The Spymaster of New York

In the NYPD, on the other hand, among the more than 35,000 serving officers in 2002, language testing quickly identified hundreds fluent in Arabic or Dari, Persian, Pashto, Fukienese—45 languages in all. Today, in any graduating class of the police academy there may be 50 nationalities or more.

In 2003, two alleged Iranian agents caught photographing the No. 7 subway line beneath the East River were surprised to find themselves confronted by a cop who spoke fluent Persian. They quickly left the country. In 2003, a young undercover officer born in Bangladesh penetrated a small group of angry young immigrants, two of whom had started plotting to blow up targets in Staten Island and the subway station at Herald Square.

When it comes to disrupting potential terrorist plots, cops can use simple techniques out of bounds to the CIA or even the FBI. Cohen's detectives, for instance, might follow a suspect onto a subway and have a uniformed cop collar him for an infraction as minor as sitting on two seats at a time. Once he's taken down to the station, he may be faced with the threat that his friends will find out he was there and think he's talked. "Mostly, we don't hear from those guys again," says one of Cohen's senior operatives.

Are we safe yet? Cohen doesn't think so. Homegrown "groups of guys" angered and inspired by what they see on the Web may be spotted and disrupted, but the threat remains that some will be missed. Others, like the London bombers in 2005, can visit terrorist-training camps to learn truly deadly skills. And all the while, Osama bin Laden remains at large, still looking for "the big bang," for another 9/11, says Cohen. "That motherf–––er wants to do it before he dies!" Not if the NYPD can help it.

© 2009