Don't tell me... "his hands were tied" and he couldn't order this last Fall.
Posted on 07/16/2002 8:43:35 PM PDT by PatriotReporter
U.S. Probes Visas Issued Abroad
WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department's inspector general has ordered a survey of all U.S. foreign posts that issue visas to determine whether any are being approved for unqualified applicants.
Clark Kent Ervin made known his request in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and to Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., chairman of a House Government Affairs subcommittee.
The two lawmakers on Tuesday made public a letter Ervin wrote concerning the survey. They had told Ervin earlier that they were "very troubled" by reports suggesting that some visa applicants are receiving approval without proper interviews.
Ervin also said he wants to send special inspection teams this fall to visa issuing posts in countries considered linked to terrorism.
Grassley and Weldon said three of the 19 hijackers responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks took advantage of a State Department program known as Visa Express. They contended the program allows applicants to receive visas through a travel agents and does not require them to be interviewed by an American official.
The lawmakers have demanded the program's end. The State Department this month ordered a plan readied that would move toward requiring interviews for all adults who apply for visas, and would eliminate the role of travel agencies in forwarding visa applications to U.S. officials.
Department spokesman Richard Boucher last week rejected suggestions the program has led to inadequate scrutiny of visa applicants.
The travel agents who assist visa applicants "don't adjudicate," he said. "They don't decide. Only American consular officers decide who gets a visa."
Boucher rejected as a "myth" a report that 2 percent of the visa applicants were interviewed under this program in Saudi Arabia.
He said the actual figure was 45 percent. Those who are spared interviews include infants and people who have made multiple visits to the United States, he said.
Late Tuesday, Grassley's office released numbers provided by Ervin on applications filed through Visa Express in Saudi Arabia:
_36,018 total visas issued to Saudi Arabian applicants (citizens and third-country nationals) from June 1, 2001, through Sept. 10, 2001.
_Saudi Arabian citizens getting a visa through the program accounted for 64 percent of that total; just 3 percent of them were interviewed.
_People living in Saudi Arabia but from other countries and getting visas through Visa Express made up 36 percent of the total visas issued, and 72 percent of them were interviewed.
Boucher said he figures related to applications. Ervin's covered approvals.
In his comments last week, Boucher had said that applications from people applying outside their own countries "are almost always interviewed, and anybody with any suspicions as far as the consular officer is concerned is always interviewed."
The State Department's performance in issuing visas is coming under increasing scrutiny on Capitol Hill because some lawmakers want to transfer that authority to the proposed Homeland Security Department.
Weldon supports the transfer, contending that the State Department is unable to screen out terrorists.
Grassley and Weldon also sent a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday expressing concern about the "detention and questioning" by State Department diplomatic security officials of a reporter, Joel Mowbray.
Mowbray, who has written for National Review magazine about the Visa Express program in Saudi Arabia, was questioned after disclosing at a press briefing that he had obtained a classified document about visa issues.
State Accounting Congress gets involved in the Mowbray retention saga.
By Sen. Charles Grassley & Rep. Dave Weldon.
July 16, 2002
The Honorable Colin Powell Secretary Department of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Powell:
We are writing to express our concern about the detention and questioning of reporter Joel Mowbray at the State Department on Friday, July 12th. As a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service, we have concerns that government agencies not take inappropriate actions that cast a shadow over our free press.
Mr. Mowbray recently wrote several articles that brought into question the "Visa Express" program administered in Saudi Arabia. These articles, in part, prompted us to write to you to state that the program must be ended. As members of Congress who have spent years performing oversight of government agencies, we recognize that many agencies do not cherish scrutiny from the Congress or the media. However, such oversight is critical to the checks and balances that make our government work.
It is for this reason that we are troubled that the actions of State Department security officials effectively chilled the work of the media and the whistleblowers who are so vital to exposing problems in our government.
Also, it is our understanding that the focus of the questions to Mr. Mowbray was about the source(s) of the cable in question and other information he has reported. If this is the case, it is troubling that State Department officials were more worried about finding a whistleblower than actually retrieving the cable.
We would appreciate your providing a full accounting of what took place regarding the incident with Mr. Mowbray on Friday, July 12th. Specifically, we would like to know who (name and title) made the decision to detain/question Mr. Mowbray as well as the legal basis and justification for this action. In your response, include the number of officials involved in the incident, their name and title, what role they played, and whether they were armed. Please note that if a security official did not ask any questions but was present to ensure Mr. Mowbray could not leave, we would consider that official to be involved in the incident.
The comments of State Department officials in media accounts state the action was taken against Mr. Mowbray because contents of a "classified" cable were disclosed. Assuming that your justification for the action against Mr. Mowbray is that the cable was classified, we would note that the information in the cable was reported in other publications. Were other reporters also questioned? If not, why was only one reporter singled out? Also, did security officials attempt to retrieve the cable from Mr. Mowbray, and if so, what steps were taken to do this? If not, please explain why.
In addition, we would appreciate an objective review of the justification of the classification of the cable cited in news accounts. We have seen too often that documents are routinely, and unnecessarily, classified as confidential or above — particularly in cases where the information does not involve national security but instead is embarrassing to a government agency.
Finally, please inform us what the Department of State's policy is in regards to questioning/detaining reporters regarding sources and information. In particular, who decides at the Department of State to take such actions and how often has it been done in the past five years?
As we encourage governments around the world to have a free and open press, it is important that the Department of State support those efforts with words and deeds. Thank you for your time and assistance on this matter. We would appreciate an answer within 14 days. If your staff have any questions, please contact Mr. Dean Alexis Zerbe of Sen. Grassley's staff at 224-**** and Mr. Chip Walker of Rep. Weldon's staff at 225-****.
Cordially yours,
Charles E. Grassley Ranking Member Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Dave Weldon Chairman Subcommittee on Civil Service House Committee on Government Reform
Wednesday July 17, 2002 1:40 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department's inspector general has ordered a survey of all U.S. foreign posts that issue visas to determine whether any are being approved for unqualified applicants.
Clark Kent Ervin made known his request in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and to Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., chairman of a House Government Affairs subcommittee.
The two lawmakers on Tuesday made public a letter Ervin wrote concerning the survey. They had told Ervin earlier that they were ``very troubled'' by reports suggesting that some visa applicants are receiving approval without proper interviews.
Grassley and Weldon said three of the 19 hijackers responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks took advantage of a State Department program known as ``visa express.'' They contended the program allows applicants to receive visas through a travel agents and does not require them to be interviewed by an American official.
The lawmakers have demanded that the program be ended.
Last week, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher rejected suggestions that the program has led to inadequate scrutiny of visa applicants.
``This is a program merely to accept the applications,'' Boucher said. The travel agents who assist visa applicants ``don't adjudicate,'' he said. ``They don't decide. Only American consular officers decide who gets a visa.''
Boucher rejected as a ``myth'' a report that 2 percent of the visa applicants were interviewed under this prof Glenmore has demonstrated ``glaring deficiencies'' in its security services at the 204-acre, 20-building complex, so much so that state Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr. said the facility was not secure.
The state Department of Public Welfare has had a contract with Kelly's since Jan. 1, 1999. The agency had paid the firm approximately $575,000 as of June 2001, the end of the 30-month period covered by the audit, Casey said.
Among other things, Kelly's failed to conduct comprehensive pre-employment investigations on any of the people it hired for security guard positions at Haverford and did not provide supervisors on all day shifts at the hospital, the audit stated.
``There were major discrepancies between what was submitted in support of Kelly's invoices and what was shown in the company's own records of sign-in sheets, daily activity reports, time sheets and logs for a period of over 14 months,'' Casey said. ``These issues, along with the statements of Kelly's own employees, raise fundamental questions about whether the basic security requirements of the Haverford contract are being met.''
The firm also failed to properly document supervisor visits during the evening and overnight shifts and did not provide working security vehicles to employees for months at a time, the audit said. The state keeps security at the vacant hospital to protect the property.
In response to the investigation, Department of Public Welfare officials said they immediately established a work group to address the issues raised in the audit.
``We're in the process right now of doing an extensive review of the contract, making sure that Kelly is complying with the contract requirements,'' said department spokesman Jay Pagni. The company would be required to make any necessary changes in procedure or risk termination of the contract, Pagni said.
The company's contract is set to expire at the end of September.
Tom Kelly, the general manager of Kelly's Security Services, declined immediate comment on the audit.
Don't tell me... "his hands were tied" and he couldn't order this last Fall.
Uh-huh...start in Marco Island,Florida.
It seems to me that we would cut off all Visa's and close our boarders.
And let the foreignors pay the price for this terrorists act on America
NOT AMERICAN
Although a ton of them were deported and visa's revoked...they still linger.
Then we can say, guaranteed to deliver your visa in thirty minutes or you get the application fee back.
By Waheed Khan
KARACHI: Pakistani players invited to appear in an international double-wicket competition in Houston, United States are still waiting for the ICC to officially sanction the tournament. Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed said that although only Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi are in a position to travel to Houston because they have multiple visas, but even they were waiting for the ICC to first sanction the tournament.
"The position is that the ICC is supposed to give its approval of the double-wicket competition soon and we are waiting for it." Interestingly when one spoke to PCB Director Brigadier Munawwar Rana he repeated the same story but according to him PCB had only given permission to Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi to go to Houston.
He said he had no knowledge of Wasim also going. "PCB has permitted Saeed and Shahid." Yawar said though he had been invited for the event as a special guest he would not be going because of his busy schedule with the national training camp and also as marketing incharge of the Board. Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif who was also among the five players invited for the competition ruled out going to Houston.
He said firstly he still had not got a visa for the purpose and added that even if he got a visa he had still decided against leaving the camp because the Pakistan team had a hectic schedule ahead of it in the coming months. Rashid, Wasim, Shahid, Azhar Mahmood and Shoaib Malik had been invited to play in the lucrative competition scheduled from July 19 to 22.
The organisers have managed to rope in pairs from England, Sri Lanka, Canada, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and New Zealand for the event which carries a total prize purse in excess of $50,000 with the winners taking $25,000. Last year the pair of Wasim and Afridi won the title in New Jersey.
However, this year due to the national camp being set up in Lahore and due to changed conditions since the September 11 incident, Azhar and Malik have also still not secured visas and will not go to Houston. The visas have not been issued despite the fact that the organisers said they had moved applications through their lawyer through the National Immigration Services. "Even if the ICC approves the tournament still it is up to Wasim and Afridi if they want to go. However, they have the permission of the Board to play there," said Yawar.
The organisers have suffered another setback with an injury to Indian allrounder Yuvraj Singh who was among the confirmed participants and the fact that another young Indian players Muhammad Kaif might also not be available as he is now expected to be retained in the Indian Test squad in England. Initially the Indian board had agreed to release Yuvraj and Kaif after the Natwest triangular series in England as they were not selected in the Indian Test squad.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department's inspector general has ordered a survey of all U.S. housing projects to determine whether any are being used for selling or using illegal narcotics.
(Two equally stupid statements.)
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