Dear Brigade, "No matter how you slice it, the Sept. 11 attacks occurred because the U.S. welcomed terrorists with open arms. And with 11 million “out-of-status” aliens (as the journalists love to call them) still running loose, maybe locating them should be a priority...." See below two columns by Joe Guzzardi and then check out: "Don’t Wave the Flag in My Face, Close the Border" at: http://www.lodinews.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc= /2001/September/21-137-01_guzzardi_010921.txt FTC-Linda ------ September 28, 2001 - Lodi News-Sentinel, Lodi, California America Will Never Be Safe With Open Borders by Joe Guzzardi On Jan. 25, 2000, terrorist expert Steven Emerson testified at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on “International Terrorism and Immigration Policy.” Re-reading Emerson’s testimony is chilling. But it also is infuriating because Emerson laid out chapter and verse how terrorists enter the U.S. Emerson virtually predicted the attacks. In a 35-page document, Emerson listed the various reasons for the emergence of terrorist groups in the U.S.: • An ability to operate under our political radar screen. • An ability to hide under mainstream religious identification. • Loopholes in immigration procedures. • Ease of penetration of borders. • Limitations on FBI and other agencies performing law enforcement functions including Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service. • More sophisticated compartmentalization of terrorist cells around loosely structured terrorist movements. • Exploitation of freedoms of religion and speech. • Exploitation of nonprofit fund-raising and lack of government scrutiny. • Increasing cross-fertilization and mutual support provided by members of different Islamic terrorist groups. • Ease of ability of student visas from countries harboring or supporting terrorism. • Failures by universities to keep track of foreign students and their spouses. • Protection afforded by specially created educational programs. • Ease of visa fraud and the intervention of false credentials, from passports, driver’s licenses, credit cards and Social Security numbers. • Blowback from the anti-Soviet majhadeen that the U.S. supported in Afghanistan. By now, these reasons are painfully familiar to us. But one other item appeared on Emerson’s list that hasn’t gotten as much play: The absence of a diligent media. Where were the journalists during seven years between the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the attacks of Sept. 11? Using hindsight, plenty of clues were out there for the dedicated reporter. Instead of seeing the big story unfolding right before their eyes, reporters were busily turning out boilerplate features about the importance of driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, the cruelty of denying in-state college tuition rates to illegal aliens and the multiple benefits of amnesty and/or guest worker programs. Generously sprinkled in among the cookie-cutter stories were the anecdotal tales about the individual successes of someone who entered the U.S. illegally. Rarely, if ever, did you read a balanced immigration story. And you never, ever read an anecdotal story about an illegal alien whose life of crime put him behind bars. Unprofessional stories appeared in major newspapers throughout the country. How could we expect an intelligent, in-depth story about visa fraud? Visa and asylum fraud is rampant. The INS cannot keep track of anyone who enters the country. But reporters were much more likely to criticize the INS for supposed “bureaucratic unfairness” in an individual case than they were to expose a system that presented a major threat to Americans. An expose of visa fraud or document falsification for subversive purposes is too politically incorrect for the major media to touch with a 10-foot pole. The media pushed forward the politically correct agenda to the end. In the Sept. 10 issue of Newsweek magazine, three strongly pro-open borders pieces appeared. The first was a three-page story by Alan Zarembo about “Ana,” an illegal immigrant living in New York who has a successful laundry business. The second, by Jonathan Alter, “Crossing the Next Frontier,” sang the praises of open borders. And the third, “Torture based on Sex Alone: Do Women Have Special Asylum Claims?” (The answer, according to writer Anna Quindlen, is yes — as if you had any doubt.) When newspapers and magazines are convinced that immigration is good and good alone, and that the only thing better would be more immigration, how can anyone expect a tough piece about some of the realities of our flawed policies? In the meantime, the Bush administration continues its “danse macabre.” No mention has been made of closing the borders — or at least tightening them up. And we are just being to hear the first whispers about “maybe” having to do something about how visas are granted. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to her enormous credit, has suggested that student visas be more closely scrutinized. Congress must be responsive to the will of the people. The canned speeches written by paid political hacks and delivered with long, pregnant pauses aren’t enough. We’re looking for real leadership on the tough issues. Does the newly created Office of Homeland Security comfort you? Are you sleeping better knowing the curbside check-in is no longer permitted? Or would you feel better if you knew that no new student, business and work visas would be issued until the war on terrorism is won? If you were a terrorist and knew that airport security had been tightened but that the borders were wide open, where would you head? No need to wonder about the answer to that question. An Associated Press story on Sept. 22 reported that other-than-Mexican detentions at the border were up 42 percent from last year. Many of those were Central and South Americans, but earlier in the week, 10 Egyptians were apprehended at Douglas, Ariz. The U.S. can bomb Afghanistan to dust, but terrorism will remain. In some bizarre thought process understood only in Washington, D.C., the possibility of tightening up immigration laws paralyzes most politicians. No matter how you slice it, the Sept. 11 attacks occurred because the U.S. welcomed terrorists with open arms. And with 11 million “out-of-status” aliens (as the journalists love to call them) still running loose, maybe locating them should be a priority. Joe Guzzardi can be reached via e-mail: joaquin@lodinet.com -- http://www.lodinews.com/ ---------- October 12, 2001 Bush Finds Bombing Easy, Politically Expedient by Joe Guzzardi Let me confess right from the start that I have grown increasingly irritated by editorial pages hectoring about how important it is for Americans to realize that not all Muslims are bad people. The New York Times, the Sacramento Bee, the Los Angeles Times, the television talking heads and President George W. Bush have all gone way out of their way to remind us to remain compassionate toward our Muslim neighbors. In Lodi, a recent seminar on Islam at the United Congregational Church speculated on how frightening life could be if we don’t know and understand our neighbors. The lectures on the Islamic faith, intended to stem potential misunderstanding among the Christian population about Muslims, were well received. I wonder if a series of lectures at the Mosque to Muslims about Christianity is in the offing? I know I am entering forbidden territory but might not some Muslims, who after all moved of their own free will to a Christian country, benefit from greater understanding, too? The odd thing is that despite the warnings from the above-mentioned parties, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been understanding toward Muslims. Most Americans know perfectly well that not all Muslim are crazed Taliban terrorists. So why are we getting hammered over the head? Speaking of President Bush, I might as well come clean on him too. I am singularly unimpressed by the nonstop bombing campaign. May I point out that this show of force comes too late to save 6,000 innocent souls? Bombing is the easy, the obvious and the politically expedient thing to do. Bush doesn’t want anything to do with the tough choices that would include getting rid of all “out of status.” individuals from identified terrorist nations. Also, the matter of revamping the visa laws must be addressed. The best would be to gut all the rules and regulations and start over with policies that make sense. Bush hasn’t shown much appetite for that either. Keep in mind the next time you hear Bush tell you that America will not be defeated in this war that the U.S. government repeatedly turned a deaf ear to all suggestions that terrorist were lurking in our midst. Every day, new and shocking discoveries about how easily the terrorists moved about make your jaw drop. Newsday reporter Jo Craven McGinty in her Oct. 9 story headlined “Rude awakening: Attacks open eyes to weaknesses in visa waiver program” revealed that a program intended to promote tourism allows citizens from 29 “low risk” countries to enter the U.S. without a visa. The ink wasn’t dry on the bill before a black market for stolen passports from the 29 countries popped up. Terrorists may have taken advantages of these loopholes to gain entry. We don’t know for sure since the State Department refuses to comment. An inspector general’s report in 1999 which said abuses of the program threatened national security was ignored. “Terrorists among us” warnings were issued as early as 1997. John O’Neill, the former New York FBI counter-terrorism chief, said “a lot of these groups labeled by the State Department as terrorist organizations are operating in this country. They have the capability and support infrastructure (read “people”) in the U.S. to attack us here if they chose to.” A cruel irony is that O’Neill, retired from the FBI and working as security chief of the World Trade Center, was killed Sept. 11. Bush’s No. 1 priority should be getting anyone remotely suspected of terrorist ties or supportive of terrorist activities out of the country. Bombing an already bombed-out country is of questionable value even if you believe the administration flunkies who tell you how successful the missions have been. Why would you believe anything they say given their track record for bold- faced lies? The Taliban walk among us — much closer than you think. On Sept. 26, the Baltimore Sun published reporter Mike Adams’ story “In Little Kabul, love of country, homeland.” The story raises some eyebrows, to say the least. Adams writes about the 40,000 Afghans who live in Fremont. Although 90 percent of the story deals with the history of Afghanistan and the U.S.S.R. conflict, the closing portion is telling. Fremont resident Farid Noori, who identified himself as a supporter of George W. Bush, conceded that the Taliban “have some support in the Afghan community of the U.S.” And Noori continued by saying that although the numbers are small, “they are fanatically loyal.” Noori maintains that some of the less educated are more likely to believe the Taliban teachings. “Even when they see what bin Laden has done, they still support it,” Noori said. “They believe what they believe. You can’t teach them.” In conclusion, Noori stated, and please pay extra close attention if you are member of the George Bush administration, “The United States has to take serious action, find these people and send them back home. They don’t belong in this country. They live here, they eat here and they make their lives here but they support terrorists. I cannot believe it, but unfortunately it is true.” We’re at war, right? That’s what Attorney General John Ashcroft and Bush keep telling me. Well, John and George, if we are at war, then can you tell me why we cannot deport illegal aliens from Afghanistan? Joe Guzzardi can be reached via e-mail: joaquin@lodinet.com -- http://www.lodinews.com/ ------- end -------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T H E I N T E R N E T B R I G A D E Linda Muller - WebMaster 47671 Whirlpool Square, Potomac Falls, Virginia 20165 Email: linda@buchanan.org Web: http://www.buchanan.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T H E B R I G A D E E M A I L L I S T To Subscribe/Unsubscribe send an email with: SUBSCRIBE BRIGADE - or - UNSUBSCRIBE BRIGADE in your message to: MAJORDOMO@BUCHANAN.ORG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~