COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Counter-Recruitment: General
'We Did It' Letters Eyed in NY Bombing
Associated Press
March 07, 2008
Capitol
Hill offices received letters March 6 containing a photo of the Times
Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including
the claim "We Did It."
The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of
the recruiting station before it was bombed. The photo was the kind
commonly sent as a holiday greeting card, according to a Democratic
aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under
investigation.
The message on the card: "Happy New Year, We Did It."
The envelope also contained a packet of approximately 10 sheets of
paper that seemed to be a political manifesto railing against the Iraq
war and a booklet. The aide didn't know what the booklet was. A second
aide, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said similar letters
arrived in as many as 10 offices.
Capitol Police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service were
investigating. In an e-mail to lawmakers, Capitol Police said the
envelopes went through the standard security process. That process,
which involves radiating incoming mail, can easily take a week or more,
making it likely the letters were mailed well ahead of the bombing.
The small bomb caused minor damage to the New York military recruiting
station before dawn Thursday and police were searching for a hooded
bicyclist seen on a surveillance video pedaling away.
Each envelope was stamped with two $1 stamps and contained a white
label with a return address, which the police did not identify in the
e-mail. Police said the letters were safe and did not contain threats
to lawmakers.
The man in the photo was thin, white with graying hair, wearing a
striped flannel shirt and jeans, the Democratic aide said. A law
enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
case is ongoing, confirmed some of the contents of the letters as
described by the aide.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of an e-mail sent from the office
of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to other lawmakers Thursday that
reads:
"A few offices on the House side have received a letter today addressed
to 'Members of Congress' with a picture of a man standing in front of
the Times Square recruiting station that was bombed in New York today
with the statement 'We did it.' He is standing in front of it with his
arms spread out and he's attached his political manifesto."
The blast left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass
door, twisting and blackening its metal frame. No one was hurt, but
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though
unsophisticated, could have caused "injury and even death."
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