Secure Borders, Open Doors--Terrorists will never destroy the true spirit of America.

Wall St Journal ^ | April 21, 2004 | COLIN L. POWELL

[SJackson]

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacked our homeland, ruthlessly exploiting our openness, and killing some 3,000 people from 90 countries. But President Bush and the American people are determined that they shall not shatter our will or shut down our free and democratic society. In response to the attacks, the U.S. and our allies launched a global war on terrorism. At the same time, the president resolved to keep our doors open and our borders secure. We are doing our utmost to balance the need to protect our citizens with the need to preserve America's accessibility.

[dirtboy]

We are doing our utmost to balance the need to protect our citizens with the need to preserve America's accessibility.

The good folks in Cochise County, Arizona might beg to differ with you here, Secretary Powell...

[Bikers4Bush]

Terrorists won't need to destroy it. Thanks to "the salad bowl" approach and not "the melting pot" view of the U.S. we are allowing it to be destroyed from within by invading cultures.

[BenLurkin]

'fraid so.

America's institutions and its culture (the things that made it great) were delivered to it by its founding population.

Subsequent influxes of differing institutions and differing cultures have inescapably changed America into something different from what made it great initially.

[JOAT]

Where to start? This pantload is wrong on so many counts.

Some argue that we should raise the drawbridge and not allow in any more foreign visitors. They are wrong. Such a move would hand a victory to the terrorists by having us betray our most cherished principles.

Our most cherished principles are obviously NOT flinging open the borders. That lunacy is what destroys our actual 'most cherished principles,' by migrants who have absolutely no intention of adopting the 'cherished principles' that made this country great.

...100% biometric passports by the October 2004 deadline set by Congress in the Border Security Act, which is why we are asking Congress to extend or waive that deadline for VWP countries. But we are engaged in a global effort to enroll biometrically scanned fingerprints of all visa applicants, as required by law.

Why does having every person's fingerprints on file who uses a visa make any of us more secure? Think about that. All it really accomplishes is putting naive, law-abiding citizens into a massive database. If Achmed wants to be a terrorist he will likely be state-sponsored, and walk (or drive, or fly) across the Mexican or Canadian border in the vast unpatrolled regions that exist either of those places.

[navyblue]

Secure borders - open doors!

What an oxymoron that is! Do they really beleive that we swallow this crap?

They place cheap labor and the so called Hispanic vote before the security of the nation.

They can peddle this horse hockey from now till doomsday and I'll never swallow it. Anytime that Mexicans or any other group can come across the border by the hundreds, as they are now doing, then the so called evil doers can come in just as easily.

Give me a break General!

[vandykelastone]

"Open for business". What a charming phrase. I don't need immigrants who come here for that reason - which a great number of them do. For God's sake, don't turn this into canada south. Shut the doors and take a breath. By now we could have built the two ao foot chain link fences 20 feet apart and populated by Dobermans all along BOTH borders and been done with it. Never forget how easy it was when the English sailed into New Amsterdam harbor and took it in a half hour because New Amsterdam was filled with immigrants - who did not care who ran the country as long as their businesses prospered. Look it up.

[taxed2death]

Yea, I got as far as the 4th sentence. Then I had to put my hip waders on and stand on my desk. The BS was just getting to deep.

[presidio9]

[William Terrell]

Maybe terrorists won't destroy the spirit of America, but hundreds of thousands of border insurgents seeking their own profit and gain, with no intention of integrating into the American spirit, remaining loyal to their country of origin, will dilute the American spirit to the point where that process qualifies as "destruction".

[Marine Inspector]

Ping.

[vandykelastone]

Years ago there was this wonderful idea. We should get rid of the statue of liberty and Emma Lazarus' maudlin poem therewith. In its place we should put up a giant statue of a grand piano with Ray Charles playing it. Day and night it should blast out one his best songs: Hit the Road, Jack. OK?

[vandykelastone]

Mr. Powell is Secretary of State. I thank God every day that he is not, as he might have been, Vice President. And at the same time I thank God he is not Secretary of Defense.