Obama’s top fear is Manhattan getting nuked
WASHINGTON — President Obama dissed Russia as a “regional power” on Tuesday and said his bigger worry is a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan.
Obama’s comment came at a press conference in the Netherlands, where he was asked if 2012 challenger Mitt Romney was right that Russia is the United States’ No. 1 political foe, in light of its absorption of Crimea.
“Russia’s actions are a problem. They don’t pose the No. 1 national security threat to the United States. I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan,” the president said.
Obama called Russia a “regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength, but out of weakness,” while speaking with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte after a nuclear security summit in The Hague.
The president claimed the Russian seizure of Crimea is “not a done deal” — but then added he had “no expectation that they will be dislodged by force.”
Obama called for the international community to require Russia to pay costs for its action, both to deter any further incursions and to punish its behavior, indicating the policy could be effective.
“History has a funny way in moving in twists and turns and not just in a straight line,” he said.
He said there would always be “bad things” going on in the world, and noted that the US hadn’t gone to war with Russia. He said Russia had a legal right to build up forces on its own territory, although he has discouraged escalation and called for talks with Ukraine.
“We’re not recognizing what has happened in Crimea,” he said.
ABC's Jon Karl to Obama: Did Romney Have a Point About Russia?: http://youtu.be/L5DV228cj80 via @YouTube
Obama: I'm Concerned About a Nuke Being Detonated in Manhattan
Romney still wrong about Russia, says Obama.
11:56 AM, Mar 25, 2014
• By DANIEL HALPER
"With respect to Mr. Romney's assertion that Russia is our number one geopolitical foe, the truth of the matter is that America has a whole lot of challenges," said the president.
"Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neigbors, not out of strength, but out weakness.
"Ukraine has been a country in which Russia had enormous influence for decades, since the breakup of the Soviet Union. And we have considerable influence on our neighbors. We generally don’t need to invade them in order to have a strong, cooperative relationship with them. The fact that Russia felt compelled to go in militarily and lay bare these violations of international law indicates less influence, not more.
"So my response then continues to be what I believe today, which is: Russia's actions are a problem. They don't pose the number one national security threat to the United States. I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan," said Obama.
Daniel Halper is online editor of The Weekly Standard and author of the forthcoming book Clinton, Inc.: The Audacious Rebuilding of a Political Machine.
News
Homeland Security To Cut NYPD Bomb Detection Funding After Obama Says NYC Nuclear Blast Bigger Concern Than Russia
March 26, 2014 11:06 PM
The announcement came less than 24 hours after President Barack Obama said he’s more concerned about the prospect of a nuclear weapon exploding in New York City than Russia’s recent actions.
And as CBS 2’s Tracee Carrasco reports, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is now blasting the Obama administration over the dramatic cuts.
“Hard to believe in the ‘Can you believe this Department?’ Schumer said. “Yesterday, the president correctly says he worried about a nuclear weapon, and yet the Department of Homeland Security announces it is cutting this program which is one of our bulwarks to prevent any nuclear weapon from being smuggled into Manhattan.”
The NYPD has some of the most high-tech bomb and radiation detection equipment. But securing the city by land, sea and air comes at a price.
And now the program, which helps the NYPD detect bombs and radiation, is scheduled to be cut from $11 million to $4.7 million, CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported.
“The NYPD informed me of this last night. They were very upset but we will make a fight,” Schumer added.
During a news conference Tuesday, a reporter asked Obama whether his Republican opponent in the last presidential election, Mitt Romney, had a point when he said Russia was America’s biggest geopolitical foe.
The question comes in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
“I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan,” he said. “Which is part of the reason why the United States, showing its continued international leadership, has organized a forum over the last several years that’s been able to help eliminate that threat in a consistent way.”
While calling Russia the nation’s top geopolitical foe during the campaign for the White House, Romney said Iran was the top security threat to the U.S. because of its nuclear ambitions.
Former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the threat of a bomb going off in New York City is all too real.
“I don’t think we should sugarcoat the threat. We’ve had 16 bomb plots against the city since September 11, (2001),” Kelly said. “This is where they want to come. It’s seen as the cultural capital — the economic capital of the world — and we’re at risk.”
Kelly said the NYPD needs a robust nuclear detection program because we cannot afford to let our guard down, Kramer reported.
The former top cop, who received the ADL’s “Americanism Award,” said was pleased that Obama acknowledged New York’s vulnerability.
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani also spoke out about the president’s comments.
“I have a strange reaction to it, I think New York City is so resilient,” Giuliani told reporters, including WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond, on Wednesday. “I don’t think the president said anything we don’t know.”
Giuliani made his remarks prior to the event honoring Kelly.
Both men said they hoped Obama’s comments would help the city secure more funding from the U.S Department of Homeland Security.
Schumer said this would be the second cut to the bomb detection program this year, Kramer reported.
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