Failed Bomber’s Family Outraged, But Less by His Actions Than by Police Treatment
Barely weeks after a man killed eight innocent bystanders (five of them tourists from Argentina) last Halloween, a bomb exploded in a tunnel linking Times Square and the NY Port Authority at rush hour. Luckily, nobody was killed–not even Akayaed Ullah, the 27-year-old man who used the makeshift device to attempt to kill others and himself in what was a failed suicide bombing.
Three people were injured in addition to Ullah, who emigrated to the United States from his native Bangladesh on a family reunion visa. President Trump was keen to urge an end to lax immigration laws. Interestingly, one of the countries from which migrants have recently been restricted is Bangladesh. (Source: “New York Terrorism Suspect Got Into The Country On A Family Visa Donald Trump Wants To End,” Newsweek, December 11, 2017.)
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Still, in the midst of all the understanding, there have been some baffling claims. The Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR) issued a statement noting that Ullah’s family in Brooklyn have complained about the treatment some of their members, especially children, have received in the wake of the attack.
Baffling Claims
In other words, the family criticized the treatment from law enforcement, even as they did not deny that Ullah set out to kill people on the morning of December 11. Odd, as concerns over some of the behaviors attributed to police should have been minor compared to the discovery that one of your relatives attempted a terrorist action. Consider this tweet, which seems almost as if written for a comedy routine:
JUST IN: Family of NYC terror attack suspect releases statement, saying they’re “outraged” by actions of law enforcement – WABC pic.twitter.com/H6FTQlMEjD
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 11, 2017
No less than The Washington Post, which has been critical of Trump at every step of his presidential career, starting from the campaign, admitted as much. (Source: “Family of alleged N.Y. bomber ‘outraged’ at treatment by law enforcement,” The Washington Post, December 12, 2017.)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio thanked God that Ullah, who had driven a taxi until 2014, did not get his way. The media reported that Ullah confessed to police that ISIS/Islamic State inspired him. It’s unclear what role ISIS may have played directly, especially as the organization has been defeated in Syria and Iraq. However, it doesn’t take much planning or coordination to do what Ullah was attempting.
The police in Bangladesh are investigating Akayaed Ullah’s past to determine any potential contacts and links and want to determine if he was radicalized there. So far, Ullah’s name has not appeared in any of the lists of known Islamist suspects in, or beyond, Bangladesh. No doubt Ullah’s attack will prompt President Donald Trump to urge for Congress to approve tougher security measures. So far, the City has used “cooperation” to determine what may have been influencing radicalization in some New York neighborhoods, such as Brooklyn, where Ullah’s family lives.
