Collins: Northern border security 'grave concern' (RINO concerned about Canadian "terrorists")

WASHINGTON — A massive security gap along the nation’s northern border is cause for grave concern as Maine combats a growing drug smuggling trade, says Sen. Susan Collins.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, says the Department of Homeland Security “must continue to analyze the right mix of resources, ensuring there is effective use of personnel, technology, and international, state, and local agency partnerships that allow the border be open to our friends, but closed to those who would do us harm."

A new federal report highlights just how vulnerable Maine’s long border with Canada is to an array of illegal activity, from the potential of terrorists entering the country to the problem of methamphetamine trafficking, says Collins, R-Maine.

"too many of the left over freepers jump on anyone they don't like "

Left over Freepers?

ROFL

You're just a newbie, and fail to grasp the simple fact that we are paying BILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS to the hoards of illegals crossing the southern border daily, with LAWS being used to PREVENT EVEN ASKING FOR THEIR PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP.

Prior Terrorist Attacks, such as 9/11, are not going to clue anyone in to how the next attack will come....the DHS is the Department of Insecurity, where they PREVENT law enforcement from "profiling" and allow feeling up the hotties and grandmothers at airports as a "security effort", but won't allow police to detain or question suspects due to "sensitivity" and "political correctness".

Yes; I must be one of those "leftover Freepers", who still believes in common sense.....unlike you.

I'm not sure I said we shouldn't be vigilant about it. However crossing the southern border among millions of illegals is far easier than crossing the northern border with thousands (At best) of illegals.

Really -

Guess you didn't read my post with much comprehension.

2 of the 9-11 bombers crossed the Maine border and another terrorist with a car loaded with explosives headed for LAX was just caught by a hairs breath - you didn't answer how many successful or nearly successful terrorists have made it over the Mexican border ?

I named Mohammed Attah and his buddy who came into the states over the Maine border - But did you know that, actually, 11 - ELEVEN - of the 9-11 bombers came across the US/Canadian border????

No, I didn't thnk you did.

So, if you can be honest with yourdelves for one swift moment, can you answer why vrtually ALL the hollering and stamping of feet concentrates on the Southern border?

We need to be vigilent on BOTH borders - even tho' it's not Mexicans on the northern border. Only Canadians and tens of thousands of Muzzies. AND the northern border is 1/3 longer than the southern border (The LONGEST border in the world, BTW,commonly referred to as the world's longest undefended border ) and much easier terrain to NOT BE SEEN IN.

You say However crossing the southern border among millions of illegals is far easier than crossing the northern border with thousands (At best) of illegals...

ReallY?

"cross through mountainous terrain or heavily forested areas, but significant portions also cross remote prairie farmland and the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, in addition to the maritime components of the boundary at the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans. The border also runs through the middle of the Akwesasne Nation and even divides some buildings found in communities in Vermont and Quebec whose construction pre-dated the border's delineation. On the Maine-New Brunswick border, it divides a golf course" wikipedia

A bug-out bag and a day or two's hike will get you across just about anywhere.

there's too much Mexican hate disguised as worry about terrorists. BOTH DAMN BORDERS need protecting. Get it?

Again - 11 of the 9-11 bombers came over the northern border - how many over the southern?

And Mohammed Attah and his 'shotgun' came over the Maine border...stopped off in Brunswick, had dinner and drinks in a local bar, even using his credit card, scoped out the Brunswick Naval Air Station and then, next day, flew out of Portland on the way to the 'final' destination.

So tell me WHY should not Maine's senator call attention to the very real danger of our northern border.

I'm waiting - - - dum -de-dum-dum

You're just a newbie...

true - I've only been here 7 years -

But the story of this thread is NOT all about illegal MEXICAN aliens - it is about "A new federal report highlights just how vulnerable Maine’s long border with Canada is to an array of illegal activity, from the potential of terrorists entering the country to the problem of methamphetamine trafficking, says Collins, R-Maine."

Unless you can unequivocally refute the premise, can y ou address this thread...and maybe set aside your one-agenda for a bit?

Collins is Maine's senator. It's her JOB to be concerned about MAINE'S border too - certainly no one else is.

How about more than one out of 20 of the posters on this thread address the threads content? Can you lay your hatreds aside just long enough to admit that EVERY problem in this country is NOT about the southern border? There's more than one fire that needs tending...

(As I said,, in answer to your 'newbie' remark, I've only been here 7 years - you're 6 yrs 'older' than me. Can I come back in another 6 years and be considered worthy of having an opinion?"

Sure, our northern border should be watched. But theres not a third world country up there with half the populace trying to creep in, unlike to our south. And it doesn't seem like she cares much for watching our southern border.

Yes, we have to curtail the hoards of illegal MEXICANS swimming across our borders. But that is NOT the subject of the thread.

The subject is the dangers on our northern borders - ONCE AGAIN: the longest unprotected border in the world AND the border across which came 11 - ELEVEN - of the 9-11 bombers.

You may not be - certainly don't seem to be - aware that Canada is now top heavy with Muslims AND they have succeeded in establishing their "rights' up there far more than even here.

Why should not Maine's senator be concerned and try to get attention to the dangers on our northern border.

Why are most of you posters ignoring this? She is elected to watch out for Maine. How many senators from Arizona, New Mexico, California, etc, are concerning themselves with the northern border?

We continue to leave the northern border - totally easy to infiltrate - as did the 11 9-11 bombers - more open than a sieve. Were I looking to get into the country undetected, I'd try the northern border.

Islam is Canada’s fastest growing religion - and there have been many 'cells' and plots uncovered there in the past 10 years.

But most of you are either ignorant of the dangers on our north - or can't get past your hatreds to recognize that there is more than one "real and present danger" facing us.

Not One..I say again NOT one of the 911 terrorists came over the border from Canada to commit the ACT.
They were all planted in the states. They were Saudis.
Read below FACTUAL accounts how attah entered america. Typical un-educated soap opera watcher. He flew into newark from Prague..ON A VISA..like the REST of them!!

“On March 22, 2000, while still in Germany, Mohamed Atta sent an e-mail to the Academy of Lakeland in Florida, inquiring about flight training, “Dear sir, we are a small group of young men from different Arab countries. Now we are living in Germany since a while for study purposes. We would like to start training for the career of airline professional pilots. In this field we haven’t yet any knowledge but we are ready to undergo an intensive training program (up to ATP and eventually higher).” Atta sent 50–60 similar e-mails to other flight training schools in the United States.[55]
On May 17, Mohamed Atta applied for a United States visa, receiving a five-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa the next day from the United States embassy in Berlin. Because Atta had lived in Germany for approximately five years, along with his “strong record as a student”, he was treated more leniently and not scrutinized.[56] After obtaining his visa, Atta took a bus on June 2 from Germany to Prague where he stayed overnight before traveling on to the United States the next day. Bin al-Shibh later explained that they believed it would contribute to operational security for Atta to fly out of Prague instead of Hamburg, where he traveled from previously. Likewise, Shehhi traveled from a different location, in his case via Brussels.[57][58]
On June 6, 2002, ABC World News Tonight broadcast an interview with Johnelle Bryant, former loan officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in South Florida, who told about her strange encounter with Mohamed Atta. This encounter took place “around the third week of April to the third week of May of 2000”, that is before Atta’s official entry date into the United States (see below). According to Ms. Bryant, Atta wanted to finance the purchase of a crop-duster. “He wanted to finance a twin-engine, six-passenger aircraft and remove the seats,” Bryant told ABC’s “World News Tonight. He insisted that she write his name as ATTA, that he originally was from Egypt but had actually moved to Afghanistan, that he was an engineer and that his dream was to go to a flight school. He asked about the Pentagon and the White House. He said he wanted to visit the World Trade Center and asked Ms. Bryant about the security there. He mentioned Al Qaeda and said the organisation “could use memberships from Americans”. He mentioned Osama bin Laden and said “this man would someday be known as the world’s greatest leader.” Ms. Bryant said “the picture that came out in the newspaper, that’s exactly what that man looked like.” [59][60] Ms. Bryant contacted the authorities after recognising Atta in news reports.[61] Law-enforcement officials said Bryant passed a lie-detector exam.[62]
According to official reports, Atta arrived on June 3, 2000 at Newark International Airport from Prague. That month, Atta and Shehhi stayed in hotels and rented rooms in New York City on a short-term basis. They continued to inquire about flight schools and personally visited some, including Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma, which they visited on July 3, 2000. Days later, Shehhi and Atta ended up in south Florida.[15] Atta and Shehhi established accounts at SunTrust Bank and received wire transfers from Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s nephew in the United Arab Emirates.[15][57] On July 6, 2000, Atta and Shehhi enrolled at Huffman Aviation in Venice, Florida, where they entered the Accelerated Pilot Program, while Ziad Jarrah took flight training from a different school also based out of Venice.[15] When Atta and Shehhi arrived in Florida, they initially stayed with Huffman’s bookkeeper and his wife in a spare room of their house. After a week, they were asked to leave because they were rude. Atta and Shehhi then moved into a small house nearby in Nokomis where they stayed for six months.[63][64]”

The fact that many muslims who are caught at the northern border crossed our southern border first seems to indicate more success in the north.

We aren’t finding muslim literature in the north woods, we’re finding it in the southern desert. For much of our northern border there’s a considerable body of water that needs to be crossed which forces them to cross by bridge or boat. There isn’t an illegal alien smuggling industry in the north either. Failures at the northern border tend to happen at legal border crossings and in the case of the 9/11 bunch they came in legally.

Northern border security always deserves serious consideration but it also needs to be realistic. Watch towers along the Detroit river would be an idiotic waste of money and we might as well put them up on the shore of lake superior for all the effectiveness they would have.

As for our dry land border we would probably be most successful using the locals to keep an eye on things.

(back attcha: He hopped, skipped, jumped, drove and flew from country to countyr -state to state for several years before 9-11 but, in his last days, he was in CANADA - shortly before 9-11 - forging ID’s - he leaves Canada - when/how? - shortly before 9-11 and ends up the night before 9/11, in Portland, Maine - just 20 minutes from Brunswick Naval Air - a VERY easy base to observe as to flight paths and patterns. He and his sidekick have dinner and drinks in a Brunswick restaurant/ber, uses credit card. (I have seen this reported). Next morning, they depart from Portland ariport.)

The Canadian Connection:
January 2001-Summer 2001: Hijackers Witnessed Preparing False IDs in Toronto Photocopy Shop with al-Marabh
Many eyewitnesses see Marwan Alshehhi and Mohamed Atta at a Toronto photocopy shop owned by Nabil al-Marabh’s uncle. Some of the dozens of eyewitness accounts say Atta sporadically works in the shop. There is a large picture of bin Laden hanging in the store. Alshehhi and Atta are also seen by other eyewitnesses in a Toronto apartment building during this same time period (see January 2001-Summer 2001). [Toronto Sun, 10/21/2001] In a series of raids after 9/11, many partially completed fake IDs will be found in the store and at al-Marabh’s apartment. A stack of tightly-controlled immigration forms enabling one to immigrate to Canada will also be found. [Toronto Sun, 9/28/2001; Toronto Sun, 10/5/2001; Toronto Sun, 10/16/2001] According to the Toronto Sun, “Forensic officers said there are similarities in the paper stock, laminates, and ink seized from the downtown store and that which was used in identification left behind by the [9/11 hijackers].” [Toronto Sun, 10/16/2001]

January 2001-Summer 2001: Hijackers Live in Toronto Apartment Building with Al-Marabh
The landlord and at least twelve tenants of a Toronto high rise building see Marwan Alshehhi living there in the spring of 2001. Other witnesses recall seeing Alshehhi and/or Mohamed Atta in or near the building. Nabil al-Marabh is sporadically staying in the same building in an apartment unit owned by his uncle. None of the witnesses appear to have sighted any of the other hijackers. Alshehhi and Atta are also seen by eyewitnesses around this time at a Toronto photocopy shop owned by al-Marabh’s uncle, and there are even some who see Atta occasionally working there (see January 2001-Summer 2001). [Toronto Sun, 9/28/2001; Toronto Sun, 9/28/2001; ABC News, 1/31/2002] The apartment where al-Marabh stayed will not be raided by police until about two weeks after 9/11, and one week after reports of al-Marabh’s connections to the hijackers has been in the newspapers. The Toronto Sun will report, “Many [building] residents questioned why police waited so long to raid [the] apartment after al-Marabh was arrested. Several tenants alleged they had seen a man late at night during the past week, taking away boxes from the apartment.” [Toronto Sun, 9/28/2001] Al-Marabh’s roommate in the apartment is Hassan Almrei, a Syrian national. Canadian authorities will later arrest Almrei and discover that he has extensive connections with al-Qaeda (see October 19, 2001). [ABC News, 1/31/2002] Some of the 9/11 hijackers may have been in Toronto as late as the end of August 2001. A motel manager in Hollywood, Florida, will later say that Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah stay at his motel on August 30, 2001. He will say they gave a non-existent Toronto address and drove a car with Ontario, Canada, license plates. They claimed to be computer engineers from Iran, and said they had just come down from Canada to find jobs. [Washington Post, 10/4/2001; Toronto Sun, 10/5/2001]

Back at you again.
Your name is not Janet is it?
So he was in Canada for a time. Who cares. He was hopscotching all over America and I say again he first came to AMERICA on a VISA and FLEW IN to newark. America let him in no questions asked. He went from Germany to Prague to America. Coming to Canada had nothing to do with anything. You made a statement
ATTAH and the rest of the 911 squad came from Canada. You are WRONG.

Although it’s been mentioned twice recently (by GOP congressional candidates Steve Pearce and Tom Mullins), the idea that the 9/11 terrorists came across the northern border is a myth.

“As the 9/11 Commission reported in July 2004, all of the 9/11 terrorists arrived through major U.S. airports from outside North America. They entered the U.S. with documents issued to them by the U.S. Government,” Jennie Chen, counsellor for public affairs at the Embassy of Canada in Washington D.C., told The Independent in an e-mail.

There is not a single passage in the report that exonerates our northern neighbor, but another embassy staffer pointed us to the relevant passages in the report:

All of the 9/11 terrorists arrived in the U.S. from outside North America (pg 236, “From Pakistan, the operatives transited through the UAE en route to the U.S.”)
They flew to major U.S. airports (pg. 237, “The muscle hijackers began arriving in the U.S. in late April 2001. In most cases, they traveled in pairs on tourist visas and entered the U.S. in Orlando or Miami, Florida; Washington, DC; or New York.”).
They entered the U.S. with documents issued to them by the U.S. government (pg 235, “muscle hijackers obtained U.S. visas in Jeddah or Riyadh between Sept. and Nov. of 2000.)
Last year, Attorney General Janet Napolitano was criticized for alluding that the 9/11 terrorists came from Canada when she said:”Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn’t have a drug war going on, it didn’t have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year,” she said. “Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it’s been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there.”

After a minor uproar, Napolitano was forced to clarify, saying, ”I know that the September 11th hijackers did not come through Canada to the United States.”

How did all this confusion begin? The Washington Post explained in a 2005 story:

The account was born in the first days after the attacks, when reporters and government investigators were scrambling to figure out how the conspirators had carried out the plot. Bernard Etzinger, a Canadian Embassy spokesman, says the “big bang” that started the legend can be traced to two Boston newspapers.

A Boston Globe story on Sept. 13 said investigators were “seeking evidence” that the hijackers came through Canada. The Boston Herald reported the same day that federal investigators believed “the terrorist suspects may have traveled . . . by boat” from Canada.

On Sept. 14, The Washington Post reported that an unnamed U.S. official had said two suspects “crossed the border from Canada with no known difficulty at a small border entry in Coburn Gore, Maine,” and that others may have come through other Maine ports. On Sept. 16, that report was repeated by the New York Post, which also declared that “terrorists bent on wreaking havoc in the United States” had found Canada “the path of least resistance.” On Sept. 19, the Christian Science Monitor referred to Canada as “a haven for terrorists.”

“It was just one of those things where everybody says, ‘We all knew that,’ and it becomes irrefutable,” Etzinger said.

In the weeks after the attacks, investigators established that all of the hijackers entered the United States from countries other than Canada, a finding that got the official stamp last summer with the release of the Sept. 11 commission report. But that has not stopped the story from spreading

You're entitled to your opinion.

To address the purported "facts":

Maine is considered a State.

Collins is one of two loser Senators from Maine.

The "border" with Canada does not neet taxpayers across this nation donating to her cause, as the potential for Terrorist crossings is a National issue, and her cause is simply to drain taxpayer dollars to address a non-existent issue.

The Country is bleeding dollars for generations to come, spent on a non-existent credit line, and pouring dollars into a non-problem because ONE State decides they have a "threatening situation" is ludicrous.

MANY MORE TAXDOLLARS can be saved be securing the Southern Border against illegal entrants (PROVEN TO BE A FACT as opposed to conjecture on the part of the Maine "Senator"), and cost-effective expenditures are what is needed NOW.

In six years, you can see if you were correct....if the USA survives economically.

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