Posted on 11/25/2007 2:06:58 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
The nation's open immigration policy has given terrorists chance to establish cells
BLAINE, WASH. — Tucked in the rural countryside where rusted cars are buried under dense blackberry vines and paved roads abruptly give way to gravel is the Smuggler's Inn, a bed-and-breakfast on the U.S.-Canadian border.
Rooms come equipped with night-vision binoculars so guests can track the almost nightly cat-and-mouse game between Border Patrol agents and people trying to sneak into the United States. Over the past three years, 105 people have been arrested in the inn's yard. Just mowing the lawn can trip hidden sensors, prompting a flyover by Border Patrol helicopters, said Bob Boule, the inn's operator.
Life along the border can be unpredictable. At most points, the only thing separating 0 (Zero) Avenue in Canada from the houses, fields, woods and narrow roads of the United States is a shallow, 3-foot ditch or a metal highway guardrail.
As many as 50 groups
"We are probably one of the safest places in the world," Boule said. "I can get lights and sirens in my yard in three minutes."
But if the area immediately surrounding the inn and the border crossing at Blaine is one of the more secure along the U.S.-Canadian border, the other 4,000 or so miles are a security nightmare.
Given Canada's open immigration policies, terrorist organizations have established cells there seeking "havens, operational bases and attempting to gain access to the USA," according to a 1998 report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The report said that more than 50 terrorist groups might be present, including Hezbollah, Hamas and other radical Islamic groups from Iran and Algeria.
A 2006 report from the Nixon Center, a Washington, D.C., policy institute, quoted a senior FBI official as saying that Canada is the most worrisome terrorist point of entry and that al-Qaida training manuals advise terrorists to enter the United States from Canada.
New pressures up north
The report concluded that "despite widespread alarms raised over terrorist infiltration from Mexico, we found no terrorist presence in Mexico and a number of Canadian-based terrorists who have entered the United States."
And as security is ratcheted up along the nation's southern border with Mexico, law enforcement officials up north fear that the bad guys — terrorists, drug smugglers and illegal aliens — may increasingly be headed their way.
"It's a safe assumption," said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, whose jurisdiction includes more than 100 miles of rugged and remote border stretching east from Blaine.
Even senior Border Patrol officials concede that the heightened security on the Mexican border could spur new pressures up north.
"It's logical they will look elsewhere," said Ron Colburn, the deputy chief of Customs and Border Protection, of those trying to clandestinely enter the United States.
Nearly 12,000 federal agents patrol the U.S.-Mexican border, along with National Guard troops.
Of the 6,000 agents expected to be added to the Border Patrol in the next year, most will be assigned to the southern border.
Along the northern border, which is twice as long, there are fewer than 1,000 agents.
Colburn is well aware of the problems. "We are nowhere near where we think we should be," he said. "But we are getting there faster than ever before."
We do.
Just like they are given visas to stay in the US, and then disappear.
That is beside the point, and unhelpful, Zuben. The cure is to establish a common perimeter, and step up security in both counties.
Where does your chip come from?
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