Pesterrism: Jihadi Calls For Harmless Suspicious Packages

NYC's new threat: suspicious packages that don't actually have anything inside that goes boom. According to the FBI, somebody on a "known jihadi web site" is calling for a wave of harmless suspicious packages to bring the city to a standstill. It's actually a brilliant strategy, because if there's one thing New Yorkers hate more than random explosions, it's being inconvenienced.

On May 12th, this unidentified forum poster called for an "invasions suspicious bags (sic)" in "the heart of Washington and New York." The FBI says, "The poster suggested packing bags with innocuous items and placing them in public areas has the capability to occupy response assets and disrupt public infrastructure and transportation. The stated goal of the campaign was to exploit desensitization of first responders caused by response fatigue to suspicious, but harmless items." So far there's no evidence of such a campaign in NYC, but after a van filled with rudimentary explosives was found in Times Square, the number of suspicious package incidents spiked dramatically.

The NYPD attributed the increase to citizens' heightened vigilance, but the suspicious package incidents repeatedly shut down Times Square and other busy Manhattan locations. And then last month there was the "suspisious package" in Soho, which didn't seem to strike much fear into the hearts of those infidels on Prince Street.