http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A14788-2001Oct30¬Found=true
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=2028
http://www.nationalreview.com/mowbray/mowbray102202.asp
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14363
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing7/for_the_record_gadiel.pdf
http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz2003.html
http://www.911fsa.org/resources/congressional_testimony_2004jan26.html
"Clearly, Ms Ryan was reflecting an attitude that pervaded State Department officials at the highest levels: On June 10, 2002 Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage wrote that believing that “an applicant may pose a threat to national security…is insufficient [grounds] for a consular officer to deny a visa.” But the trail of guilt does not stop at Mr. Armitage, for it was Sen. Ted Kennedy who was responsible for adding language to the 1996 immigration reform act which stipulated that “mere membership” in a terrorist organization is insufficient basis for denying a visa to an applicant.
Whatever the roles of Messrs. Armitage and Kennedy in allowing terrorists entry to the US, Ms. Ryan was clearly committed to Visa Express and allowing virtually anyone to enter the US. After 9/11, Diane Andruch (Ryan’s deputy) reported that the program had been discontinued, but investigation proved the expedited processing still continued. And incomprehensibly, despite public anger over her activities, the State Department awarded Mary Ryan a $15,000 bonus for her “outstanding performance” for the period April 16, 2001 to April 15, 2002. It was as if the State Department was affirming its approval for incompetence."
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/002916.php
Interesting if true.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/joelmowbray/2003/09/30/168588.html
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/joelmowbray/2003/10/01/168404.html
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/joelmowbray/2002/11/25/165011.html
Why I strongly dislike the State Department.....
"Secretary of State Colin Powell expresses concern that tighter visa protocols make Middle Easterners feel "unwelcome," but he neglected to mention that earlier this year when State was trying to push through visas quickly, some 200 people on terrorist watch lists were given visas because the full checks had not been completed. Although State is publicly spouting platitudes about its actions to strengthen visa procedures, it is quietly waging a battle to reinstate as much of the "courtesy culture" as possible. Most of the quasi-reforms implemented this summer—no changes were made any sooner—were only enacted under duress. A few months ago, State faced an increasing number of members of Congress fed up with frequent and inexcusable lapses in visa security--and Congress was poised to move the entire visa function to the new Department of Homeland Security. In largely symbolic fashion, Powell did two things: 1) he fired the woman in charge of the Consular Affairs agency who pioneered the "courtesy culture," and 2) he promised to beef up screening procedures for people seeking visas, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The most tangible effort Powell made to strengthen border security was to end the program known as Visa Express, which allowed all Saudi residents to submit their visa applications to private Saudi travel agents. Even though Visa Express was responsible for three of the terrorists getting visas in the three months the program was in operation before 9/11, State kept this open door policy intact in the country that sent us 15 of the 19 terrorists for a full ten months after 9/11. State only ended Visa Express because the public was—justifiably--outraged. But now, a mere four months after Powell's promise that his department would do a better job safeguarding our shores, State's PR machine is trying to make the case that tighter visa rules actually hurt the United States."
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/contributors/joelmowbray/archive/2002/
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