Virtual tour of New York not so virtual

NEW YORK, NY - Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials have been taking steps to make it more difficult for terrorists to launch attacks.

That's evident on a virtual tour of New York on Google Maps. Some blurry images appear. For example an airport terminal near Buffalo dissolves into a fuzzy white blob.

That and other alterations are the product of New York state's homeland security apparatus. But what also resulted, as shown by an Associated Press review for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, were inconsistencies, such as telling private pilots not to fly over nuclear reactors and then not allowing them access to plant locations.

It was all based on a fear that seemingly innocuous fragments of information could be paired to hatch an attack. Critics are arguing that in too many cases information has been hidden that is important for the public to know.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)