Michael Bloomberg: Quisling in the War on Terror

The City of New York has recently started subjecting subway passengers to random bag searches. From The New York Times:

The police last night began random searches of backpacks and packages brought into the New York City subways as officials expressed alarm about the latest bomb incidents in the London transit system.

The searches, which will also include commuter rail lines, are not a response to a specific threat against the city, said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who authorized the searches shortly before he announced them at a morning news conference.

This new policy actually helps terrorists in a couple of ways. First, terrorist attacks against the western world are attacks on western freedom. By making New York less free, Mayor Bloomberg is doing exactly what the terrorists are trying to do. The terrorists are trying to diminish freedom in the western world, including New York. Mayor Bloomberg has diminished freedom in New York in response to terrorist attacks. That means that Mayor Bloomberg and the terrorists are on the same side.

Second, the searches are completely ineffective. According to the Times, "Those who refuse will not be permitted to bring the package into the subway but will be able to leave the station without further questioning, officials said." This means that any terrorist who encounters a random bag search while attempting to carry a bomb onto a subway would be able to leave and go to another station where riders wouldn't be searched. President William W. Millar of the American Public Transit Association admits that "The public wants to feel safe, as well as be safe. So this has a benefit of perception" (quoted in the Times). This means that police officers, who could otherwise be deployed in ways that actually improve the safety of New Yorkers, are being diverted to the subways to provide a mere "perception" of safety. By diverting officers from real police work to this meaningless exercise, Mayor Bloomberg is actually making New Yorkers less safe, something else that would please the terrorists.