NYPD Arrest Man Suspected of Planning Bomb Terrorist Plot

By invoking the culture of fear through references to international terror masterminds and organizations, and the “eminent threat” to police, government workers, and returning troops the gatekeepers diverted attention away from a lack of objectivity in the “breaking” story. First and foremost is that Pimentel was arrested, charged, and arraigned in a state court and not federal court. Federal investigators looked at Pimentel over a year ago and made the decision to back off the case (Rashbaum & Goldstein, 2011). Next is the fact that the media attributes Mayor Bloomberg as authorizing the arrest. When does a politician authorize an arrest? Is that not the domain of a criminal justice system in a democracy? We have to be careful to not confuse a domestic activity with an activity abroad. There were cases where President Obama had to give authorization for known terrorists to be put on the kill or capture list, but that was because our criminal justice system has no authority abroad and Obama as the commander in chief had to give authorization to military troops in foreign interventions. Another nagging question is how Pimentel purchased the bomb making materials he was arrested for possessing. All media accounts portray the man as extremely poor, and as ABC points out, Pimentel could not even afford a whole pack of cigarettes and had to purchase them individually. What about the comments made by attorney Zablocki regarding Pimentel’s openness and lack of attempting to cover up his bomb plot? By all accounts, Pimentel was posting daily updates to a web page on his anti-American ravings and details of his “bomb plot.” Last, but certainly not least, why wait over a year to shut this terrorist down. What is the benefit of waiting until the 11th hour to close in on terrorist activities? After a critical look, absolutely nothing about this individual or the situation resembles our schema of a terrorist or of a terrorist act outside of visiting web sites and buying some material from a building supply house, never mind there is no explanation as to how these purchases were made. The gatekeepers have exploited the culture of fear which was then perpetuated by the Fourth Estate and in doing so have diverted our sense of objectivity.

Since the original story broke on Pimentel the New York Times has reported that the primary reason the FBI dropped the case was because of the involvement of the informant. From this media account, the informant provided the funds to purchase the bomb making materials, the place to make the bombs, and actually had to help Pimentel with the rudimentary construction of the devices. The Times also reports that Pimentel had been working on his bomb plot for two years. Two years to build a simple pipe bomb? The Times further explains that “people said [Pimentel] would sit on a bench there for hours without talking. ‘He’s like a zombie; he’s in limbo all the time.’” The Times also contends that FBI declined the investigation (Rashbaum & Goldstein, 2011). Can a rational and reasoning mind wrap itself around the notion of the federal authorities not responding to a major terrorism case in New York City of all places in the world? Later reports confirm that a law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the FBI decided that Pimentel "didn't have the predisposition or the ability to do anything on his own" (Coscarelli, 2011). Further reports indicate that Pimentel’s public defender, Joseph Zablocki, was forced to step down from the case because his office was already representing the informant who was helping to build the bomb. The bottom line here is that the culture of fear diverts attention away from some difficult questions, questions that one may have never had the opportunity to ask if these events had happened abroad, such as with the grieving “Black Widows” in Russia, or the doctor on a privileged military base. We understand the gatekeepers are agenda setting, but can we honestly look at this situation and determine what the true agenda is? Fortunately in the Pimentel case there were local and independent sources of information that allowed the media to engage in an original version of the CNN effect. Bloomberg’s authorizing the arrest of a mentally challenged “terrorist” is slowly being exposed for what it is. But this is exceptionally rare in terrorism cases; almost never can the media obtain information independently on a terrorist from a foreign country, especially when that country is hostile to the U.S. Then, once a terrorist is stopped the media must rely on government gatekeepers for information, such as the case in the demise of bin Laden.

John Entingh of OH 7:37AM December 09, 2011