By Tuesday, the president had more or less resolved to send Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, whose personal prestige rivals his own, to the region with a broad mandate to discuss political questions, not just demands for a cease-fire and the security measures that the administration had long insisted must come first.
The president has also come under fire recently for skirting security measures in his communications.
Police and fire officials, who announced the security measures at a news conference on Monday, also called for the public's help in reporting any suspicious activity to the authorities.
As civilizations developed, the distinction between passive and active security was recognized, and responsibility for active security measures was vested in police and fire-fighting agencies.
The presentation on Thursday was unusually contentious, both at the hearing in Lower Manhattan and on Twitter; as commissioners fired off questions about the program's credit-card security measures, fans of Square shouted out praises on Twitter.
In recent months dozens of them have set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule, prompting an escalation of security measures across the region.
It is not clear how much of that effect is attributable to security measures and how much to a cease-fire by the I.R.A. and some other armed factions in Northern Ireland.
Local police and fire departments have focused on bioterrorism, redirected limited resources and adopted tighter security measures in places that once seemed far removed from the tumult of New York City.
Early in December, police and fire officials launched a "See Something, Say Something" campaign to remind the public of its role in the security measures.
Residents claimed that the Marines from 3rd Battalion had implemented good security measures and encouraged the people to cooperate with the government, preventing the Taliban from firing a single shot.
