Of course, she'll send National Guard troops all over the place except for our WIDE OPEN border!
In other news, Border Patrol has reassigned their agents away from the border fences to cover the crossing points instead. New security measures at the crossing points have caused long delays. More personnel are needed in order to provide less inconvenience to tourists and shoppers re-entering the U.S. In the meantime, no one is watching the borders!!!
Am I angry/outraged about this? Naaahh...what gave you that idea?
Then, the Civil Homeland Defense bunch out of Tombstone, AZ decided to release some militia manifesto stating that they will stop, detain, and use "force if necessary" to secure the border. Ranch Rescue just had 2 members arrested for allegedly pistol-whipping an illegal alien pair from El Salvador. American Border Patrol has condemned CHD's new modus operandi and a feud is developing between all of the groups.
So, the Federal Government is moving the agents away from the border fence. The Arizona Governor is derelict in her duty and refuses to assign National Guard to the unguarded border fence. And the local "neighborhood watch" groups keeping an eye on the border fence are losing whatever solidarity they gained over the past months - starting to feud amongst themselves - and will be less effective for it.
I'm thinking about putting a big sign up on the unguarded border fence that says in several languages including arabic:
Welcome to the unguarded U.S. border!
<--- Potential terrorists and enemy combatants to the left
Illegal aliens and criminals to the right --->
Please proceed in an orderly manner - no pushing - you're all going to get in.
The only Palo Verde I know of is in So Cal... and there is no plant there
Arizona nuclear plant may have been targeted by terrorists, energy secretary says
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
The Associated Press
3/20/03 11:35 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Terrorists may have targeted the Palo Verde nuclear power plant, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Thursday, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has sent National Guard troops to provide additional security at the plant.
Abraham told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing that he couldn't go into details about intelligence reports concerning the plant, the nation's largest commercial nuclear power facility. But in response to a question by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., he acknowledged there were indications that it might have become a target for terrorist.
"Actions are being taken by all the appropriate agencies to address the concerns that have been raised," Abraham said.
The Washington Times reported Thursday that the government is seeing Iraqi "sleeper cells" that might have planned an attack on the plant.
A spokesman for Arizona Public Service Co., which operates the facility, didn't immediately return a phone call.
The Transportation Security Administration sent a security directive to airports and airlines Tuesday night, telling them to post more law enforcement officers in and around terminals and airport perimeters. Some airports were ordered to conduct random vehicle inspections. Some restricted parking in lots close to terminals.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, criticized the TSA for failing to communicate quickly with key law enforcement officials the last time a terrorism threat alert was raised. This time, her office checked and found the people most involved with homeland security had learned in advance about the Monday night decision to go to code orange, the second highest terror alert.
"It's getting better," said Snowe's spokesman, David Lackey. "They've worked through the initial delays."
The Coast Guard is now escorting ships into port and stepping up patrols of waterways. Four special maritime security units of 100 Coast Guardsmen each are in position in undisclosed ports.
Pipeline operators were advised by the Transportation Department to take a series of actions to protect the 2.3 million miles of pipe within the United States. At code orange, the pipeline industry has a checklist of 44 more things to do, such as posting security at critical points 24 hours a day.
The Federal Transit Administration, which has been conducting emergency forums with transit systems since Sept. 11, advises them to move cars and trash containers away from buildings, make sure their intruder alarms are working and disable baggage lockers.
Palo Verde Nuke Plant may be target
Robbie Sherwood
The Arizona Republic
Arizona National Guard troops were posted around the Palo Verde nuclear plant this week reportedly because of a specific terrorist threat against the facility.
About half of El Paso Electric Co.'s power is supplied by the nuclear power plant west of Phoenix.
Gov. Janet Napolitano did not confirm a threat against the plant when she sent National Guard troops there on Tuesday, saying only that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had received a number of unspecified threats.
But The Washington Times reported Thursday that "terrorists have targeted the United States' largest nuclear power plant west of Phoenix, and security officials are looking for Iraqi government Ôsleeper cells' that might carry out the attack."
The threat was described as "uncorroborated," and as part of classified intelligence reports given to local law enforcement and security officials.
Arizona's Homeland Security Director Chuck Blanchard said he could not comment about any specific threats. But he said he had complete confidence in the safety at Palo Verde, and added that even without a threat, Napolitano would have sent troops to the plant once the U.S. was put on Orange Alert status - second only to red in a five-color scheme to describe the threat level - because the plant is an "obvious target."
"I think the safest place to be right now anywhere may be within the walls of Palo Verde," Blanchard said. "The security even before the Orange Alert was very intensive. And now it's even more dramatic. Regardless of the truth or untruth of other media reports, it's a safe place to be."
The Washington Times' report Thursday also reported that six Iraqi citizens were detained earlier this week trying to enter the United States from Tijuana, Mexico.
And the paper reported that unnamed Border Patrol authorities confirmed that a backpack found last week on a southern Arizona trail frequently used by undocumented immigrants contained a diary written in Arabic. The sources said the diary, which was handed over to the FBI, contained names and telephone numbers of at least two people in Canada and Iran.