Schumer, who as a senator would have been briefed by the police and security forces, acknowledged he did not know who was responsible for Saturday evening's bomb attempt in the square.
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It could have been a lone wolf, he said, or someone attached to a terrorist group, or someone mentally ill.
But he thought it unlikely to be part of an international terrorist plot, given the crude nature of the bomb and the lack of what intelligence agencies refer to as "chatter" – an increase in activity picked up by listening stations.
The police focus last night was on a white man, aged in his 40s, caught on a surveillance camera near the car bomb, acting furtively and discarding a dark shirt for a brightly-coloured one worn underneath.
The security services admitted they did not know who was responsible and whether the bomb was terrorist-related or not.
New York was the target of the worst terrorist attacks in US history on September 11 2001, when al-Qaida flew planes into the World Trade Centre.
The city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said that New York would always be a target for terrorists, because it was such a well-known symbol of America. "Terrorists around the world, who feel threatened by the freedoms that we have, always focus on those symbols of freedoms – and that is New York city," he said. The problem for the city is that not only is it the number one target for groups such as al-Qaida, but it is also the focal point of anger from groups ranging from home-grown Islamists to rightwing militia. There are local tensions too, with a running feud between street sellers and the police.
Concerns about rightwing Christian militia groups were highlighted last month when nine people were charged in Michigan over an alleged plot to kill policemen and attack a funeral with an improvised explosive device.
In a posting on a website, the Pakistani group Tehreek-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the latest inciden t, saying it was in revenge for US attacks on al-Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. But the police said there was no evidence the group was involved.
A Republican congressman suggested yesterday that the bomb could be related to a row over the cartoon series South Park, in which there was discussion about what the prophet Muhammad looked like, and a suggestion he was inside a bear suit.
A posting on a website showed the Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was assassinated in 2004 after making a documentary about Islam, and warned that the creators of South Park might face the same fate. The car was left near the office of Viacom, the company responsible for South Park.
But Bloomberg said there was no evidence that the two were linked. "We have no idea who did this or why," he said.
New York since 9/11 has been the target of various plots, or alleged plots, whichinclude an attack on a synagogue and planes, and on trains in tunnels under the Hudson. The FBI regards homegrown Islamists as one of the biggest threats facing the US, and has identified the danger as coming not from unemployed and disgruntled Americans, but from those with good education and good prospects
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
The Guardian, Monday 3 May 2010
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