Semi-Annual Recharge...

I will receiving my semi-annual recharge for the next couple of weeks. If something interesting happens, I may be heard from, if not, I will wiggle the sand from my toes when I come back.

One note of interest, two vans ran the Port in Derby Line, Vermont coming from Canada. When CBP-BP caught up to them, they discovered 21 illegal aliens from such places as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Guyana, India, and 1 Mexican. Both drivers were from New York. Not to beat a dead horse, but read the prior posts on the porous Canadian border.

BT

Holding Back....

Yes, I am holding back. I know that there are those of you who are wondering why you haven't heard from me in a couple of weeks. I have been in the government service for many years now, longer than most marriages last. I came from the private sector, running my own business. I now know why so many people who work for the government become nothing but 8-5 bureaucrats. The reason is that so many of the people in charge (not all) are bureaucrats that don't care about doing a good job. All they want to do is get to retirement and along the way promote other bureaucrats that know more about kissing !## than kicking it.

It is a shame. With the creation of DHS and the nebulous result, you really need leaders to bring the agencies out of the mire. We just don't have very many real leaders. The same is true with CBP, and it hurts. I guess that I haven't made it to bureaucrat yet, because it really hurts. I was having a discussion with a good friend of mine a couple of years ago. We hold the same values about the use of common sense and the importance of interdiction. We agreed that it would be very hard to leave the agency after 9/11. We were both doing important work to protect the nation and felt that we were making a difference, leading others in a good direction. I am not so sure that I feel that way anymore. The bureaucrats keep throwing up roadblocks and this is not a fiction novel where the good guys always win. I believe in shooting straight and telling the truth. I was raised that way and I sleep well at night because of it, but it affects my career and the stability of my family... and not always in the best way. Like I said, it hurts.

BT

Al Zarqawi Dead... Does it Make a Difference?

The "glass is half empty" crowd is saying that the death of al Zarqawi doesn't matter. They claim that with his death, a thousand more will take his place. Others in the same faction state that his death will make matters worse as his followers seek vengeance. Where I am from these types of people are called ambulances, because whenever they open their mouth, they began to moan and whine. As usual they are wrong.

Al Zarqawi was an upper level Commander and removing him from the theater of operations is like having an all pro veteran quarterback with playoff experience taken out of the game. You can stick someone in his place, but it will never be the same. No organization can face this kind of loss without detrimental effect.

What makes his loss even greater is the losses that have preceded him, terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who was the commander in charge of the 911 attacks, captured in Pakistan along with computers and information.

Riduan Isamuddin (Hambali), commander of South East Asia affiliate of Al Qaida (Jemaah Islamiah), and responsible for the Balli bombings as well as that of the Marriott Hotel was captured in his area of operations.

These are significant losses for the terrorists and as such are significant victories for the U.S.
and their allies, whether the media wants to portray it that way or not. Let them be replaced
by thousands, and they will become cannon fodder for our troops.

BT

Maybe the Military and Fence Should be on the Canadian Border...

Last night, 17 terrorists were arrested in Toronto. Authorities showed evidence of bomb making materials and indicated that the group had acquired over 6,000 pounds of Ammoniun Nitrate and other components to produce explosive devices. They also seized weapons and communication gear. This is continued evidence of the presence of terrorists in Canada. Furthermore, the terrorists had attended a training camp in Canada.

The terrorists were all citizens or residents of Canada. As lax as the Canadian immigration policy has been throughout their history, the citizens could be naturalized. The arrests came after the FBI provided information to Canada derived from an investigation of two men from Georgia. With all this happening, I keep hearing Lou Dobbs as he gushes over the Canadian Ambassador telling him how much we love Canada on his show last June.

These arrests follow a raid last November where four Canadian residents, refugees from Algeria, who had lived in Canada for as long as six years were arrested. Included in the group was an Al Qaida trained explosives expert who had participated in camps in Afghanistan. This group had aligned itself with Bin Laden and al Zarqawi.

Once again, you have to ask yourself where the greater threat lies? Is it along the Southern Border where those who seek work in the U.S. make their attempts to enter or the Northern Border from a land that continues to harbor and cultivate both foreign and domestic terrorists? In a country that is host to terrorist training camps. If you are a regular reader, you will recall the numbers of those interdicted entering the U.S. illegally from source terrorist countries is certainly greater along the Northern Border. You make the decision, exactly where do you want the fence built and along which border do you want the military patrolling? The answer seems clear....