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Where would Pittsburgh’s anti-terrorism van have been that August night if the mayor hadn’t taken it to the Toby Keith concert? Riding around Brookline looking for al-Qaida? Checking out Ali Baba in Oakland?

I’d say that Mayor Luke Ravenstahl got it right that night, whether by design or chance, in terms of national security.

The Department of Homeland Security, seeing Pittsburgh as a potential target of Islamic fundamentalists, gave us the GMC Yukon for surveillance, to identify potential terrorism targets, and for intelligence gathering — to ride around and keep an eye out for anything that looks suspicious or out of place.

The vehicle isn’t a tank. There’s no button on the dashboard to launch a surface-to-air missile and knock down an incoming plane that’s been taken over by a gang of religious martyrs. The vehicle is just for blending in, for shadowing, especially in target-rich environments.

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