OPEN BORDERS LEAVE US VULNERABLE TO ATTACK
OPEN BORDERS LEAVE US VULNERABLE TO ATTACK
by Michael Cutler
July 15, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
For the past several days Michael Chertoff, the current Secretary of Homeland Security has been appearing on various news programs conceding his concerns that Al Qaeda operatives are either attempting to enter the United States or have already done so in preparation for a major attack against the United States. He claims this is only a "hunch."
I think that Mr. Chertoff is hedging his bets, being able to say "I warned you" if we are, in fact, attacked. Once again the name of the game seems to be "protecting his backside" while our country is left vulnerable to the specter of a terrorist attack. The article just posted by CNN in conjunction with the Associated Press. As you read the article, notice the reference to the extremely dangerous Visa Waiver Program that just a couple of weeks ago, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge said should be expanded to include an additional ten countries.
Our nation's borders have not been secured even after the attacks of September 11, 2001, nearly 6 years ago. What is very important to bear in mind is the fact that the issue of border should not be limited to the physical borders of the United States but should be considered by understanding that immigration is a system and that the borders are but one component of that system. As I have often noted, it is estimated that perhaps as much as 40% of the illegal aliens in the United States did not run our nation's borders but rather entered the United States through ports of entry. Additionally, sleeper agents, that is to say, aliens who enter our nation with the goal of embedding themselves in our country in communities around our nation, hiding in plain sight, waiting for a message that informs them how, where and when they are to carry out a terrorist attack inside our nation, may well have secured lawful immigration status that would enable them to not only enter our country, but to move easily among us. They would be able to easily board airliners, enter secure government and corporate buildings and travel easily across our nation's borders.
Such "legal" aliens would be able to secure employment that might facilitate their nefarious objectives without fear that immigration authorities might arrest them or otherwise interfere with them. This is why I was so adamantly opposed to the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" bill that was pushed so strenuously by Senators Kennedy, McCain, Reid and others including President Bush. That bill, would have undoubtedly resulted in terrorists securing official status and official identity documents in false identities.
It is important to remember how many times the President and his administration have refused to hire as many special agents for ICE and Border Patrol agents as were authorized by Congress. It is also important to think back to those politicians who stood before the myriad microphones and cameras in the days and weeks after the attacks of September 11, 2001 demanding to know why no one "connected the dots." I myself have testified before more than a dozen Congressional hearings since the attacks of September 11, 2001. I am one of many experts who have furnished extensive testimony from a perspective of experience concerning the many vulnerabilities that still imperil our nation and our citizens. The 9/11 Commission has laid out a veritable blueprint, describing the ways that our country was vulnerable to the attacks of 9/11, consequently illustrating areas of vulnerability that still very much need to be addressed.
Perhaps Mr. Chertoff thinks that by making his very disturbing and public statements about his "hunch" will "inoculate" him if our nation is once again attacked and thousands of innocent people are slaughtered. His track record as an administration "bobble head" who failed to stand up for secure borders and the creation of an immigration system that possesses meaningful integrity will stand as evidence of his complicity in the failings of our government to protect us and our nation. So too will the voting record of every member of the Senate and the House of Representatives offer incontrovertible evidence of the failings of the politicians to secure our nation and protect our people. This time the dots will have been connected.
Consider this: after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States, not yet a "super power" nevertheless, mobilized and showed real determination and the indomitable "can do" spirit that had been the hallmark of American ingenuity. Within mere months hundreds of airplanes and fleets of a variety of ships and other military devices were designed and rushed into production. Nuclear weapons were designed and then built with unproven technology. In under 4 years World War II was brought to a highly successful conclusion in large measure because of the incredible efforts of the "Greatest Generation."
Today the United States is considered a "Super Power" yet little is manufactured within our borders. Those borders are little more than speed bumps to illegal aliens including drug dealers, violent gang members and terrorists. Narcotics easily enter our country and the proceeds from those illegal drugs fund criminal gangs and terrorist organizations. USCIS, the division of DHS the agency I have come to refer to as the Department of Homeland Surrender is utterly inept and incompetent at creating a system that uncovers and prosecutes those who commit fraud against our government, consequently the number of applications laden with fraud continues to escalate thereby increasing the total number of applications further eroding any efforts to combat fraud, further increasing the number of applications in a vicious cycle that rewards criminals who a able to game the system. Our government has proven itself so inept and incompetent that our nation has not been able to even produce enough passports to enable the implementation of WHTI, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative that would require United States citizens who are returning to the United States from within the Western Hemisphere, including from Canada and from Mexico, to provide passports to the inspectors at ports of entry to help prevent terrorists from entering our country.
Sixty years ago our nation built the first atomic bombs under the extreme pressure of World War II. In 1969 the United States landed the first astronauts on the moon and returned them safely to the earth, a feat that has yet to be duplicated by any other nation. Yet today, "Super Power" United States cannot even produce an adequate number of passports to help prevent the entry of terrorists into the United States. Today we still lack the resolve to terminate the Visa Waiver Program that enables aliens from 27 countries including countries that are known to have a significant problem with terrorists living within their borders such as Great Britain, Spain and Germany because the executives of the travel, hospitality and tourism industries have exerted extreme pressure on politicians through their high-powered lobbyists including, apparently, former Secretary of DHS Tom Ridge.
Our nation and our citizens may pay one hell of a price for "cheap labor" and corporate profits that are obviously behind the immigration crisis confronting our nation today!
If, God forbid, there is a terrorist attack committed by foreign operatives of Al Qaeda inside our country, the questions that will and must be answered will include how they managed to enter the United States, how they embedded themselves in our country as they prepared for the attack.
"We the People" must make it clear to the politicians on Capitol Hill who have not acted to secure our borders and create a secure immigration system, irrespective of political party. This is about accountability and the "Fools in the Hill" as I refer to those politicians who have not acted in our best interest will be held accountable if there is, in fact, a terrorist attack.
© 2007 - Michael Cutler - All Rights Reserved
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael W. Cutler graduated from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1971 with a B.A. in Communications Arts and Sciences. Mr. Cutler began working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in October 1971 when he entered on duty as an Immigration Inspector assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport. In August 1975 he became a Criminal Investigator (Special Agent) for the INS at NYC.
He rotated through virtually every squad in the Investigations Branch. From 1988 until 1991 he was assigned as the INS representative to the Unified Intelligence Division (UID) of the DEA in New York. In 1991 he was promoted to the position of Senior Special Agent and was assigned to the Organized Crime, Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which required that he work with members of other law enforcement agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Customs and local and state police as well as law enforcement organizations of other countries including Israel, Canada, Great Britain and Japan, to conduct investigations of aliens involved in major drug trafficking organizations. He retired from the INS in February 2002, after a career that spanned some 30 years.
Finally, Michael Cutler has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including Lou Dobbs, Fox News, MSNBC and many other television and radio news-oriented programs to discuss the enforcement of immigration laws.
E-Mail: mcutler007@aol.com
by Michael Cutler
July 15, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
For the past several days Michael Chertoff, the current Secretary of Homeland Security has been appearing on various news programs conceding his concerns that Al Qaeda operatives are either attempting to enter the United States or have already done so in preparation for a major attack against the United States. He claims this is only a "hunch."
I think that Mr. Chertoff is hedging his bets, being able to say "I warned you" if we are, in fact, attacked. Once again the name of the game seems to be "protecting his backside" while our country is left vulnerable to the specter of a terrorist attack. The article just posted by CNN in conjunction with the Associated Press. As you read the article, notice the reference to the extremely dangerous Visa Waiver Program that just a couple of weeks ago, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge said should be expanded to include an additional ten countries.
Our nation's borders have not been secured even after the attacks of September 11, 2001, nearly 6 years ago. What is very important to bear in mind is the fact that the issue of border should not be limited to the physical borders of the United States but should be considered by understanding that immigration is a system and that the borders are but one component of that system. As I have often noted, it is estimated that perhaps as much as 40% of the illegal aliens in the United States did not run our nation's borders but rather entered the United States through ports of entry. Additionally, sleeper agents, that is to say, aliens who enter our nation with the goal of embedding themselves in our country in communities around our nation, hiding in plain sight, waiting for a message that informs them how, where and when they are to carry out a terrorist attack inside our nation, may well have secured lawful immigration status that would enable them to not only enter our country, but to move easily among us. They would be able to easily board airliners, enter secure government and corporate buildings and travel easily across our nation's borders.
Such "legal" aliens would be able to secure employment that might facilitate their nefarious objectives without fear that immigration authorities might arrest them or otherwise interfere with them. This is why I was so adamantly opposed to the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" bill that was pushed so strenuously by Senators Kennedy, McCain, Reid and others including President Bush. That bill, would have undoubtedly resulted in terrorists securing official status and official identity documents in false identities.
It is important to remember how many times the President and his administration have refused to hire as many special agents for ICE and Border Patrol agents as were authorized by Congress. It is also important to think back to those politicians who stood before the myriad microphones and cameras in the days and weeks after the attacks of September 11, 2001 demanding to know why no one "connected the dots." I myself have testified before more than a dozen Congressional hearings since the attacks of September 11, 2001. I am one of many experts who have furnished extensive testimony from a perspective of experience concerning the many vulnerabilities that still imperil our nation and our citizens. The 9/11 Commission has laid out a veritable blueprint, describing the ways that our country was vulnerable to the attacks of 9/11, consequently illustrating areas of vulnerability that still very much need to be addressed.
Perhaps Mr. Chertoff thinks that by making his very disturbing and public statements about his "hunch" will "inoculate" him if our nation is once again attacked and thousands of innocent people are slaughtered. His track record as an administration "bobble head" who failed to stand up for secure borders and the creation of an immigration system that possesses meaningful integrity will stand as evidence of his complicity in the failings of our government to protect us and our nation. So too will the voting record of every member of the Senate and the House of Representatives offer incontrovertible evidence of the failings of the politicians to secure our nation and protect our people. This time the dots will have been connected.
Consider this: after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States, not yet a "super power" nevertheless, mobilized and showed real determination and the indomitable "can do" spirit that had been the hallmark of American ingenuity. Within mere months hundreds of airplanes and fleets of a variety of ships and other military devices were designed and rushed into production. Nuclear weapons were designed and then built with unproven technology. In under 4 years World War II was brought to a highly successful conclusion in large measure because of the incredible efforts of the "Greatest Generation."
Today the United States is considered a "Super Power" yet little is manufactured within our borders. Those borders are little more than speed bumps to illegal aliens including drug dealers, violent gang members and terrorists. Narcotics easily enter our country and the proceeds from those illegal drugs fund criminal gangs and terrorist organizations. USCIS, the division of DHS the agency I have come to refer to as the Department of Homeland Surrender is utterly inept and incompetent at creating a system that uncovers and prosecutes those who commit fraud against our government, consequently the number of applications laden with fraud continues to escalate thereby increasing the total number of applications further eroding any efforts to combat fraud, further increasing the number of applications in a vicious cycle that rewards criminals who a able to game the system. Our government has proven itself so inept and incompetent that our nation has not been able to even produce enough passports to enable the implementation of WHTI, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative that would require United States citizens who are returning to the United States from within the Western Hemisphere, including from Canada and from Mexico, to provide passports to the inspectors at ports of entry to help prevent terrorists from entering our country.
Sixty years ago our nation built the first atomic bombs under the extreme pressure of World War II. In 1969 the United States landed the first astronauts on the moon and returned them safely to the earth, a feat that has yet to be duplicated by any other nation. Yet today, "Super Power" United States cannot even produce an adequate number of passports to help prevent the entry of terrorists into the United States. Today we still lack the resolve to terminate the Visa Waiver Program that enables aliens from 27 countries including countries that are known to have a significant problem with terrorists living within their borders such as Great Britain, Spain and Germany because the executives of the travel, hospitality and tourism industries have exerted extreme pressure on politicians through their high-powered lobbyists including, apparently, former Secretary of DHS Tom Ridge.
Our nation and our citizens may pay one hell of a price for "cheap labor" and corporate profits that are obviously behind the immigration crisis confronting our nation today!
If, God forbid, there is a terrorist attack committed by foreign operatives of Al Qaeda inside our country, the questions that will and must be answered will include how they managed to enter the United States, how they embedded themselves in our country as they prepared for the attack.
"We the People" must make it clear to the politicians on Capitol Hill who have not acted to secure our borders and create a secure immigration system, irrespective of political party. This is about accountability and the "Fools in the Hill" as I refer to those politicians who have not acted in our best interest will be held accountable if there is, in fact, a terrorist attack.
© 2007 - Michael Cutler - All Rights Reserved
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael W. Cutler graduated from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1971 with a B.A. in Communications Arts and Sciences. Mr. Cutler began working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in October 1971 when he entered on duty as an Immigration Inspector assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport. In August 1975 he became a Criminal Investigator (Special Agent) for the INS at NYC.
He rotated through virtually every squad in the Investigations Branch. From 1988 until 1991 he was assigned as the INS representative to the Unified Intelligence Division (UID) of the DEA in New York. In 1991 he was promoted to the position of Senior Special Agent and was assigned to the Organized Crime, Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which required that he work with members of other law enforcement agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Customs and local and state police as well as law enforcement organizations of other countries including Israel, Canada, Great Britain and Japan, to conduct investigations of aliens involved in major drug trafficking organizations. He retired from the INS in February 2002, after a career that spanned some 30 years.
Finally, Michael Cutler has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including Lou Dobbs, Fox News, MSNBC and many other television and radio news-oriented programs to discuss the enforcement of immigration laws.
E-Mail: mcutler007@aol.com
posted by shummer60 at Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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