Would a border fence help deter Al-Qaeda's new threats? (Congress, Mexican, illegal aliens)

[Nirvana-Guy]

I assume most people have seen this report. If not, please read it and then we will discuss.

Intelligence Report: Al Qaeda Renewing Efforts to Sneak Operatives Into U.S.

FOXNews.com - Intelligence Report: Al Qaeda Renewing Efforts to Sneak Operatives Into U.S. - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289152,00.html - broken link)




WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 5 TOPICS LISTED ABOVE???

[michelleleigh]

I wander what that 4th element is, I can see things like car bombings or using semi trucks loaded up with something .Though for some reason I keep thinking of places like Las Vegas strip, theme parks and something in NY again times square or central park. I dont know if anything we do now could really stop it because I belive that those people are allready here.

[UB50]

From the last terrorist plots I remember (9/11, the attempt to blow up LAX), they came here legally. On 9/11, they flew here and with the attempt to blow up LAX, they crossed over the Canadian border. I can't see how building a border fence on Mexico's border would help at all.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

NOW HERE IS WHERE WE SOUND OFF:

1. US Intelligent knows Al-Qaeda is trying to "sneak operative sinto the US".

2. We probably have the names of some culprits, but if they get a fake passport, would the US be able to figure out who the terrorists are trying to enter the country?

3. The US-Mexico border is a huge open gate for 1.2 million illegal aliens who enter the US un-detected every year. Can this border also be used to sneak in Al-Qaeda terrorists?

4. Drug smugglers bring millions of pounds of drugs into the US every year through the US-Mexico border. Can Al-Qaeda terrorists bring a chemical or biological weapon into the US the same way drug smugglers bring in illegal drugs?

5. The "Visa-waiver" program allows basically anyone with an European passport to get into the US without any security checks or anything. They don't even need a visa. Is this helpful to the terrorists??

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 5 TOPICS LISTED ABOVE???

#3 I think it's asking for trouble to have concern only for the US-Mexico border, what about the US-Canada one? It's longer, less watched, and probably easier to cross unnoticed.

#4 No need to smuggle. In a test of security a US agency recently set up a dummy company consisting of little more than a mail-box# in W VA and in less than 28 days was able to obatin a license to purchase nulear material by merely filling out an application sent thru the mail. Homeland Security?

EDIT: I should add that the ease of fradulently obtaining a license to purchase potentially lethal materials seemed to get less press than a run of the mill celebrity DUI arrest. Are we all feeling secure yet?

[KoZmiC NinJa]

A few scarecrows would keep the evil terrorists away, too.
Dummy's of GWB in his 'Mission Accomplished' flitesuit placed
stratigically around the fence holding a great BIG family value
sized shootin' iron to scare 'em off







Hmmmm....but what would be the bigger, scarier dummy ?
The dummy....or the dummy

[Lucidus]

A fence on the border would definitely help. Also, the fence would be more useful on the Mexican border than the Canadian one because of the corruption situation in Mexico. Terrorist groups could easily work with the Mexican gangs and smugglers that already have operations on the border to bring in materials for attacks.

As for the visa situation. I think we should tie legal immigration policy to foreign policy. People all over the world want to come to the U.S. We should use this as a tool to punish governments by not allowing any immigration from countries hostile to U.S. policy. Maybe then their own citizens would put pressure on them to improve relations with the U.S.

[mhouse2001]

Your swipe at Mr. Moore suggests you are not seriously polling anything (OK, maybe it's just humorous). Besides, the 'gut feeling' of Chertoff doesn't merit continued discussion. Unless, this time, "they" learned from 9/11's mistakes and are actually predicting their own actions. It'll help when they try to justify their totalitarian response.

[bily4]

I think it would make more sense to get them over there (where they actualy are), so they do not come over here.

A secret military operation in early 2005 to capture senior members of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas was aborted at the last minute after top Bush administration officials decided it was too risky and could jeopardize relations with Pakistan, according to intelligence and military officials.
But the mission was called off after Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, rejected an 11th-hour appeal by Porter J. Goss, then the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, officials said. Members of a Navy Seals unit in parachute gear had already boarded C-130 cargo planes in Afghanistan when the mission was canceled, said a former senior intelligence official involved in the planning.

The decision to halt the planned “snatch and grab” operation frustrated some top intelligence officials and members of the military’s secret Special Operations units, who say the United States missed a significant opportunity to try to capture senior members of Al Qaeda.

Their frustration has only grown over the past two years, they said, as Al Qaeda has improved its abilities to plan global attacks and build new training compounds in Pakistan’s tribal areas, which have become virtual havens for the terrorist network.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/wa...n/08intel.html

[Hawkeye48]

A fence would clearly help. If fact several Bush Administration intelligence estimates have indicated terrorists are already here and they have been sneaking across our southern border for years. So we need to take every action that stops them at the border. Even if it doesn't stop terrorists from entering the country it can slow them down long enough for our border patrol to nab them. The key is to have a comprehensive border security plan. Such a plan should include at least fifty-thousand US troops, a fence, and orders to defend our borders with as much force as necessary to accomplish the mission.

[bls5555]

Of course a border fence would help deter terrorists. Anyone who thinks otherwise is nuts. Will it guarantee to stop it 100%, no, but not being able to freely walk in obviously puts a wrench in things.

Will this ever happen? Unfortunately, I think it is going to take some kind of attack with proof that the person entered from Mexico.

It's a sad state of affairs in our country when it takes death to get Congress moving on something so vitally important as securing our borders.