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Ridge to agents: ?Fight terrorist with a smile
WorldNet Daily ^
| Aug. 10, 2004
| Paul Sperry
Posted on 08/10/2004 1:08:42 AM PDT by KingsKindred
WASHINGTON With the nation on high alert for al-Qaida terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security is putting its border officers through "etiquette" classes to soften their image and make them less threatening to arriving foreign immigrants, WorldNetDaily has learned.
Some officers complain that the timing of the move to kinder, gentler immigration inspections is not only odd, but a switch from recent orders...
"Let me get this straight: We are in a war on terrorism and our front-line officers are going to be fired if they don't smile and say welcome to the United States?" remarked one veteran officer, who asked not to be identified because of a headquarters rule against officers speaking to the press.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: dhs; homelandsecurity; paulsperry; terrorism; wot
Wonder if this is a new strategery?
To: KingsKindred
"Smile At Terrorists Today." It sounds like something out of a John F*ckin' "sensitive" war on terror seminar. Excuse me while I go gag.
2
posted on
08/10/2004 1:12:08 AM PDT
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
To: KingsKindred
"Put yourself in the alien's shoes. Would you not want the officer to consider all flexibility within the law?" the DHS document says. "Compassion goes a long ways in applying discretion."Ah, the C word surfaces.
Quick, somebody step on it!
This is the kind of PC crap that disillusions me about our commitment to winning this war.
3
posted on
08/10/2004 1:14:01 AM PDT
by
ovrtaxt
(*www.fairtax.org* John Kerry, Assclown Messiah)
To: goldstategop
"Smile At Terrorists Today." It sounds like something out of a John F*ckin' "sensitive" war on terror seminar. I don't know. It might put them off their guard.
4
posted on
08/10/2004 1:15:09 AM PDT
by
Salman
To: KingsKindred
I see a smile in this image...
5
posted on
08/10/2004 1:21:12 AM PDT
by
risk
To: KingsKindred
Sounds like a "more sensitive war".
6
posted on
08/10/2004 1:22:34 AM PDT
by
martin_fierro
(¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,Slipping into consciousness,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸)
To: KingsKindred
If the edict were "Smile... Profile", I'd like the idea more.
7
posted on
08/10/2004 2:04:58 AM PDT
by
zoyd
(Hi, I'm with the government. We're going to make you like your neighbor.)
To: KingsKindred
Mineta & Ridge....what a pair...
Whose watching the watchers...
8
posted on
08/10/2004 3:04:12 AM PDT
by
joesnuffy
(Moderate Islam Is For Dilettantes)
To: KingsKindred
My initial reaction to the new training was also hostile and dismissive, but, on reflection, I believe that it makes sense if done well.
There is a "heart and minds" aspect to the terror war that leads to some incongruous things: special forces in Afghanistan going to great effort providing for education and medical and veterinary care in remote villages; our helicopter pilots in Iraq dropping soccer balls, candies, and clothes on cheering and expectant flocks of kids; and Marines shooting at insurgents in a town in the "Sunni triangle," but then quickly paying cash compensation for property damage and repairing mosques to better condition than they were originally.
Doing those sorts of things makes sense to the military as ways to buy good will and make friends. Fostering a polite and respectful manner by borders and customs generally makes PR sense and is meant to help prompt cooperation and valuable information from travelers. We expect traffic cops to act that way for similar reasons, so why not our borders and customs cops?
To: zoyd
"Smiling, Styling and Profiling" --- Wooooooooooo!
Ric Flair for Director of Homeland Security!
10
posted on
08/10/2004 6:20:23 AM PDT
by
csvset
To: Rockingham
Doing those sorts of things makes sense to the military as ways to buy good will and make friends. Fostering a polite and respectful manner by borders and customs generally makes PR sense and is meant to help prompt cooperation and valuable information from travelers. We expect traffic cops to act that way for similar reasons, so why not our borders and customs cops?Hear, hear. Some of our enemies we will never turn, but their neighbors and other people, might be convinced to drop a dime on the real baddies if America is seen as polite and kind.
11
posted on
08/10/2004 8:17:28 AM PDT
by
Chemist_Geek
("Drill, R&D, and conserve" should be our watchwords! Energy independence for America!)
To: Chemist_Geek
Friends and neutrals expect and demand to be treated well. As odd as it may sound, respect toward adversaries can also pay dividends.
Here's an example worth reading -- how an American officer's salute to a defeated Iraqi army major helped make him an ally:
http://armedservices.house.gov/GoodNews/Iraqiarmysoldier.html
Traditional cultures -- and especially the Arab and Muslim worlds -- put great stock in concepts of honor and shame. We lose ground when we do not take proper account of that, even in small things such as the manners of immigration and customs officers.
To: ovrtaxt
Now they have new marching orders: Greet foreign passengers with "a smile" and say, "Welcome to the United States." And don't be so quick to detain suspicious foreigners, DHS advises. After all, they are "our customers." The Department of Homeland Security has a very real and serious problem with understanding who their customers actually are.
13
posted on
08/10/2004 10:16:15 AM PDT
by
kitchen
(Over gunned? Hell, that's better than the alternative!)
To: KingsKindred
Henceforth, all Border Patrol and ICE officers will be issued a jar of Vaseline...to make entry into the U.S. "more friendly."
14
posted on
08/10/2004 5:56:03 PM PDT
by
lancer
(If you are not with us, you are against us!)
To: KingsKindred
Cripes, I feel bile rising up.
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