I wasn’t joking -- It’s been eight months since the horror of 9/11, and we have yet to plug the security holes that are attainable. We still grant visas to Middle Easterners – although we have added a question asking if an applicant belongs to a terrorist organization, with the footnote that a “yes” answer does not necessarily disqualify the applicant. We still have the European visa waiver program, although many of these countries are overflowing with radical Islamists (remember Richard Reid?). As soon as the small plane ban was lifted, we have had a steady stream of Middle Easterners entering the U.S. to take flying lessons, and we did nothing to halt the stream of foreign students during these eight months. The student visa tracking program was just enacted into law, and it will take at least six months to get it operative (probably longer, given the level of incompetence continually demonstrated by the INS). On our borders, we have daily stories of every nationality crossing illegally, many due to lack of personnel, but many also due to the unwillingness of security personnel to do their job, because the INS has become a “welcome wagon” instead of a security agency. We have a bill pending in Congress that would limit visas from nations that sponsor terrorism – and Saudi Arabia isn’t included. We are so afraid of alienating any ethnic group that we resist profiling at airports, but instead we have screeners pushing the panic button which routinely cripples airports, or frisking grandmothers and businessmen while ignoring the most obvious suspects.
Given all these failings, do we really believe that these 25 are the only potential terrorists who have entered the country since 9/11? We failed to be proactive before 9/11, and we have failed since then.
The irony of this current “warning” is that no one who’s been awake since 9/11 can honestly believe that scores of potential terrorists have entered our country since 9/11 – with no “warning” issued.
It seems to me that what is going on is that we have a really serious situation, but that the Administration made the decision to do a lot of changes back-burner, for fear of tanking the economy with a panic.
If they had announced every single thing they knew, most of us would probably have gone into Y2K bunnker mode, and then we would have had a recession for sure.
There are many good things that are being done...and also some things that should be done that are not yet in action. Some of the things being done we will not know about. Do you really expect the FBI to announce that they are tracking all Arab visitors? Or that they are investigating every Arab business? I would imagine this is being done, but you aren't going to hear it on the news. How do you think they get the names of those groups that get put on that list?
As far as searching grandmas, here is my opinion, as a grandma myself. If they want to search me at the airport, they are welcome to do so. Grandmas should not be exempt, or terrorists will start disguising themselves as grandmas. That sweet little old lady ahead of you in line could be the mother-in-law of an Arab who put a bomb in her carryon. She could be a terrorist DISGUISED as a grandma. So they are welcome to search me, and I am sure most people would agree.
Once you say that only Arabs are searchable, you end up with terrorists using non-Arabs for their dirty work.
Anyway, I don't think we know all that is going on, and I am confident that they are working hard to stop these people. If they weren't doing anything, how did we find out about the 25? Why did they announce it?