Terrorists entering from the North?


Homeland Security's report to Congress noted that "there is an undisputed presence in Canada of known terrorist affiliates and extremist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria." Most of you probably don't remember this, but pre-9/11, a savvy U.S. customs agent at the U.S.-Canada border caught an Algerian- born operative of Osama Bin Laden trying to enter the state of Washington with a car full of bomb-making materials. His intention was to detonate that bomb at Los Angeles International Airport.

The U.S. and Canada have made much of the fact that their common border is the longest undefended border in the world. And while the two nations remain fast friends, I'm glad that at least one government agency is raising the alarm on this issue. I'm as big a fan of Canada and her people as you'll find. But to say that their government's immigration standards are lax is a grotesque understatement. To put it bluntly, Canada accepts nearly everyone that wants in. And since there's been no terrorism in Canada, they're apt to be a lot less circumspect about who they let into their country.

The bottom line: we're putting up our best defense against terrorist infiltration at our nation's airports, but we've left a tattered, 4,000-mile screen door unlocked at the top of our country. What's more, the demographics don't favor the U.S. in this situation. While 90 percent of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border, the states bordering Canada are among the least populated in our country, covered with tens of thousands of square miles of dense forests in northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

It's all very nerve-wracking if you ask me. Especially since I don't believe there's a legitimate answer to a 4,000-mile question. Surely a border fence isn't a realistic solution.

What, then? What do we do? The report prattles on about its purpose to "get the ball rolling to make the northern border as safe and secure as possible. I'm afraid that all they've done is to give the bad guys a really, really good idea of a way to weasel into this country without detection.

In fact, a sheriff from Hill County in Montana, said that if those on the northern border "get too relaxed and don't act professionally, we could be in serious trouble." Frankly, I believe we already are.

Unfortunately, the U.S.-Canada border doesn't benefit from being a hot-button political issue the way that the U.S.-Mexico border does. But the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? If we shout from our rooftops loudly enough, maybe this important issue will get some notice.


http://www.douglassreport.com/dailydose/dd200804/dd20080428a.html