New York City Warns U.N. of Safety Risk

U.N. Building in Lower Manhattan

According to an article in Fox News, New York City officials fear another terrorist attack is very possible on the U.N. complex in downtown Manhattan.  This warning comes on the heels of the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that took place not too far from the U.N. building in Lower Manhattan.  

According to the article, top officials such as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly "feel frustrated that after years of negotiations and a [nearly $2 billion] U.N. facelift that is now under way, the U.N. is ignoring blunt and dire warnings about the risks faced at the 17-acre complex."  City officials feel that "neither the U.N. nor the State Department...have committed themselves to anywhere near enough protection for the high-profile international target."  Mayor Bloomberg has even written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about his concerns with the safety issues surrounding the international building.

U.N. officials, however, don't share the city's concerns.  They suggest the city's concerns will never be completely met, in part because "the U.N. is merely renovating the complex, rather than starting from scratch."

Perhaps the most defiant of stances against the city, U.N. Under Secretary General Gregory Starr (according to Fox News), emphasizes that the U.N. is an international organization whose campus is outside U.S. jurisdiction and it doesn't have to please the city or the U.S. government unless it wants to.

This issue could be important to everyone in the country because an attack similar to 9/11 (which is what city officials fear) not only affects the people of New York City, it would affect everyone in the country.  I think even though the U.N. is an international organization, it should adhere to certain security issues proposed by New York City and/or the U.S. government without the option to comply at the U.N.'s leisure.  Although it is an international organization, it doesn't change the fact that the building is not only on American soil, it is close by to the World Trade Center site.  It may only be a matter of time before terrorists target this international organization and the U.S. experiences a horrible deja vu that could have been prevented.