Counterterrorism Commissioner Opposes Classified Data Leaks

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The New York Sun

The police department’s new commissioner for counterterrorism said he opposes the leaking of classified information, but he stopped short of criticizing last week’s press reports that disclosed federal monitoring of financial information to track potential terrorists.

During a telephone interview to discuss his appointment yesterday, Richard Falkenrath told The New York Sun, “I am against the leaking of classified information, there is no question.” But, he said, in reference to a June 23 report in the New York Times that outlined the federal monitoring program: “What the media outlets decide to do with that information is up to them.”

Mr. Falkenrath, slated to take office next month, will be responsible for the department’s anti-terror operations, including working with the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force. In a statement yesterday, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, “Richard Falkenrath brings outstanding national experience, international understanding and impressive academic credential to this important post.”

Mr. Falkenrath, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, comes to the position with considerable national counterterrorism experience. He served in the White House between 2001 and 2004, and was a member of the National Security Council’s transition team for the current administration. In addition, he developed counterterrorism policies as deputy homeland security advisor and as deputy assistant to the president between 2003 and 2004.

Yesterday, the executive director of the Center for Tactical Counterterrorism at the Manhattan Institute, R.P. Eddy, praised the appointment as an indication of Mr. Kelly’s “fervent belief … that the police department needs to be responsible for New York City’s counterterrorism and we cannot rely on anyone else.”

Mr. Falkenrath told the Sun his priorities for protecting New York City include securing specific terrorist targets, with the subway system “at the top of our list of concerns.” He also said he would work to secure more federal antiterror dollars: “I believe New York is, from a terrorist perspective, the highest priority target in the world. And the federal grants need to reflect that.”


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