It is not often that a city has its very own counter-terrorist force. But since the attacks of September nth 2001, New York has felt uniquely vulnerable-and uniquely entitled to special protection. In a vivid and thought-provoking book about the years since the twin towers collapsed, Christopher Dickey analyses how the New York Police Department (NYPD) counter-terrorism division has made itself one of the best in the business.rnThis did not happen easily or without resistance. The nypd's commissioner, Ray Kelly, a former marine, and his intelligence chief, David Cohen, who had worked for the CTA, faced considerable opposition in building their team. The principal aim was to use human intelligence to prevent future attacks. To achieve that they had to gather accurate and detailed information about al-Qaeda and other groups, and learn from the attacks they launched overseas. Never mind that this irritated the FBI and the CIA-the "three-letter guys", as Mr Dickey calls them-who tended to regard the nypd as some kind of Johnny-come-lately muscling in on their turf.
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