them, but the document described no leads to justify expanded surveillance at Shiite mosques.

The document also renews debate over how the NYPD privately views Muslims. Kelly has faced calls for his resignation recently from some Muslim activists for participating in a video that says Muslims want to "infiltrate and dominate" the United States. The NYPD showed the video to nearly 1,500 officers during training.

It's clear that the AP is trying to undermine the NYPD and Kelly, and that's why he and they need some backing from the public now. The claim the report was drawn from papers and Wikipedia sounds like it was intentionally written to make the police look like they weren't researching properly, which is ironic coming from a mainstream news company that's unlikely to respond to criticism that it's biased against civilized society and beliefs.

If it hadn't been for the NYPD's efforts, the Big Apple might have fallen into more serious danger by jihadists. The AP clearly does not appreciate their efforts, nor do they want any genuine safety provided for the public.