Border Watch

Merry Christmas to All...

2009-12-18T22:40:00.002-05:00

Well, in case you have been wondering, I am still around. A couple of years ago I moved to a different position back in the great State and have been quite busy ever since. Unfortunately, as a personal decision, I did not think it was fair to continue posting due to my new responsibilities. As far as I can tell, things haven't changed much, a better wage for those in the trenches which is deserved and may stem attrition to a certain extent. I still bemoan the loss of institutional knowledge of the foundation, but perhaps that was the plan. What I really want to do is wish you all a wonderful Christmas and encourage you to surrender to the season. Surround yourself with those you love, family and friends. Give thanks for your blessings and start or continue to pray for help with the challenges that you and we all face. Life is too short, make the most of it through your relationships with those you love and remember, if you don't tell them you love them they may never know.

I may yet figure out a way to continue here so thanks for checking in and please accept my best and warmest regards during this Holiest of seasons.

BT

Oh My, I Was Right ...... Imagine That!

2007-11-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08219.pdf

There is just not much more to say, than I have been telling them this for the last three years.

BT

It Is In The Interview.....

2007-08-14T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today I had the opportunity to train Officers about to go out into the field on one of our newer systems. The setting was just like the field, where Officers are dealing with international travelers or those going international in the near future. The system worked pretty well and only crashed once, but was up and running in short order. It was easy to use and prompted the user when ever mistakes were made. As one of my colleagues stated, " a trained monkey could use it". He is pretty much right, but that is not really the dangerous aspect. As I anticipated and have written previously, the high tech systems set up a false sense of security for those lacking experience. They begin to feel that by asking the basic questions needed to input information into the system, they are conducting a proper interview. They rely on the database to indicate who might be the smuggler or terrorist. Unfortunately for them and the country, those that are most dangerous won't be in the system. KSM had over thirty genuine passports in a variety of names and from a variety of countries. The basic questions posed by border agencies throughout the world can be found in the Al Qaida training manual.

Interdicting the smuggler, criminal, or terrorist always comes down to one thing.....

The Interview!

Anything that detracts from the interview is counter-productive. Relying on systems for
threat assessment is terribly dangerous and keeps the Officers from honing their interviewing skills. It is not the systems or high tech tools that are hurt us, but forgetting that these are just tools to assist the Officer in conducting threat assessment. The Officer needs to utilize the information provided by the systems and tools to direct the interview in the direction it needs to go. This is the rare exception. The false sense of security provided by these tools and the constant barrage to process travelers faster makes for a less secure nation. It is the utter reliance on these systems and tools that lead to problems where the process stops because the computers aren't working. If we have developed the interviewing skills in our Officers, we can implement our continuity of operations planning and not miss a beat. If our Officers no longer have the skills, we are all at risk.

BT

Good News....

2007-07-21T22:06:00.000-04:00

Alright folks,
I will be leaving my current position and heading back to the field. It will be a different and yet similar role to what I have been doing for the last several years. I hope now that the future is somewhat clearer, this mode of communicating and addressing threats can get back to the beacon it was intended to be. Thank you for your patience. Don't think that the last few months have been wasted. They haven't been, a great deal of information has been collected. This is especially true with regard to the threats in the United Kingdom. It is enough to build an entire course around. I don't have a time table yet, but at least a direction.

BT

Still Bleeding...

2007-05-01T22:09:00.000-04:00

We are still here, just waiting for some good news and trying to keep a positive attitude. Most of those that I have worked with for the last five years have gone or will be gone very shortly. I will be going soon, where, I am not sure. I hope it is to a place of my choosing, if not, it is going to hurt an awful lot. Throw a few good thoughts this direction, I would appreciate it. A novena would be fine...

A few "In Memoriams"

Roger Correa-Just a hell of a good man, who raised a good family and showed
love to a whole bunch of us.

Mr. Cantu-A nice old gentleman who collected tolls at the Los Ebanos Ferry sometimes.

Jay Moore-The best gunsmith I have ever known and worked with. He was a friend
to generations of sportsmen, from my grandfather to me.

I will try to keep this site going, if things go well and I end up where I would like to be, it should come back to the original mission statement.

BT

Updates from the Field...

2007-03-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

Last night I had the pleasure of eating dinner with some old friends and some new ones. A variety of CBP Officers from Journeymen to Supervisors from all over the country. The refrain was the same from all, unhappiness in how business is being conducted. Not unhappiness with the job, but at not being able to do the job because of the bureaucrats and their push for mediocrity.

Assigning new Officers to man radiation portal monitors for up to two years and the fact that this task is requiring up to fifty percent of their manpower, leaving very few Officers left to conduct enforcement operations. This harmony was the same from all environments- land, sea, and air. Overtime is plentiful due to the RPMs staffing requirements.

The same can be said for assigning new hires to work primary for a couple of years at the airports. You take these young Officers full of enthusiasm and motivation and stick them in these duties and you might as well invite them to look for other employment challenges... and this is exactly what is happening. These people signed up for a law enforcement career and are being relegated to stampers and RPM baby sitters, that is why our retention rates are so bad. We continue to lose Officers right out of the Academy to other agencies.

I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel except for the train. Unless something is done, CBP will be full of old people that can't move to other agencies and are less than able to fulfill the duties of the CBP Officer. When some ports are losing 60 to 80 people a year, you would think somebody in the ivory towers would take notice.

They just keep sending new people to be trained, with the way things are going, I wonder who will conduct the training.

BT

Still Catching Bad Guys...

2007-01-30T18:37:00.000-05:00

One of the pearls of wisdom that I share with my trainees is that no matter what the bureaucrats are doing in Washington, no matter what the politics of the moment, we still have to do our job at the borders. That is exactly what is happening:

Hidalgo, TX Port of Entry seizes over 1,ooo pounds of Cocaine.

Nogales, AZ seizes over 3,000 pounds of Marijuana and another almost 2,000 in the last week.

El Paso Area Ports seized over 3,400 pounds of Marijuana and 72 pounds of Cocaine.

The agency has never been in such turmoil, but through it all, the Officers come through.
Well done.

BT

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative....Passports

2007-01-10T18:43:00.000-05:00

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is gradually being phased into effect. Basically this is going to make it a requisite to have a passport to enter the country. This has always been the case when coming from the Eastern Hemisphere, but shortly in the air environment, a passport will be required from all foreign arrivals. This will be put into effect in the land environment next year. The dream is that by requiring everyone to have these documents, we can catch the terrorists trying to enter the country. Of course like everything else now a days, the passports are supposed to be smart documents, hard to counterfeit and high tech.

There are a few problems with this new requirement. One, is that a major goal of the terrorists we are fighting is to hurt our economy. Requiring passports from people living along the nations borders, some of the poorests parts of the country will have dire consequences for the economy of these areas. Many of these people on both sides of the borders can't afford the cost of the passports.

As a result of the above, you are going to have more people from Mexico and Canada attempting to sneak across the border. This in itself is going to cost the nation money in that you will have Border Patrol responding to more sensor hits and sightings of illegal aliens and this is expensive if you consider fuel costs, processing costs, housing, food, and time. In addition, we will be wasting resources on low risk for terrorism individuals because of a situation WE created. It is circular in that it will create a greater need for more Patrol Agents and once again more expense for the nation responding to low risk subjects.

Beyond what has been previously stated, this is my greatest concern. Border agencies continue to become more and more reliant on high tech databases utilizing bio-metric information. At the same time, they are under great pressure from the airlines and business communities to facilitate the flow of people entering the country. In this high stress and fast paced world, what happens is the Officers working the border Ports become reliant on these databases and documents. Swipe the document, stamp the documents, and DTR (down the road-an industry term), Welcome to America-We Love You. Primary Inspections become a muscle memory instead of threat assessment... AND THIS IS BAD. You have to understand that the terrorists, like those who killed 3,000 on 9/11 used genuine passports to enter the United States, they did not sneak across the border. Khalid Sheik Mohammed the Commander of the 9/11 plot had over 30 genuine passports, all with different information, when he was captured. Documents are only part of the big picture when conducting threat assessment. Over reliance on these documents detracts from the most important part of the process, the interview. That is when you are going to determine if the person in front of you is being deceptive. Anything that detracts from the interview is counter-productive to the overall mission. The requirement for the passport is another nail in the coffin that belongs to the interview. In our business, a little more talk leads to a lot more action.

BT

Merry Christmas.....

2006-12-25T17:02:00.000-05:00

Today, this Blessed Christmas Day when we celebrate the most Holy of events, is a day to count blessings and not moan about anything. I am blessed with a wonderful family and some great friends and those are the most important things... as I continually tell those I train. I have been fortunate to be able to contribute to the safety of the nation, which gives me tremendous gratification. So today I wish you all the best and hope that you are with family and friends and that you prosper in the fast approaching new year. In harmony with the reason for this blog, remember that to a huge extent, this is a war of religion and the more you know of history and religion, the better you can protect this blessed nation.

BT

Still here....

2006-12-20T23:58:00.000-05:00

Don't go away, we are still here. Thought we had some good news Friday, but BP is holding out, that is alright. Things haven't changed any except that some local opportunities have arisen due to people bailing. When you are at the top of the list, there is nothing else you can do, but hope that fairness and common sense prevail over ego and bias. What ever happens, this won't just disappear. We will continue or let you know why.

BT

Trying to Survive...

2006-11-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

Folks,
This blog has not gone away, but quite honestly, a bunch of us are just trying to hang on to our jobs or find other places we can contribute in a meaningful way. It is quite unfortunate, but that is the reality that many of us who have dedicated the last several years to training Federal Officers to protect this nation are facing. After we spent years on the borders developing the skills to interdict the enemies of the nation and then taking those skills and being able to communicate them to new hires. We are being forced to leave as previous posts have indicated.

I promise to comment on issues that are pressing and I continue to research the threat in country from different groups. In fact, there is some very interesting things going on in this arena. It is very reminiscent of the 70s anti-nuke groups funded by the Soviets and satellites. In other words, it is fascinating and I could go on for a long time, but survival comes first.

Thanks for checking in....

BT

Bleeding badly...

2006-10-12T22:52:00.000-04:00

Within the last year in a half or so, CBP has lost five extremely experience Instructors to other agencies. If you read the "I Wish It Was Fiction" post, that was one example, but tomorrow we lose another very experienced interdiction Officer whose field expertise was earned at the world's busiest port of entry. This Supervisory Officer and Instructor was going to be forced out of his position at the Academy and back into the field which would have cost him in the neighborhood of $20,000.00, because of a rotation policy that costs the Agency tons of money and exchanges experienced Instructor for those with little or no experience. Can you imagine moving to San Diego after taking that kind of hit. So he left, taking a job at another agency as a Program Manager. No longer an Officer sharing interdiction skills and experience. It costs about $70,000.00 to move an Instructor in or out of the Academy. That is about $140,000.00 per Instructor replacement. There are at least 10 scheduled to be moved in the near future. That is about $1,400,000.00, enough to pay 40 new line Officers for a year.

I could continue with similar stories, but hate to ramble about such this bad situation. I hope that this explains why I haven't been posting with the normal frequency. I don't like to report these kind stories. I would much rather share with you our successes, goals, and the cutting edge training we are doing to keep the nation safe. It is just not there right now, I hope it comes back around.

Those of us who care about this job and protecting those we love, hence the nation are just trying to survive right now.

BT

Still Here....

2006-09-16T16:47:00.000-04:00

Border Watch is still here and hopefully will remain, there just isn't a whole lot nice from this end to report. I try to keep it positive, but jeez the burros make it hard.

I will say this NTC has been working their butts off keeping the nation safe, so good job to the dedicated folks there.

One other attaboy to Del Bonita, Montana for being ever vigilant. Top Notch enforcement, way to go Greg and his folks.

BT

I Wish It Was Fiction...

2006-08-28T22:39:00.000-04:00

Imagine this, you are in the training environment and in the course of your duties you find trainee with exceptional skills and expertise. You interview him and ask him if he would be willing to help provide training, he agrees. You utilize him as a visiting Instructor from the field and realize that he is providing 85% to 90% of the advanced course. Even though he has little field experience in your agency's area, he is brought to the training center as a permanent Instructor. His experience and abilities as an Instructor are highlighted by his critiques. You bring him aboard to assist in advanced anti-terrorism training due to his incident command expertise. Within this training a course is developed to challenge managers in mitigating incidents in this day and age of devastating events. Once again, the course is a resounding success as evidenced by the written and verbal accolades of the participating managers. He has once again illustrated that he is the best at what he does. He spends half of his time away from his family training employees on the road and then suddenly it stops. He is no longer training in the area of his expertise and is sent to a new realm. Those who take his place are pale replacements. His time at the training center is coming to an end, and he is returned to his former duty station, losing his grade and 25% of his salary, for his permanent position is said to be rotational and temporary. So instead of providing the best training possible to the agency's personnel, he is to be pushing traffic. He leaves the agency to take a leadership position outside the federal government paying more and providing more benefits for his family instead of being relegated to a journeyman position. The agency loses the best hazardous material and incident command trainer it has ever had. All he wanted, was to do what he did best and the nation would be safer, the agency would be more efficient, and we would still be conducting cutting edge training. I wish it was fiction....

Recent Observations...

2006-08-24T22:08:00.000-04:00

I am sure most of you heard of the incident, where airline passengers refused to fly with two Asian young men who were heard speaking Arabic and acting in a strange manner. Some complained to the flight crew and others got off the plane. Some may think this was unacceptable behavior that unfairly targeted these two men based on race, ethnicity, and language. That may be true, but here is the bigger story. The passengers took the action they felt necessary to ensure their safety. They did not sit back and await whatever their fate like the sheep aboard planes on 9/11. ( A somewhat harsh, but true statement). That is a good thing!

Airline security has been a huge issue lately and more so with the London plot. When we look at our airline security and evaluate TSA, more often than not, they come out looking bad. This is reflected in recent evaluations at the Orlando airport where almost 60% of all screeners failed an imagery threat test. That is they could not recognize dangerous objects utilizing the x-ray machines. The problem with TSA is the training, they need some serious training in a bad way. The only problem is that in order to be a TSA training Officer, you have to be in TSA. From what I have seen of their announcements, they only hire from within for these positions. I am sure that as many other agencies, they are relying on contractors(not good as a general rule) for training. What I don't understand is why they would not want to hire training specialists with deep and diverse experience from other agencies. It would only make sense... oh, maybe that is why...

BT

London Events...

2006-08-11T21:56:00.000-04:00

Aside from the obvious, the threat from these terrorists, what else do we need to come away with from these arrests and the plot. Here are a few things to consider. The first is that aircrafts are still at risk and integral to plots to kill Americans and their allies in the war against terrorism. The second is that Al Qaida continues to use plans that have been used before, in this case the hijackings in the Philippines in 1995 and in the U.S. in 2001. This may be because they have had successes with these plans OR that the mastermind commanders such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, are no longer around to come up with new plans so old plans are being reused. It is also a good bet that such targets like the World Trade Centers, Pentagon, and the Capitol are still at risk. Third, is that the intelligence that liquids were going to used as explosives aboard planes circulated a few years ago is proving to be correct. Remember the thermos alert? Fourth and MOST IMPORTANT, the terrorists said to be involved were British citizens as were those involved in the second set of London subway bombings and Richard Reid. It is a trend and it points to an internal risk both in England and here, from citizens who are Islamic fundamentalists.

How were law enforcement officials able to prevent this horrific plot? There were many factors, but one that should not be discounted is that because the terrorists were British citizens, the group was easier to infiltrate. This great example of cooperative international law enforcement is a win for the good guys.

BT

Don't Know Why I Leave...

2006-07-19T21:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I returned from a great couple of weeks back home. While we drove that way, we flew back. I told my wife when we landed 1,300 miles later that if we had driven, we would be getting to Houston about now. She thought the short plane ride was great, I still like to drive cross country. It was probably better, because I am not quite sure that I could have crossed the Sabine River this time around.

I spent some time at the range with my brother and three Sigs, a 9mm Blackwater 226, a .40 Equinox 220, and .45ACP Stainless 220. Sigs are not my weapon of choice, but we shot the heck out of them and they all performed flawlessly. The groups were very tight. Of these, the .45 ACP was my favorite as it fit my hand very well and of course all real men prefer .45s. I also shot a Taurus PT-22 that spends some time in my pocket. It shot very tight as well, 10 rounds all in the head of a B27 at 10 yds. Not bad for a weapon with basically no sights. The last round did fail to feed, but I have to admit that the ammo was probably 13 years old.

I have shared some photos of what I did on my Summer vacation. If you are interested, they were taken with a Cannon digital with a 10x optical/32x digital zoom. It is a great camera. I used Picasa to import the photos, but two didn't make it for some reason. I may just put out a photo post after this because I took a bunch of pics. You can see why it is so hard to return to work and I really like what I do. Let me tell you anytime you have have a good botana platter and finish the evening with some Marble Slab, the day has been a success.

BT

The Beach at South Padre Island Texas

Time Well Spent...

Nature Knows Who is in Charge...

Las Primas at La Muñeca Ranch

World War Three....

2006-07-17T22:12:00.000-04:00

A week before 9/11, I was providing some anti-terrorism training to some border guards from the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. After an afternoon of what started as mild interaction that became quite involved, a Colonel from the Uzbekistan border contingent said something to me that stuck. He told me that World War Three had already started, we (the U.S.) just weren't committed yet. A week later, all that changed... and yet our commitment still wavers. I find it almost amusing that people like Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity are talking about World War Three now. They are right, but that is how far behind the curve most people are. Even from where I stand, I can see feeble excuses for preparation and training for no other reason than to be able to play CYA. Vice President Cheney said something after 9/11, he said that in this war, mistakes will be made. He was right, but he said that in order to foster an environment that rewarded forward thinking and pushing the envelope. In all good things, mistakes are made, they are fixed, and it becomes better. Unfortunately, those playing CYA, tend to promote the status quo and the nation suffers.

Now we have the Israel-Lebanon situation. If you take the mainstream of both peoples, you have tremendous similarities that can build and strengthen cooperation. Calmer heads should prevail and return the three Israelis, and things might settle down. So what is the problem, there are two. Among moderate Muslims, the possibility of peace with Israel can be seen. The same can be said among most Jews, who have grown weary of a constant state of war or wartime footing. One problem is the Israeli hardliners who ask for the return of three men, who may be dead, and the demand was made taking that fully into consideration. The other problem is deeper, there are those among the Muslims that will never accept peace with Israel, they do not seek diplomatic solutions, but their diplomacy comes from the blood lost from the bullets and bombs. There is no other way for them. As long as these fundamental Muslim insurgents or terrorists remain a factor, there will be no peace... ever.

Israel now has the opportunity to reduce Hezbollah and Hamas to much less of a threat and are justified in doing so. The tactic of taking out targets in Lebanon, may force actions against Hezbollah and Hamas by Muslim forces, which also works in Israel's favor. It should be noted that there are fundamentalists moving into Gaza from Egypt. Ask yourself, who would move into this hot area except for combatants. Anyone with common sense would be going the other direction. Make no mistake, there is only one force to be reckoned with in the Middle East from a military stand point and that is Israel. They have the weapon systems to take on anyone who challenges them. They have our weapon systems. If Iran and Syria become involved in a less covert manner, you can expect the environment to become much hotter. There are those nations calling for Israel to show restraint; Israel is showing restrain, because if they become unrestrained you will see a scale of destruction that hasn't been witnessed in a long time and remember, they will be using U.S. weapons to conduct their attacks.

What does that mean here at home? Ask yourself, does this instability and open conflict make it more dangerous for the people here in the United States? Of course it does and that is why we need to be aggressive in our preparations and start pushing the envelope when it comes to training those who safeguard the nation at the borders. Superior training by those who have the ability to conduct it. You just can't throw numbers at the borders, you need the personnel and the best training for those who have chosen to serve in this capacity. Any less is dereliction of duty and compromises the safety of the nation.

BT

Semi-Annual Recharge...

2006-06-29T23:02:00.000-04:00

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....

2006-06-24T23:32:00.000-04:00

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?

2006-06-08T21:54:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-06-03T12:15:00.000-04:00

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....

Zarqawi...Don't Underestimate Him....

2006-05-29T20:40:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, a video clip showing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi surfaced. The short version showed him shooting a machine gun. The long version made him look like an untrained geek more likely to shoot himself than anyone else. That was the version that received more attention.

Don't underestimate this guy. His role is as a leader and no longer as a fighter. The powers at be are correct to make him look like a bumbling fool, perhaps it may make him look weak in the face of his men, and to portray him as a mere mortal to our troops and the Iraqi people.

Zarqawi's threat to our troops and interests is not in his ability to use weapons, but to lead his men in the relentless struggle to defeat us. For the terrorists, the way to salvation is in their struggle against us. If they die in the struggle, they are granted paradise.

We will never be defeated by Zarqawi militarily, his only hope for victory is if we lose our resolve and abandon Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. This is an attainable goal, it worked against the Soviets in Afghanistan and with the media and the "elite" against the struggle, it could happen.

Can you imagine what would happen if the media, due to the losses of some of their own, and the "elite" said, " We are behind this effort, we are there, we will win". "We will take care of politics during the elections, but right now we are behind the war effort". It could do nothing but help.

It is wrong to use the Vietnam analogy, it doesn't apply. Anyone who didn't expect the going to get very rough when the battle moved to the urban areas is not credible enough to provide comment.

Zarqawi and his minions want the world and don't care how long it takes. If you doubt it, read their material and look at Europe. If their will proves to be stronger than ours, you better start studying up on dhiminitude. Their will, their very Faith, is their most potent weapon, not the mechanical dispensers of munitions that befuddled Zarqawi.

The only question that remains is exactly how strong is our faith?

BT

The "Leakiest" Part of the Border....

2006-05-21T20:27:00.000-04:00

Now that everybody and their dog have become experts on protecting the borders of
our fair nation, it is probably a good time for a test. So answer the following and I will make it multiple guess to be fair:

Which U.S. border is the least protected?
(a) The Southern Border.
(b) The Northern Border.
(c) None of the Above.

If you answered (a), sorry you are incorrect. Even though we have many people sneaking across the Southern Border to conduct such activities as cleaning hotel rooms, picking produce and working construction, this is really the most protected border. We have more Federal Officers/Agents manning the Southern Border than any other border.

If you answered (b), sorry you are incorrect. While it is true the Northern Border has a great deal fewer Federal Officers/Agents than the Southern Border. It is also twice as long as the Southern Border. It is also true that we interdict more people from terrorist source countries on the Canadian Border than any other border. It is not the correct answer, by a long shot.

If you answered (c), you have certainly chosen the correct answer. Maybe this question was too easy. It is not the Southern or the Northern Borders that are least protected.

So what border could be the least protected?

Compañeros, the United States has over 12,000 miles of the least protected coastline you have ever seen. How often do you see border agencies working the coasts? Do you really think that every small vessel entering the country goes through any kind of scrutiny?

When you hear the politicians and media making all this hoopla about the danger the nation faces because of the porous borders, think about what you just learned and put it into perspective.

If Congress really wants to protect the borders, they need to do what the songs says,
"A little less talk and a lot more action". They need to hire a lot more professionals, Customs and Border Protection personnel, and I mean thousands to work the borders including the coastlines.

Aren't you getting tired of peeling the label?

BT

Troops on the Border....

2006-05-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

Stationing troops on the border is generally not a good idea. Don't think that it hasn't been done before, it has and it cost the life of a young Texan caring for his livestock. Military troops have been used for years in anti-narcotics operations. On this ocassion four Marines flanked the youngster who was carrying a .22 rifle and killed him. They claimed self defense as he had been plinking with his rifle. A person carrying a rifle while tending livestock on private property is the norm in Texas and the rest of the border states... probably in Iowa too.

The problem now, as then, is that military troops are trained to kill. They are not trained for interdiction of people and goods coming across the border. The use of force model that applies to the professional law enforcement Officers that man the borders has to be maintained. The soldiers could very possibly encounter groups of 40 or 50 illegal aliens, will they know how to handle the situation, not if they are not trained. What if they encounter narcotics smugglers with hundreds or thousands of pounds of contraband, what are the rules of engagement, have they ever been defined?

Every Officer working the border has undergone an in depth background investigation as they have access to sensitive databases and have to be trusted with interdicted seizures of narcotics, weapons, money and people. I assure you that the soldiers, as brave as they are, have not been subjected to this type of scrutiny nor will they be. Each one of these Officers has undergone months of training in the law, arrest techniques, the proper use of force, situational response, and more than this post will allow. Instructed by professionals that have done the job and can provide leadership and guidance. How much training will these soldiers receive in these areas?

Have no doubt that these soldiers will not just be dealing with illegal aliens, they will encounter U.S. citizens and residents as well. Who will they stop? Will they know the difference between a Border Crossing Card and a Resident Alien Card? Do they need probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop someone already on this side of the border. Or will they stop all the Brown Ones? Don't forget, most of the land in Texas that runs along the border is private property, so ask yourself, how would you like a bunch of soldiers with weapons running around your property?

As in the past, the potential for bad situations is great. Having untrained people working the border is just like having the Minutemen out there. Sooner or later bad things are going to happen.

Why is this happening? The answer is easy, Congress has refused to deal with this situation for many years and continues to underman the borders with the professionals needed to do the job or they have passed some pie in the sky law but refused to fund it. The well know unfunded mandate, do more with less... Welcome to the results.

BT

A little bit of sunshine...

2006-05-09T18:18:00.000-04:00

A flash from the ivory towers:
CBP is now going to have specialists in different positions throughout the agency. A definite move away from the generalist mentality that has plagued the agency since it's inception. This is definitely a step in the right direction. There is nothing like having the right person in the position for which he has been extensively trained and in the position he favors. Now if CBP could keep from continually adopting policies or practices from the old INS, things would certainly get better.

You know every once in a while a pearl of wisdom comes from on high. Of course if they had listened to us in the first place, we would not be playing catch up.

BT

Border Agency Retention Problems...

2006-04-30T22:45:00.000-04:00

In the last few months, I have had the pleasure of seeing many of the young Officers that I have trained in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, they have been wearing another agency's uniform.

If you are a regular, you know that I have repeatedly mentioned the fact that CBP needs to stop hiring old folks. No disrespect intended, but when you hire old folks, they don't stay very long. They may want to work for just a few years before they retire or they decide that wrestling bad guys for a living is not what they signed up for ( even though it is).

So we end up with transitional Officers with no job experience. On the other hand, the young Officers are looking for jobs with a twenty year law enforcement retirement. Sometimes they are looking before they finish their basic training. You really can't blame them.

The agency just closed an announcement taking in 25,000 applications. Why, because we are losing Officers and we need to plug some holes. I have seen some very good young people come and go. Until the agency can make the job enticing enough to retain some of the good young Officers, it will continue to hemorage.

Now put it all in perspective, these are the folks charged with keeping the terrorists out of the country. It would be nice if we could train these young people and nurture their careers in such a way that the country would be safer and they would be likely to stay and continue to learn the job. Anyone that thinks that they can master the CBP Officer position in a few short years is sorely mistaken. It is a job that is so broad that you can never learn it all, hence the need for specialists and if you need specialists, you have to make the job benefits good enough to retain Officers long enough that they can master certain aspects of the position.

Plain and simple, it is just common sense. The excuse is always money, but at stake is the nation's security. In the old days, it was called cutting off your nose to spite your face.

BT

Nogales on Tuesday and Wednesday....

2006-04-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

Marijuana->2,000 lbs

Meth-45lbs

Cocaine-3 lbs

Another slow week in Nogales, maybe the weekend will pick up a little .

Good Job Folks!

BT

Manpower Issues...

2006-04-23T22:58:00.000-04:00

Recently, CBP apprehended over twenty stowaways from China at the seaport in Seattle. They had come over in a container. While the container had been targeted for examination, due to the number of containers that have to be looked at, it would have been a few days before the can was inspected. This is pretty normal.

Don't you think we would like to do better, check more cargo, process shipments faster? It comes down to this, over the last several years CBP has been using high tech equipment to examine cargo, this was done to process cargo faster and more efficiently. Unfortunately, you have to have people to run the equipment. Now you hear more and more about radiation portal monitors. They are work great. The problem once again is that they need to be monitored and if they alert, the situation has to be resolved. This takes manpower. So instead of having Officers examine cargo, they are monitoring equipment. Doing this for three shifts a day, times the number of pieces of equipment that need to be monitored digs deeply into the resources of the Ports.

The long and short of it is this, Congress needs to allocate the funds to hire a lot more Officers to examine containers, utilize the equipment, and to monitor the equipment. This is just for the Cargo environment. We continue to lose some of the best employees to positions offering law enforcement retirement. It leaves CBP in a less than desirable position when it comes to trying to protect the country at the borders.

There does not appear to be a cavalry on the way.....

BT

Maybe the media is catching on....

2006-04-16T23:15:00.000-04:00

I have to congratulate the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise on hitting the nail on the head. Seguin is a small town East of San Antonio on I-10 and home to Texas Lutheran College. The local newspaper ran a story stating that immigration is not just a Southern problem. In the story, they mention that an organization smuggling people from Pakistan and India was taken down along the Northern border by US ICE Agents and Canadian Federal Officials. This is the second group taken down in the last couple of months along the Northern border. The other group was utilizing trains to cross their human contraband.

It is nice to see that someone in the media is doing more than fluff stories on the threat from Canada. Lou Dobbs should take notice the next time he wants to tell Canada how much love he has for them. Hopefully this trend (it's a stretch, but I can hope) in the media will continue.

Read the prior posts on the threat from Canada and how it tends to be down played by the media and for that matter politicians.

Before I forget, Happy Easter. In keeping with the Blog, I will say this: The more you know about religion, the more you will understand the terrorist threat.

BT

Mexican Protests...

2006-04-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

My friends,
If you think that the demonstrations going on across the country have much to do with illegal aliens, you are not even in the ballpark. If you think that most of those demonstrating are illegal aliens, you are wrong. It is about people who work hard and contribute to this country wanting respect. It doesn't matter if they are field workers, social workers, or whatever, that is all they want. Respect from politicians, respect from those whose families immigrated before them, respect from employers, just respect.

Coming from South Texas, where my parents bore the brunt of discrimination through segregated facilities and society, I was relatively unscathed. Isn't it amazing that I have experienced more discrimination working for the government than I did in the private sector. Of course, I am in what is known as the deep South now, but I feel it more from the from those I work for, than the locals (even though every once in awhile, I have to bite my tongue when the old locals start to rattle off).

All I want is what I deserve...

That is all that those in the streets want too.

BT

Canadian Border Threat.....

2006-04-04T21:28:00.000-04:00

I read... while shaking my head, James Pinkerton's piece in the on-line version of the "Olympian" newspaper (Olympia, WA) stating that hundreds of OTMs (other than Mexican illegal aliens) had been apprehended with origins in terrorist source countries along the Southern border. He named Mexico as the global turnstile into America, quoting the "Denver Post". I don't know where his figures come from but from 10/03 through 06/04, 132 illegal aliens from these countries were interdicted along the Mexican border.

But, lets look at what he fails to report. For the same period of time along the Canadian border, 145 illegal aliens from these same countries were interdicted by Border Patrol. As well as, 144 from Communist China, 201 from India, 16 from the Philippines, 8 from North Korea, 8 from Ireland, and a bunch more from the Stan countries of the former Soviet Union.

So if Mexico is a turnstile, Canada must be an open door!

Now at the end of 2003, there were slightly over 1,000 Patrol Agents on the Canadian border and at the same time, there were approximately 10,000 Patrol Agents on the Mexican border

The Canadian border is about 4,000 miles long.

The Mexican border is about 2,000 miles long.

So in review, the Canadian border is twice as long as the Mexican border and there is ten times the number of Patrol Agents assigned down South.

Here is an illustration for the more visual:

X
____________________
CANADA

XXXXXXXXXX
___________
MEXICO

Where X=BP Agents and the Solid Line=Proportionate Border Length

Of course this is very simple, but for some ignorance is bliss.

Now if you were a terrorist, which border would you sneak across?

Add to this the fact that Mexican immigration policy is much stricter than Canadian policy.

Plus the fact that we have already caught terrorists from these countries coming across the Canadian border.

Now from a terrorism perspective, when we conduct threat assessment, which border should garner more consideration?

Once again, for those who aren't regulars:
Canada is a much bigger threat for terrorism than Mexico.

Bush Legacy Part Two

2006-03-22T17:47:00.000-05:00

OK Folks, as promised, here is part two of the Bush Legacy. In the future, when the Bush administration is reviewed by history, two accomplishments will be evident. The first is evident now, but only historical reflection will fully illustrate the importance. This is the administration’s valiant effort to keep the economy functioning after the 9/11 attacks. This was covered in part one and is in the monthly archives.

The second accomplishment can only be viewed from a historical perspective.
It will be debated and disagreed upon by many, especially the peace at all costs element. It will eventually become apparent that Bush’s decision to invade Afghanistan and Iraq broke a chain of events targeting Americans and American interests that had been taking place for over a generation. There are other benefits to these actions that can be lauded now, such as the removal of a despot, the advancement of women’s rights in these societies, the free elections, and the reaction of such states as Libya renouncing terrorism and opening up to allow for inspections of their weapons capabilities. This action by Libya is but a nuance of what has happened within the transnational terrorist communities as a result of the U.S. military involvement.

The U.S. had developed the reputation as being nothing but saber rattlers in reaction to attacks upon Americans and their interests here and abroad. Going back to the seventies with the attacks on our soil by Puerto Rican radicals, the multitude of attacks in the eighties by fundamental Islamic radicals, the nineties attacks on our embassies, the World Trade Center, by fundamental Islamic radicals and even the Oklahoma attack and the subsequent investigation, the Americans beheaded in the Philippines by fundamental Islamic radicals and these are but a few of the attacks on Americans and their interests. These attacks spanned the administrations of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, and Clinton. Think back and try to remember what actions we took against the terrorist who perpetrated these attacks on us. Saber rattling, launch a few missiles, yeah that will teach them. Hell folks, Clinton pardoned sixteen of the Puerto Rican terrorists.

This repeated lack of action on the part of several administrations on both sides of the political spectrum did nothing but embolden the terrorists. As the years passed the attacks grew bolder, such as the simultaneous attacks on the embassies in Kenya and Nairobi. The attacks grew in scope, such as the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. The attacks culminated by integrating bold, simultaneous attacks, that were huge in scope and complexity utilizing weapons that were readily available and already in country... the 9/11 airliner attacks on multiple targets. Based on close to thirty years of American attempts to placate terrorists or impotence such as during the Carter administration’s Iran hostage crisis and the repeated saber rattling of every other administration, it was evident to Al Qaida that the Americans no longer had the stomach for conflicts of any duration nor the will and determination to defend itself.

Until now…
The Bush administration made a conscious decision to hold those responsible for 9/11 accountable. They recognized that previous administrations had failed to realize the threat from fundamental Islamic terrorism or had chosen to ignore it and that the consequences had befallen us. Failure to take action would make matters only worse, and worse was hard to imagine especially with the magnitude of the damage to the economy. The question was, who do we go after. The fall of the Soviet Union had helped to largely reduce the number of states who sponsored terrorist groups. After it was established that Al Qaida was responsible for the attacks, going into Afghanistan and removing the Taliban was pretty much a given as they had given aid and comfort to Bin Laden and his followers. While many felt that Afghanistan would not be a challenge, given the trouble the Soviets had there, this was probably not going to be the case. Just the terrain was daunting.

This is a good place to remind you of the “you are either with us or against us”
speech put forth by Bush.

Now on to Iraq…
Whether you believe we should be there or not, Iraq provided the opportunity to strike out at a bad guy. Whether Iraq was a threat to us or not, in my estimation, there is no doubt that at some point they had weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that they colluded with Al Qaida in some manner not necessarily on 9/11, there is no doubt that Sadaam Hussein wanted us to believe he had WMDs, and there is no doubt that Iraq was in violation of U.N. resolutions. So Iraq was the target of opportunity when we wanted to show the terrorist world that the U.S. was not going to roll over and get @#$# %&^*&% any more (excuse the expression, but it makes the point exceedingly well).

So while some may think that the death of two thousand soldiers is a tremendous price to make a point, here is the other side of the coin. We have engaged the enemy abroad and not here, and if you recall 9/11 they were here in a big way. Through our efforts abroad, we are depleting both the terrorist’s resources and their personnel. The next point is probably the most important. The terrorists are on the defensive and not the offensive. In short this means that they are reacting to what we are doing there, instead of us reacting to what they are doing here. This is better for us, it makes us safer here and that is the long term goal.

These actions by President Bush will be his historical legacy. He saved the economy and in reality the country and he kept the fight against terrorists in their backyard and not ours. Will terrorism be vanquished, no, it will never be completely gone, but we are safer because of this administration’s refusal to ignore the threat that has plagued us for decades, as did his predecessors.

Remember where you read it first

BT

Blaine-Huge Ecstasy Seizure....

2006-03-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

Just a short note:

CBP Officers in Blaine, WA made just a hell of an ecstasy seizure on the 16th.
210 Kilos of X, close to 700, 000 tablets as well as 345 kilos of marijuana.

That is alot of X! So great job to the folks at the end of I-5!

BT

Busy, Busy...

2006-03-18T21:48:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks,
Sorry for the recent slowdown in posts, it is very busy at the moment....
You know....Work. I have been debating posting the second part to the Bush legacy, so that will probably happen soon. You should be keeping an eye on the Iraq documents and the references to Al Qaida, and weapons of mass destruction. Don't forget the OK suicide bomber and don't ignore the guy who ran down a bunch of people in Chapel Hill, NC to avenge his people. Whether it is a bomb, gun, or a vehicle... it is still a weapon.

I will try and catch up soon, but I have to get my son on a plane too early in the morning to make any promises. He is back to "Ricin" country.

BT

FYI....

2006-03-12T15:32:00.000-05:00

Otay Mesa, CA-CBP Officers seize 10, 863 lbs of Marijuana-03/09/06

Nogales, AZ-CBP Officers seize 1,640 lbs of Marijuana-03/09/06

BT

Passports and Border ID Cards....

2006-03-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

While I am not keen on the need for Passports or Border ID Cards for U.S. citizens returning from Mexico or Canada, maybe it is to help expedite the entry of these folks. Especially with the advent of some of the new systems where everyone will be logged into the country in some form or fashion. Maybe those in charge think the cards or passports will not slow down the flow of people or goods coming into the country.

Truthfully the new systems and cards will probably slow the process, somewhat.

This is what we don't want, we don't want the Officers conducting threat assessment to rely on the documents or systems to make decisions!

We don't want the Officers to feel more pressure than is already exerted (and it is sometimes quite substantial) to process passengers and cargo faster because of the extra time needed to work in the new systems.

The threat assessment is predicated on the interview. We need more than the routine border questions, scan the document and say welcome to America because he answered all the questions right.

It is in the Interview, that is where you catch the bad guys.

Anything that takes the emphasis off the interview is bad for National Security.

And that is what I have to say about that.....

BT

SUICIDE BOMBER.......

2006-03-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt in my mind that the young man who blew himself up outside
the stadium in Oklahoma was indeed a suicide bomber.

I don't think that anyone with any sort of credentials would disagree, except to
refrain from giving the incident publicity.

It would be better to let the public be aware of these threats, to protect themselves
and help efforts to mitigate these types of attacks.

Failure to do so, will lead to excessive attention when there is a successful attack.
Have no doubt, there will be successful suicide attacks.

The media will freak and of course try to place blame on anyone except the
perpetrator.

The public will freak and become shut-ins, or jump on media bandwagons to ban guns
(what, no correlation-what difference has that ever made) instead of handing them out.

We as a nation have to understand that there is a price to our freedom, and it may well be measured in lives.

If you expect 100 % safety, you are dreaming. If you would even want what it would take
be even close to 100% safe from these attacks, move to China or North Korea. That way
you only have to fear the government.

Power Line has a relevant post that is worth reading at http://www.powerlineblog.com/.
I could elaborate, but feel responsible restraint is probably better.

The more I learn, the less I believe in coincidences.
This guy wanted some company on his way to collect his reward.

Don't be paranoid, but at least that will tend to keep you alive. It is better
to be aware of your surroundings-situational awareness.

Condition Yellow.

It is your job to keep you and your family safe. If you expect the government to
do it, remember that in most cases it takes a phone call after the fact to get a response.

Trust that little voice inside of you.
If you hear more than one voice, call a shrink(couldn't resist).

Whether the OSB was acting alone or not, will probably never be shared with the public. If he was part of a cell, the rest is yet to come.

Remember, Condition Yellow.

BT

Once again the bullets fly....

2006-02-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

Customs and Border Protection has had another shooting incident. This time in Brownsville, TX.
Once again, a subject in a vehicle being pursued by the police tries to run over CBP Officers, in this case several times. Several shots were fired and the bad guy was killed. One Officer was injured trying to get out of the vehicle's path.

A couple of weeks ago, it was in Douglas.

Just before that, it was Blaine.

Ask yourself, do you really think that a sixty or seventy year old should be doing this job?

Is that the individual you want protecting the borders?

This agency captures more wanted persons than all of the rest of the federal agencies combined.

It seizes more narcotics than all the rest of the federal agencies combined.

This is the only agency to catch a terrorist in the act, (Ressam12/99-Port Angeles, WA)

The men and women in this agency deserve "6c" law enforcement retirement of 20 years.
In no later than 37 and out by 57. They have earned it and it is better for the nation.

In a couple of days, I will be working with a bunch of new trainees. Some will be in their 20s and some in their 50s or 60s. There is no question that the more mature of the group will bring in good life experience, unfortunately, they will also bring in broken bodies. The worst part of it is in a couple of years, the young Officers will move on to other agencies that offer law enforcement retirement and CBP will end up with the old folks. They do bring life experience, but what they don't bring is job expertise in this field. Then they will stay a few years and be gone as well.

BT

NOT RICIN-VERIFIED

2006-02-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

FBI has verified that the substance found in a U.T. dormitory was not ricin.

Remember where you heard it first.

BT

RICIN at UT???

2006-02-26T14:54:00.000-05:00

This is not verified, but word around the University of Texas campus is that the substance thought to be Ricin was not. False positives for biologicals and chemical threats are common in field tests (those done with kits outside of a lab).

BT

"Nuff Said"......

2006-02-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

SAN YSIDRO – A Wapato, Wash., man wanted on suspicion of homicide was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro border crossing Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Officials said border officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which also encompasses the Otay Mesa border station, arrested more than 1,100 fugitives during the 2005 fiscal year, and more than 240 fugitives so far during the 2006 fiscal year, which started Oct. 1.

Nogales-$973,000 in heroin, coke, meth is seized.

The agents removed 34 packages of narcotics, including eight pounds of heroin, seven pounds of methamphetamine, and almost 70 pounds of cocaine. The vehicle was seized and the 43-year-old female driver from Pacoima, Calif., was arrested.

Terrorism Basics....

2006-02-20T19:54:00.000-05:00

I am big into sharing information in order that my audience gains perspective to make good decisions. For example, I often share with those I teach the fact that in the late seventies and early eighties, we called some of the same people we are trying to kill now, freedom fighters. Even more, we gave them weapons and training. Back then the bad guys were the Soviets and anyone trying to kill them was our friend. Was it a mistake, maybe, who knows...right now it doesn't look real smart, but in the heat of the moment, in a rapidly evolving situation, hind sight is kind of unfair.

The reason I share this is to let my audience know that regardless of the past or decisions made way above our pay grade, it is still our jobs to secure the borders. The way that it still happens is that when people enter the country, they come face to face with one of us. Regardless of all the bs going on above our pay grade and with the burros, the fact is, if we let the bad guy in, he is in, and once he is in, he is a lot harder to catch than when we have him at the border. It is all about threat assessment period!

So to the basics of Terrorism, what is terrorism?

Terrorism is a form of unconventional warfare. A good real world definition of terrorism is, the use of violence to create fear in order to achieve a goal. The goal may be political, social, religious, or economic. It may be a combination of those items listed. The terrorists lack the manpower, the equipment, the infrastructure, and the money required to run a conventional war. There is no way that Al Qaida or any terrorist organization is going to come in and take over the United States through conventional methods. There are rules of war that have been outlined in such agreements as the Geneva Convention. Included are agreed upon behaviors between nations that are acceptable during war. Failure to abide by these agreements may lead to trials for war crimes and it is the winner of the conflict that generally brings some of the defeated to be held responsible for such actions. Unconventional warfare has evolved throughout the centuries, at some point, it might have been hiding behind trees and shooting soldiers from cover when the protocols of war called for opposing sides to line up in formation and exchange volleys. In the present, it has become flying airliners into skyscrapers, nerve agents released in subways, biological agents sent through the mail, and human bombs, all designed to kill or maim non-combatants or innocents. To create fear, to achieve a goal.

(The above paragraph is part of the book, which I haven't touched in a while.)

That last paragraph is terrorism 101 and by the way any terms your hear like narco-terror or agro-terror is just perpetrated by those without a clue, the above covers it all.

BT

The Anniversary....

2006-02-12T23:47:00.000-05:00

Well Folks,
It has been a year since I started this blog and I hope that it has opened some eyes as to the challenges faced in protecting this nation at it's borders. I can honestly say that there are some great people out there doing the job and I can honestly say that it is real hard keeping them from going to other agencies that offer them better pay, benefits, and retirement.

Like I have always said, if the damn burros (bureaucrats) would get out of the way, we could do alot better. It just kills me when I hear a buddy tell me that he doesn't care anymore, he is going to come to work, do what they say, and wait for the check every couple of weeks. He is going to stop pointing out the flaws and offering solutions because it has cost him opportunities.

I love what I do, but we were doing it better a few years ago and we can do alot better than what we are doing now.

I am still in there fighting for truth, justice and the American way, but I would be less than truthful if I didn't say it is sometimes like fighting windmills. Me and my buddy Don....

BT

Muslims in Buffalo...

2006-02-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

If you recall, in December of 2004, a number of U.S. citizens returning from a Muslim conference in Toronto were held for lengthy inspection at the CBP Buffalo Port of Entry. The incident received a large amount of press about how their civil rights had been trampled by the jack booted thugs of CBP.

On their behalf, the NYCLU sought a restraining order to prohibit CBP from conducting such inspections as they return from the conference at the end of December, 2005.

The U.S. District Court Judge ruled against the restraining order and stated that such inspections were not unconstitutional.

Now you may not believe me, but the ACLU and I'm sure the NYCLU and I would probably agree on alot of issues surrounding the Fourth amendment. I am a strong proponent of the Bill of Rights! That is why I am such a strong proponent of being enforcement minded at the borders where the courts have always supported the border search exception to the Fourth amendment. They have not done away with the Fourth, but have only required that border searches be reasonable. Once the people are in the country, the exceptions to the Fourth are few.

I have always said and previous entries will indicate that it doesn't matter what color, what religion, or your citizenship.... at the border you are subject to inspection. If you don't believe me, ask that Federal Judge in Buffalo.

PS
Ask yourself this, why didn't the media cover the Judges ruling like they did the allegations?

BT

Another CBP Shooting Incident....

2006-02-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

Once again, CBP Officers have been involved in a shooting. You will recall, several days ago, a shooting occurred at the Blaine, WA Peace Arch port of entry when CBP Officers threatened with death or serious physical injury had to shoot the driver of a vehicle that rammed their cover vehicle. The two in the vehicle were wanted for murder and trying to reach Canada.

In this case, Douglas, AZ police were chasing a suspected stolen vehicle trying to abscond to Mexico. With no time to prepare for the vehicle, CBP Officers were forced to fire at the driver attempting to run them down and who drove into a primary inspection booth. The driver was struck by rounds fired by the Officers and later died.

I am sure the media coverage will be significant. This does nothing but bolster my call for CBP to stop hiring old folks to be the front line on the border. As I have said over and over, it is a young person's profession and the agency, DHS, and Congress need to pull their heads out and provide 6c law enforcement retirement for these brave Officers who constantly put their lives on the line.

BT

Results....Everything else is just b.s.

2006-02-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

Some great enforcement by the guys on the Border in the last few days:

Nogales-3 Cocaine Seizures, about $1,000,000.00 worth.

Hidalgo-Arrested a Child Molester on the run.

These two Ports have always been enforcement and training leaders within CBP, and this is just a small example of what they do for the nation.

Great work from Doug and Rick's folks.

BT

The PEACE Arch....

2006-01-28T21:39:00.000-05:00

Blaine had some excitement a few days ago. Two guys wanted for murder trying to go North to Canada via I-5 which starts or ends(depending on your perspective) at the Blaine, WA Peace Arch port of entry. The ATCET team set up for a hard stop and did a hell of a good job. Some shots were fired by some of the good guys when the bad guys rammed the vehicle providing cover. One of the bad guys was wounded, but lived. They were stopped just this side of the border.

Folks that is what we do, we catch bad guys. If you take all the other federal agencies and combine the number of wanted criminals they apprehend, it doesn't even come close to the numbers we apprehend. This is why we need to stop hiring old people, now I like old folks and am getting there myself, but what we do is for the young. USCBP deserves 6c law enforcement retirement, it would benefit everyone. You would have a younger workforce willing to work a career rather than looking for a covered position as soon as they make probation. So we wouldn't have the turn over we have now. When you hire someone in their sixties, how many years will they give you. The approximate $100K spent on their background investigation, basic and post academy training would be amortized over a career instead of a few years. Not only that, without the continual turn over, you would have employees that know the job better and can provide better service to the country.

The Blaine incident is just one example of the dangers we face on the border daily. If you think
that it is about a paycheck every two weeks, you are wrong. It is about serving your country and through that sacrifice, being able to support your family modestly, but with the honor and dignity that is brings.

This is why you see me bemoan the bureaucrats and those bureaucrats they create and promote, because they wouldn't know cutting edge training or enforcement if it bit them in the ass. The have to advance the "burros", because we make them look bad as we push the envelope to a more secure nation. Recent local promotions are a good example of the "burro"mentality. You know, "if we promote them we won't have to work harder and there won't be any problems". The old adage fits, big seizures-big problems, little seizures-little problems, and of course NO SEIZURES-NO PROBLEMS!

BT

"Cutting Edge Training"...

2006-01-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to sit through some training recently. It was provided by the best of the best, the lead agency for terrorism issues. The Instructor was a nice guy with some charisma which helped. Here is the problem, it was all open source information. Years behind what we were doing before the merger and the surprise is that the boss said that maybe we should incorporate some of the information into our training. Hello, maybe he was just being nice, but I doubt it.

There were a couple of hq folks sitting in and they probably thought it was cutting edge; and I guess that is one of the problems. What a sad state of affairs. It is kind of depressing.

BT

Just an observation...

2006-01-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

OK folks, let's review:

For about a year, you have been hearing about all the immigration problems and the challenges of the Southern Border. The media, the Minutemen, the Congress folks all blowing a bunch of rhetoric as to the huge problem and terrorist are going to invade and the MS-13 and the OTMs and I could go on and on.

Here is the question:

What have they done about it? Anything besides exercise their jaw muscles? Nope. Now there have been some bills passed in the House, but nothing out of Congress as a whole, nothing.

Why?

Because the real problem isn't the Southern Border, the real problem is Congress.

Here is a solution, one of many, Change the immigration laws to match today's issues and put a lot more personnel on the border, all of the borders. You may think that I mean the Mexican and Canadian borders, and I do, but don't forget the coast, the seaports and airports.

The solutions are there, if only Congress would provide the mandate and of course the money.
More solutions will follow and remember, anyone can complain, but if you aren't willing to provide solutions, you aren't helping.

BT

Mexican Border Incursions...

2006-01-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has made recent comments that downplay encursions by the Mexican Military. He was quoted as saying that the reports were overblown. This is typical of how the U.S. has always treated this type action on the part of Armed Mexican officials, whether they were military, federal, state or local personnel. These encursions have be going on for years and it is obvious that Mr. Chertoff has not talked to any of the field personnel he leads. Not to say he isn't a nice and smart guy, but he is certainly quite removed from the front lines. I guess he doesn't understand what it is like to challenge a Mexican Military non-comm and his soldiers armed with H&K G-3 assault rifles(as always, real assault rifles not the media hype versions) as they walk into the U.S. It is interesting, to say the least, as we hold the line with our 9mm pea-shooters (by comparison). Is it overblown when they drive their humvees across the border with the machine guns on top, just to see what is on the other side. Maybe it is overblown when their fully armed squad paddles the raft across the river or guard the load of narcotics as it moves towards the border. Is it overblown when their armed police drive into a port of entry and draw weapons to take someone back for a "traffic violation". No, it must be overblown when they fire upon vehicles crossing the international bridge with those G-3s, like has occurred in more than one port in South Texas. That is right 7.62x51 (.308 Win) rounds flying around the port of entry. Yes, and the poor CBP Officers that have to safely resolve these issues haven't been given the respect of a law enforcement 20 year retirement, so some of them are in their sixties and seventies. Let me share something with you, there has been more than a few U.S. Citizens saved by these CBP Officers over the years (and when have your ever read about that in the media).

On the other hand, let an American official cross the Mexican border with their sidearm and the world has come to an end, we have violated the Neutrality Act. Cross the border with one round of ammo and you rot in their jails for a long time and of course the media is all over the incident. If the truth be known, the Canadians aren't much different when it comes to us going over there with weapons and that has caused it's share of problems for International Ops.

The Mexican Military is crawling all over our Southern border and we never say a word about it, but when the U.S. Military is on the border, we are militarizing the border. This is the truth, and if you are a regular, you know I don't much support the military working the border, but the truth is the truth and that is the way it is. Mr. Secretary either get a clue or admit that we really don't care if the Mexican Military crosses the border.

BT

What a Great Example of Some of the Problems...

2006-01-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

I read a report today that illustrates some of the problems prior to 9/11 and the Millenium Bomber, as well as some problems that continue today. While I don't normally link to stories, this one is worth reading and digging around for the whole report, so here goes: http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/oig/brookb/brbrp1.htm

In short, the report illustrates that prior to the capture of Ahmed Ressam by U.S. Customs at the Port Angeles, WA in December of 1999, our anti-terrorism enforcement posture was pretty much non-existent. A male subject from the middle east and admittedly affiliated with a terrorist group was captured trying to enter the U.S. illegally in the area around Whatcom County, WA on several different occassions. Border Patrol did a good job in interdicting him everytime, but that is when things went to hell. The first couple of times he was VRd (vountary return) back to Canada, who agreed to accept him. The last time, he was caught with a couple of others trying to board a bus. This time Canada would not accept him and charges were brought. In this situation, he was allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually posted a $15,000 bond and was released, promising to return for a court date. He ends up being arrested in Brooklyn with explosive devices preparing to conduct an attack on the NY subways.

After you read the whole report, here is what can be learned:

Our Enforcement Posture regarding Terrorism did not exist and if we are not vigilant, we will end up in the same situation.

Immigration Law is really screwed up and needs to be changed and the only entity that can solve this problem is Congress.

Don't be fooled by the media hype and political rhetoric, from a Terrorism Perspective, Canada is a much greater threat to the U.S. than Mexico.

BT

Inspecting International Mail and other stuff...

2006-01-11T21:44:00.000-05:00

Recent headlines scream about the invasion of privacy because some college professor had his international mail inspected when it entered the country. How did he know? CBP sealed the envelope with tape labeled inspected by CBP. (Sneaky Bastards) When did this outrage begin, it must have been after 9/11 with the Patriot Act. WRONG! CBP and prior to their existence Customs has always inspected international mail. There are 14 international mail branches in the states. Did you really think that if you mailed it, no one would check it, how much contraband would be in the mail? Get serious, for an educated man, he is really dumb. International mail has always been inspected just as people and their belongings have always been inspected, just like cargo has always been inspected. If it crosses the border, basically, it is subject to inspection. What an ignorant waste of media space, get a clue.

On another note, the subject of border crossing ID cards has been raised again (read the previous posts) and once again those proposing them are expecting the public to be sheep and be lead by the nose.... and they probably will. But imagine this scenario:
We don't go with ID cards and the law requiring passports goes into effect. Do you know what would happen if everyone said, hey we are not shelling out the bucks for passports and as a result we are not crossing the border to shop. Folks, all of the number one leading chain stores are on the border, if you don't believe it go down there during the holidays or even better look it up. If people stop crossing the border to shop, the politicians will get a resounding boot in the butt in a very short period of time. I guess it the people just have to stand up and be counted. As you can tell I am not a huge fan of the ID cards or requiring Passports, I know the inspection process and know that with state ID and good interviewing skills or really even just good interviewing skills, threat assessment can be conducted. Burdening US Citizens in this way just gets on my nerves, do you really want to keep a USC out because he forgot his passport. I don't have an problem with this requirement of Canadians or Mexicans. Reliance on the document would be a mistake, it helps, but docs can be forged or genuine docs bought, folks it is in the interview.

.....And the truth is a good interview makes for slower processing.

BT

Time to get ready for quarantine

2006-01-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

Before I get started, I hope you enjoyed the ranch photos. I have many more that I will share as we go along.

For the last several months, we have been hearing about avian flu and how bad it is, the deaths that are attributed to this disease and of couse the media questioning the country's preparedness (it is like the government is supposed to make sure everyone is safe from everything, all the time-by the way we aren't prepared and maybe we can just try the best that we can). Before Avian Flu, it was SARS, Smallpox, and I still worry about Ebola more than most, but the point of this posting is to prepare you for what will happen if something like Avian Flu or Ebola shows up here in the states.

Quarantine is what will happen. People who are exposed or infected may face seclusion some where based on public health laws that exist or will be legislated into existence. People held against their will based on the threat to the general public.

Let me give you a likely scenario:
A flight comes in from Asia or Africa to a major airport like LAX or JFK. Someone becomes ill during the flight and when the land EMS or Public Health officials are called. They suspect a virus like ebola or avian flu. Do you think that everyone else on the flight gets to go along their merry way? Not likely. The rest of the passengers, say 300-400 of them have been in a recycling air environment for several hours with a person stricken with a highly contagious disease. Everyone else on the plane including the crew and maybe the responders(if they weren't in level A or B suits) are now going into quarantine.

Now lets take it a step further, the plane lands and the passengers disembark to the international terminal where they mingle with the many other international flights that have arrived. In a place like JFK or LAX, you might have several thousand people in the terminal at one time. During the inspection process an alert Officer suspects that someone might be ill and refers them to public health. PH suspects Avian Flu or Ebola and quarantines the person and who else? Think about the airport environment, once again a recirculating air environment. How many open windows do you see there? So now what, who gets quarantined? Certainly everyone on the plane, and now how about the several thousand in the international terminal and the hundreds of people that work there.

Now one step further, the plane lands at LAX, the infected passenger goes through the inspection process without notice and hops a flight to Salt Lake City, then another flight to Green Bay, WI. In a few days, the passenger's illness becomes worse and they are hospitalized. The medical personnel suspect Avian Flu or Ebola. Now what? Contact the CDC in Atlanta, who contacts Customs and Border Protection. CBP reviews the manifests for all people who flew in with the patient, then all the people who came in on all the other international flights at the same time and were in the international terminal, plus all the passengers on the flight to SLC who might be infected, plus all the flights that they might have got on there plus all the people they might have contacted. Now all the people that were on the flight from SLC to Green Bay and others that might have had contact with the patient or those exposed to the patient. So Now, Who goes to quarantine???? How many thousands have been possibly exposed, do we quarantine them all, where do we quaratine them, how do we move them, do we have enough hospital beds? Maybe we can use old military bases.

By now, you should have identified many of the logistical problems with keeping everyone safe all the time, with the use of quarantine, and the overwhelming task it is to prepare for the inevitable. In todays day and age of fast international travel and faster domestic travel, it is only a matter of time when we have a terrible outbreak of something, whether it is Avian Flu or Ebola.

Don't be to hard on the civil servants when it happens, because now you know some of the challenges. There are action plans set up throughout the country with feds, state, and locals all working together, but it is a very daunting task.

On a positive not(from an enforcement perspective), CBP reports seizures of fake tamiflu, which is the drug thought to be effective against Avian Flu. There have been seizures in New York and San Francisco of the fake drug in over 300 packages. See, there are some folks looking out for you, but having fake tamiflu on the market during an outbreak would certainly be a mess.

BT

Sunset at the Ranch....

2006-01-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

Ranch Pics....

2006-01-03T22:34:00.001-05:00

Ranch Pics....

2006-01-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

Border Fence & Christmas......

2006-01-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

As the old philosopher and crooner Jerry Jeff has said, Hi Buckaroos......

I am indeed back in the deep South, which is kind of funny since where I come from, we consider those in this area Yankees. You know, north of San Antonio it is all the same. Well Texas was just like I remember it, in the eighties on Christmas day, quite a change since last year when it snowed. It was a very busy time and honestly, not very relaxing, but it was nice to be around family and some friends, including my buddy Oscar, fresh from Iraq. I am very thankful to have him back safe and sound. I even got to hunt with him. The ranch is looking great and I will post some pics when I get a chance. I only went a couple of times, but what a great and historic place for me and my family. We were short some folks as not all the family could make it this year and some were down with the flu, not the bird kind, but it still nailed them hard.

On Christmas Eve, went went over to my youngest brother's house, a great home to say the least. I got to visiting with his father in law, who was sharing information on the huge numbers of illegal aliens he has seen while traversing to and from his ranch. He got to drawing maps and explaining how he thought they were evading the BP check points, this was seconded by my other younger brother who is also on the ranch roads quite a bit and has friends in the areas we were discussing. Now all of us are of Hispanic descent and have long generational ties to the area, even before it was Texas, but what you will find is that they don't care for alien smuggling at all. I have a job to do and have never had a problem enforcing the law, but these are folks that have a healthy respect for people willing to work to support their families, where ever they are from. Believe it or not, there is a difference to them, when it comes to this organized violation of federal law and they have no problem calling BP.

A couple of years back, my younger brother walked into his house at the ranch and found a few illegal aliens all dressed in black inside. Since they were between him and the guns, he made a hasty exit and went to the next ranch over to borrow a gun. The old man there lent him an old, and I do mean old, German Luger. Well he hightailed it into the monte, because he knew how the trails ran and sure enough caught one of the bad guys. He had called it in and the the first on the scene was an old Aggie buddy Game Warden. He cleared the house and all was back to fairly normal. I share this tale just to illustrate that there isn't really a whole lot of support for illegal immigration where I come from, even though those media and political talking heads don't realize it. This is the segway to the border fence....

Face it, it is a stupid idea that would waste millions. It won't keep anyone out, ask yourself, if it was you trying to cross the border, would it stop you? No! The truth is that if you want to keep out illegal aliens, you need more Patrol Agents. Not the army or machine gun nests on the fence, just alot more patrol agents. Where you have a surplus of CBP Officers, you ought to use them as well. Use high tech tools, but make sure the tools work for the Agents and not the other way around.

If you are using terrorism as an excuse for the fence, you ought to build it on the Northern Border. It won't stop them either, but at least you will be closer to the terrorism problem. The threat is so much greater up there, but just wait, when they catch someone from Pakistan down South they will say, "see we told you". Ofcourse they catch folks from terrorist countries on a regular basis on the Northern Border, but the media doesn't cover it the same as on the Southern Border. ( If you are a regular reader, you will recall the Seattle Intelligencer story).

Anyway, I am back, though every time I leave Texas, I wonder what the hell is wrong with me. A couple of years ago, I could justify it by the cutting edge enforcement training that I had a large hand in, now it is hard to say that. Something good will happen, I believe....

BT

Merry Christmas.....

2005-12-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

Alright, I know that it is a little early, but I go on leave after tomorrow. Sorry for not posting for the last couple of weeks, the truth is, I am just a little disgusted with the shape of things. Until we get new leadership, who knows what will happen. Even then, with Bush gone in three years, the new Commissioner won't be able to get alot done. I certainly don't know what my future holds, but let me put it this way, my job was one of the best around, highly sought after, and tough to acquire. We hired thirteen a few weeks ago, five declined the position.

There has been some good enforcement going on down South, Hidalgo had a banner week a short while back, seizing everything that you can imagine. Certainly a great enforcement Port, old school, but they put the numbers on the table.

I am looking forward to some good Mexican food, the ranch, and seeing alot of people I love. Maybe something good will happen while I am gone. I will check in from God's country in a while.

Keep believing, I do, but damn I hate the bureaucrats.

BT

What is she thinking???

2005-11-29T22:07:00.000-05:00

Lisa Vaas, editor of Eweek.com's database topic center, was shocked that Hossein Derakhshan, an Iranian native living in Toronto was refused entry into the U.S. She complained that Customs and Border Protection Officers googled him and read his "private blog" that was posted on the internet when he tried to make entry in the states. In his "private blog" that was posted on the PUBLIC internet, he admitted to living in New York. In other words, he was an illegal alien just like the Mexicans everyone is so interested in keeping out. The CBP Officers did their job and refused him entry.

All I can say to the Officers in Buffalo is, keep up the great work.

All I can say to Ms. Vaas is, I hope she has a lot more to complain about in the future. I am sure she is quite accomplished at databases and technology, but her knowledge of immigration law is lacking. The fact that she is amazed that smart Officers would utilize open source information to conduct threat assessment is an indication of her understanding in the area of border security and enforcement.

BT

Are you watching Paris....

2005-11-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

There are those with knowledge and wisdom who predict that France will become the first Muslim country in Europe. If you haven't been watching the riots in France, you should be...

Back in the late 70s, young Muslims would march in the streets here in the U.S. protesting the Shah of Iran, it did not take long for them to take action and the outcome was a new fundamental Islamic government in Iran and 444 days of captivity for many Americans. It started with the youth.

It is the youth that are rebelling in France, and while some media outlets downplay the Islamic influence, those of us that with knowledge and wisdom are watching history coming around again. Whether this is the catalyst or just the kindling, the result will be the expansion of Islam and perhaps the modern crusades.

Will brave men don armor and take to their steeds ... or have they already?

Happy Halloween....

2005-10-31T22:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks, but things have been very busy and I haven't been able to spend the normal amount of time here. Besides the heavy workload, what I have had to say would not have been very positive. It must be my experience in the private sector, but I am convinced that the Agency should promote and utilize their best people to provide the best in training to their Officers. Please explain to me where I have gone wrong, there must be some reason why agencies continue to perpetuate the status quo, mediocrity. It drives me up a wall.

On a positive note, ATCET Blaine has come alive and is doing a bang up job in the Northwest. Good people, good training, local support, good results...That is how it works.

BT

Sheep they're all sheep..... National ID Cards...

2005-10-18T21:38:00.000-04:00

Not to long ago, some politicians were spouting off about needing a national ID card or that drivers licenses had to meet federal standards. Have you forgotten? Those ideas didn't go over to well. Then came the push to have passports to enter the country and everyone had to have one or else, of course the uproar ensued. Imagine a US citizen having to show a passport to get into their own country. Do you know what would happen if the border agencies denied entry to a USC, oh my the congressionals would fly. So now the tactic has changed and the Secretary of DHS wants a cheap and convenient alternative to the passport... a card. My goodness people don't be sheep, these civil servants work for you, don't be so damn easy to manipulate!

BT

Oklahoma Suicide Bomber....

2005-10-11T00:30:00.000-04:00

Just a short note before I go long. Pay attention to this event! Even though the FBI doesn't want you too or maybe especially because they don't want you too. They are trying to downplay the event and for what they think is good reason, but it is time to pull our heads out... of the sand, and get into the battle. Denial hurts the cause, which is to keep us safe.

More will follow...

BT

Remember and Ramblings...

2005-09-25T21:17:00.000-04:00

If you will recall, a few months ago, I wrote about all the complaints regarding Border Patrol checkpoints up North. Even though they have been effective for years along the Southern border, apparently, according to politicians and press, they are not effective on the Northern border. Well oh my goodness, Border Patrol just seized 200 lbs of BC Bud at the checkpoint in Tupper Lake, NY. By the way, that does meet the threshold for federal prosecution.

I had actually posted last week, but due to technical dificulties, it did not appear. It was pretty much a rant about the risen abolished phoenix and how more and more it seems to be controlling much of what we do. What a mistake to put them in leadership roles when facilitation was their status quo.

Every time we began to head in the direction we have retreated from, we seem to slow down and lose momentum. We have done some great things lately, but it is always at the lower levels and it does not seem to be meaningful, when the upper echelon doesn't get it and continues to rely on less than stellar subordinates at those upper levels. Every once in a while, I see something that makes sense, like a recent memo emphatically condemning flushing traffic. He understands, he has been there, but from him to the troops the phoenix filter as well as those who have never done the job have way to much influence.

I keep hoping, wishing, and always working to make a difference and promote interdiction... as do many others. If they would just get out of the way, of course, most of them would not know a good job from bad, but we would.

BT

It has to be said again...

2005-09-20T21:59:00.000-04:00

The abolished Phoenix has risen...

After the London bombings, I thought maybe the momentum was changing, but I see new scenarios and they repeat the same mistakes of the past.

The goals is to prevent terrorists and other bad guys from entering the country through interdiction.

I am training people to conduct threat assessment on people and things coming into the country.

Based on that threat assessment, these people or things are either admitted or detained/arrested.

That is what it is about, conducting proper threat assessment takes care of the facilitation of legitimate travelers and goods, because they do not pose a threat, hence, they are released.

It runs from DC on down, they should have put the abolished leaders in a place where they can take care of the bureaucratic tasks that may be necessary, WITHOUT distracting from the mission.

They should not be running programs or training. When they do, it perpetuates the mindset and the mistakes of the past.

It is a constant struggle from those of us who are used to providing training at a superior level to interact with those who continually perpetuate mediocrity or below as the status quo. Especially when they are at upper levels and making decisions based on their exerience which, supposedly no longer exists. Rod Serling would fit right in....

BT

Border Officer Acquitted in Excessive Force Case

2005-09-12T22:07:00.000-04:00

I really don't know very much about the above case, but here is the mantra
I preach to my trainees:

Is what you are doing reasonable?
Can you articulate why you are doing it?
Is it within policy?

If they can yes to the above three questions, they are in good shape.

For those looking from the outside in, remember, don't judge on hind sight. You have to judge based on what the Officer was experiencing at that moment, in a very rapidly evolving situation.
Remember, these Officers are placed in precarious situations quite often, they are expected to be able to resolve these situations and that calls for making these kinds of judgements.

BT

Just a Sample...

2005-09-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

If you recall, I told you what Bush's legacy was going to be and it had to do with keeping the economy going after 9/11. There will be another addition to his legacy, but I will save it for later. During the legacy posting, I gave a few examples of what could have happened to the country if the economy had gone down the tubes.

There is a current example of what things can descend to ongoing. Take a look at New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. Immediately there were claims of racial discrimination in that most of the people who stayed were Black. Help wasn't coming soon enough, so criminal behavior became rampant. I don't mean taking food to survive, I mean stealing non-essential items for gain. Shooting at incoming emergency responders. Even away from the area, the gouging gas prices for no just cause, just more stealing.

This is just a small example of what will happen if our economy collapses. There will be no harmony, no peace, just surviving... if you can. Bush's administration saved the economy and
a hell of a lot more than that. If you doubt it, head on down to New Orleans. I have already volunteered...

Black Bands....

2005-09-02T22:07:00.000-04:00

I lost a colleague and good friend a couple of days ago. She lived the job, it was everything to her and some sorry s.o.b. stole her from us.

Tammy,
We will miss you, never forget you and think about you often... with a tear and a smile.

BT

Canada, Oh Canada.....

2005-09-01T23:19:00.000-04:00

Just a short additional note about the previous post:
It was reported today the Customs Officers in Ontario, Canada walked off the job because they had an armed and dangerous subject headed in their direction. Not just a few of them, but all of them. They were shown a photograph of a subject who had escaped from custody in Kentucky and were told to let him through the border. He was considered to be armed and dangerous.

Now I know that they are not armed, but if our Customs Officers did that, the country's economy would stop. Canada doesn't trust their feds with guns, so their contract states they can leave if they feel they are in danger.

The whole reason for bringing this to your attention is the previous post which references an article, that claims that Canada has done a better job at addressing border security concerns. It doesn't appear to be accurate.

BT

The Canadian Spin...

2005-08-28T21:37:00.000-04:00

Dean Beeby with the Canadian Press has authored an article that I read in the National Post. Based on a focus group study by the EKOS group he submits a headline that America does not view Canada as a safe haven for terrorists. They conducted two focus groups, one democrat and one republican of so called (they used the following term and Beeby quoted it) "informed U.S. citizens of higher than average socio-economic status". Beeby states that the study indicates that these "informed" people view Mexico as a more likely entry point for terrorists than Canada or that they would be home grown. Beeby states that the report indicates that Canada has often been more effective at beefing up border security infrastructure than the United States. In an amazing statement, the study did not provide the number of participants.

How a reporter would quote this type of study is a question in itself, but I guess Mr. Beeby felt comfortable with the information. I, however, view it as nothing but propaganda trying the difuse a slow, but sure acknowledgement that Canada, because of it's lax immigration policy is a threat. Yes, Canada a greater threat for terrorism than Mexico. Another reason they are a threat is that they do not feel that they are targeted for terrorism, so they have no personal stake or vested interest. Sure the damage to the American economy by another 9/11 would hurt Canada as one of our largest trading partners, but it is not the same as an in-country attack.

While Mexico certainly has the infra-structure for human smuggling, what they don't have is strong connections to the terrorists regions of the world that threaten America. Canada on the other hand has welcomed immigrants from these areas with open arms. Ahmed Ressam, the terrorist interdicted entering the U.S. from Canada in 1999 is a good example. If you don't recall, he had the explosives with him.

As far as border security, Canada won't even trust their border agents with firearms. I have yet to see the Canadian border services working outbound to the United States as we work outbound interdiction to Canada. While the facilitation versus enforcement balance has always been on the front burner in the States, listen to the Canadian politicians promote facilitation over security as the rule in their country.

So with all due respect ( however that much is, is certainly in question after the article) to Mr. Beeby and EKOS, this informed U.S. citizen of above average socio-economic status calls B.S.!

BT

Immigration Laws....

2005-08-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

They need to change. I am not talking so much about the laws letting people into the country, but the laws getting people to leave the country. It is absolute insanity to have to jump through so many hoops to remove people from the U.S. To have to go in front of a judge, in some cases, makes no sense. I am a long way from anti-immigration, but unless Congress makes changes, nothing will solve this problem.

If someone is here illegally, Border Patrol or ICE should be able to pick them up and arrange transport to what ever border they crossed. If they came in through Mexico, that is where they go, If they came through Canada, that is where they go. Anything short of this goal just makes it unworkable. A court once held that when in country, illegal aliens are provided with the protection of the Constitution. Congress needs to change that, and all I mean is the removal requirements.

As for the laws regarding entry, there should be three types of visas, Business, Pleasure, and Other and we can fill in the blanks for Other. If we say yes they can enter, if we say no, they can't. If we change our mind while they are here, they have to go.

Immigration law is complex, that needs to change and Congress has the ability to fix it. They just don't seem to have the desire to do more than talk about it on television.

On another somewhat related front, it looks like the move to generalists is being tempered somewhat. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of many positive moves within the border agency.

BT

Securing the Borders.....

2005-08-14T21:49:00.000-04:00

If Congress really wants to secure the borders, it can be done. All you need is the manpower, meaning they have to hire thousands of new Patrol Agents. You have to get them out of the office, which means making it easier to deport those who enter the country illegally. Get their prints, photos, put them in the system, make sure they don't already have warrants and then send them back.

I don't just mean on the Southern Border either, same procedure for those crossing illegally from the North. In some cases where the Ports are overstaffed, we should use those Officers between the borders as well. A new version of the Customs Patrol Officer. They are all designated as immigration Officers and could certainly help with the situation.

On another front, technology could help as well. If we can detect and track submarines at sea, we can certainly do the same on our border rivers and lakes.

I don't know what the stats are now, but there was a time when the BP Academy washed out about half of their trainees during the long 26 weeks. That means hiring twice as many, to make sure of the numbers getting to the field.

It boils down to this, Congress has to provide the funding, change the Immigration laws to allow those charged with securing the borders to work more efficiently and realize that political rhetoric is nothing but bluster, so as they say down South, "mochate"

BT

Ouch.....

2005-08-07T22:12:00.000-04:00

You know sometimes you just have to bite your tongue. I read an article this evening in the Post about Customs and Border Protection. It was kind of a fluff piece with a small jab at the agency for not letting their people be open about what is going on with the merger. It is the kind of article that makes me want to hit the keyboard and zap the author with an adjustment of some sort. The only trouble with doing that is that most of the time, only bad stuff comes out. Legitimate concerns that turn into complaints, moans, and whining. The good things don't come out and with CBP, there is a bunch of good stuff. The commissioner is probably the smartest and most experienced in recent history and he stands good with the big boss.

One face at the border is a good idea and good in practice, CBP just needs to have specialists (really, not the fluff in the article) so the best service can be given to the country. Let people do what they are good at and good things will happen, it is a fact. There is some wonderful technology being used by the agency, but it has to be utilized as tools for the Officers, not the other way around.

There have been some very good promotions of late, but there is still alot of dead wood that needs to be cleared. INS was smart, they promoted many people before the merger, allowing them to be placed in key positions after the merger. Old thinking and practices that should have been abolished too. Too many people who have never done the job or even anything close to the job, running programs and training. The good news is that there is some very qualified people just chomping at the bit to provide superior performance.

CBP needs to stop hiring old people, it is not a job for old people and hasn't been for a long time. On the other hand, the agency has hired some awesome young people, now if they can be retained and steered in the right direction, the future is promising.

Last but not least, on the borders, it has to be about interdiction. The borders are the last filter to keep the bad guys out or caught. After all the wonderful programs and pre-screening it gets to the border and it is either interdicted or let into the country. I vote for interdiction and yes I do understand the importance of facilitation for the economy's sake, but I also understand what will happen to the economy if there is another 9/11.

Not bad for a bite my tongue, post.

BT

What a joke....

2005-07-31T21:10:00.000-04:00

I read an article by Douglas S. Massey, a professor of sociology and public policy at Princeton today where he provides some ideas for immigration reform. I agree with some of them and have proposed similar ideas, but I chortle at his either ignorance of border policy or his spin. His first idea is to create a visa that allows migrants to live in the U.S. and then return home. Like magic, it is done. Of course there has been this type of visa since prior to the Ellis Island days. People who migrate to this country can visit their homeland any time they choose. The problem with Massey's idea is that he is speaking of illegal aliens, not migrants. Some with less than even passing knowledge may think that the term illegal alien is derogatory. It is not, it is the proper legal term for someone who enters the country illegally. If you have doubts, read Title 8 of the U.S. Code, 8CFR, and any pertinent immigration law cases.

Beyond this Professor Massey refers to the militarization of the border. He needs to get out more, while troops have been used on the border in very small numbers, they are normally not used. When U.S. troops are used on the border, Mexico normally raises quite a fuss and makes similar statements. On the other hand, if you sit on the Rio Grande River bank some day or night, you will quite often see Mexican military moving along the border in humvees carrying G3 assault rifles, real assault rifles-not the media definition-black. They have made incursions into the U.S. on many occassions and have shot a number of people on the Mexican side.

I wish our agencies on the border would promote a more forceful image. A few years back something became apparent to U.S. Customs Inspectors. They had been working down South in very hot conditions, so they began to wear BDUs and T-shirts displaying the agency's name. Things went along very well, then came a change in uniform policy and they went back to the regular uniform. Traveler complaints went up immediately. When you promote the smile and welcome everyone to America image, hand out pamphlets outlining why they may have been subjected to scrutiny, and in general encourage the concept that being inspected at the border is an exception instead of the rule, you may as well just let everyone in for all the trouble it causes. The law is quite clear on the subject, everything and everyone crossing the border into this country is subject to inspection. This has been the law since 1789, it is not a new phenomenon. That is the image to promote, tell people the truth, when you cross the border, everyone is subject to inspection. It doesn't matter if you are White, Black, or Green. It doesn't matter if your are a citizen or visitor, EVERYONE. You are coming into the country and we are going to scrutinize you before we let you in, we aren't going to do random inspections, we do threat assessment. We choose who we want to look at based on how they behave, intell, where they are coming from, where they are going, and many other factors. That is how professionals work. Isn't that better than having a wand shoved up to you know where or your bags being searched while you are trying to go to work. I hope you think so, because I believe in the 4th amendment and think random searches are unprofessional and a poor way to secure the public. What ever happened to Terry stops, geez.

Anyway, I know I took off on a tangent, but back to the Professor's musings. His ideas aren't all bad and like I said, I agree with some of them. The problem is that his spin or lack of knowledge hurts him in the credibility department, you know "gravitas". So who can take him serious?

BT

Why even have a 4th amendment....

2005-07-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

I find it sad and amazing that as a result of the second round of bombings in London that New York City wants to toss the 4th amendment rules regarding search and seizure. Even worse, they are not going to target suspicious individuals and develop at least reasonable suspicion, they are going to do random searches... you know like TSA. The least effective method of inspection is going to be implemented. The knee jerk reaction is to trample on the Constitution. My friends, the terrorists win when we trade our freedoms for false security. If America is not willing to stand up for the principles past generations have given us, we don't deserve them. NYC stand up and tell Ray Kelly to take a walk. He was the commissioner of Customs, he above all should know about effective searches and targeting. Random means no suspicion at all, not some or mere, not reasonable, not probable cause to search... none. You know, like in China or the Soviet Union and that is not an overstatement. The pretense is and was for state security. NYC sacrificed 3,000 people because they represented America, don't let the people you put in office show those people such disrespect. Tell them to shove it...

BT

London and now what....

2005-07-18T22:38:00.000-04:00

I am back in the East and spent my first day back at work. Tried to play catch up in the afternoon, sifting through hundreds of emails. Some good stuff, at the moment unshareable, but none the less good. I have had the chance to reflect on the London bombings and this is what I will offer. The Brittish knew it was coming. They have done a good job of detering or scaring off several attacks in the recent past including at least one aimed at Heathrow, but the truth of the matter is that in a free country, you can not eliminate the threat completely. The Finsbury Park Mosque is a good example of the tolerance permitted in England, unfortunately it is also an example of the recruiting that goes on in such places. If you think we are exempt, you are mistaken. It will happen here. I continue to push to reimpliment some pertinent training, but doing battle with the bureaucrats has proven to be a waste of time and those who have the ability to make changes come from a pale background and don't understand. It really is quite amazing that we have gone backwards and I wonder what dramatic event will stop the retreat. Fortunately we do have our successes even when they don't grab the headlines.

La Playa

2005-07-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

I just left South Padre Island, TX where I spent a week. It was just as beautiful as always and makes me wonder why I leave Texas. I will remain in South Texas for the rest of the week, recharging on all the good things before I return to the East Coast. Thanks for checking in.

BT

The Bush legacy, no really....

2005-06-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

I know that I teased you with this one night a few months ago and then held back. So here goes, I still want to hold back a little, so expect a condensed version. When it is all said and done and history looks at the current administration, here is what will be the enduring legacy of President Bush.

He kept this country from falling apart after 9/11. Now I know that a few years have gone by and as Americans have the memory of Mr. Magoo, some may disagree, but they would be wrong. This country is really about two things, freedom and the economy, and not always in that order. As long as we can jump in our 4x4 Exursions and take the kids to Disney World on vacation and we have the money to do it, we are happy. Think back, on 9/11 everything stopped. The economy headed South, hundreds of thousands lost their jobs, the stock market cratered, some segments of the economy have never come back like certain airlines. Domestically, this country had been peaceful for decades. Political correctness, racial harmony, not too much in the way of unemployment, the economy had been strong, violent crime was down, as a country we were pretty happy... fat, dumb, and happy. We had happily ignored terrorism for many administrations and were content to continue. All of the sudden, everything stopped. Was that check going to keep coming in, what was the market doing, were there more attacks on the way?

If this had continued, it might have been the end of our reign as the big dog on the porch. Do you really think that it is going to last forever? Now you might say, oh no, in our civilized society, we would just keep on our merry way. We would wait for things to get back to normal and I could keep paying the orthodontist his two hundred a month for the kids braces, and fifteen hundred a month for the house and six hundred a month for the Excursion and three hundred a month for gas and two hundred a month for the insurance and three hundred a month for the groceries and another three hundred a month for electric and fuel oil and another five hundred a month for the wife's Volvo and two hundred for the kids dance, guitar, gymnastics or whatever lessons and of course the twenty grand a year for the one in college, and oh yeah three hundred a month for credit card debt, HEY WAKE UP...
All that goes away if the economy tanks. You can maintain as long as there is cash flow, even if times aren't great, but stop the cash flow and things get bad quick.

All of the sudden you can't afford gas, the boss says he has to reduce overhead and since you have only been here for five years, you have to go. Good luck... FOMOCO Credit wants their vehicles back and your mortgage company is asking when you would be available to move out of your house, and all of the sudden pork has come into fashion because beef is just too expensive. A month later you are worried about being able to house and feed the kids, you know the ones that can live with crooked teeth. Now people are starting to protest and mayhem breaks loose as the looting starts and things start to burn.... AND WHAT IN THE HELL IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT IT. People aren't buying food anymore, they are taking it, maybe from you. All of the sudden things aren't so harmonious, we don't love everyone and all you care about is keeping your family warm and fed. Now there isn't any food in the stores....

I could go on, and you may not believe that it could ever happen here (pull your head out, there is sand in your ears), but it could. The terrorists weren't aiming to hurt the economy, they wanted to make a statement, to bloody the great satan's nose, and they did. What did they learn? Now they know they can hurt the economy and that is our Achilles heel. They will be back.

Now for the legacy, THE WHAT IN THE HELL DID THE GOVERNMENT DO ABOUT IT...

Think back, the Bush administration immediately began to encourage the move back to the norm, they stoked the economy by continually lowering interest rates to encourage spending and the movement of money within the economy. By lowering rates, the Fed allowed lending institutions to lower their rates and to dangle these incentives to the public. The result was lower lending rates for houses, real estate, and vehicles and in the end the stimulation of the economy through the sales of these items. In short it worked, no the economy did not bounce back right away, but it came back. A slow recovery and not to the boom of the nineties, but that wasn't the point. The goal was to save the country and this administration accomplished that goal. THAT IS WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DID ABOUT IT! The legacy.....

There is more, but it can wait. When you read about this in the future, remember where you saw if first.

BT

Google me...

2005-06-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

Just a short note, this blog can now be found with Google. Just query border watch or border watch blog and scroll a few pages. I appreciate the listing and those responsible. Comments are always welcome at the bordertrain05@yahoo.com address. Keep checking in for insight from the inside from those trying to keep us safe on the borders and beyond.

BT

Here we go again...

2005-06-14T20:11:00.000-04:00

I don't know Lou Dobbs, even by reputation. He is on CNN, but I don't really normally watch his program, so I will withhold comment as to which side of the fence he sits. I don't even care, whether we agree on issues or not, he is entitled to his opinion, what ever it is. BUT, what I don't understand is why a person with a newsprogram would go out of his way to give Canada a pass on terrorism, specifically the 9/11 hijackers, and not balance with mention of the Ahmed Ressam the terrorist caught coming from Canada in 1999 with explosives in his car. Tonight he had the Ambassador from Canada on his show and made sure to mention that the 9/11 hijackers did not come from Canada, but failed to mention Ressam. He went on to say how much he loved Canada as a neighbor, over and over again. I like Canada too, but give me a break, the terrorism links to Canada are well known and established. Don't misunderstand, it is not the people from Canada, it is the lax immigration policy that they have had for years and the people they let in. They may sneak across our borders, but Canada welcomes them with open arms. Mr. Dobbs, you are either behind the curve or maybe just spinning it the way you want.

BT

Beating a dead horse....

2005-06-07T22:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry animal lovers, but I hate to cover the same ground over and over again. Lou Dobbs from CNN had a Texas legislator on tonight and had to bring up the terrorist threat from the South. He needs to read some of the previous notes and get a clue. I don't have a problem addressing the illegal aliens coming from the South, but don't use terrrorism as an excuse to do it. This has been an issue for decades. I have a copy of U.S. News and World Report from 1975 with headlines about the leaky borders which is just as pertinent today, in fact people read the article and don't realize it is thirty years old. I wish they would be as concerned about the illegal aliens from the North, because if they were serious about terrorism, that is the direction to be looking.

BT

Feds Scale Back Hartford Border Patrol Station

2005-05-25T22:35:00.000-04:00

Isn't it typical, Border Patrol sets up a check point on the Northern border just like the ones that have been in existence along the Southern border for decades and what happens. People up North start to complain, Senator Pat Leahy and former speaker Newt Gingrich question the effectiveness of such a check point. Now just like magic the check point is scaled back. A few weeks ago, the former speaker stated, in general, that terrorists come from Canada, when chastised by Canadian officials because none of the 9/11 hijackers entered from Canada, he apologized. What about the Millenium Bomber, Ahmed Ressam caught in the act with explosives coming from CANADA in 1999. All this talk about securing the borders tends to be hogwash, what these folks want is to secure the Southern border, because they are in denial about the terrorist threat from the North. Hopefully, these learned gentlemen will come up with a plan to protect us from these threats from the South who want to pick produce, cut yards, and work construction..... lions and tiger and Mexicans, oh my!

BT

Who is the threat....

2005-05-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

A few years back, El Paso was having a large crime problem. Illegal aliens were coming across and causing all kinds of problems for the local area. There was a Border Patrol Chief who figured out how to solve the problem, in short, he assigned Patrol Agents an X on a map in the problem areas and in a short time the crime rate in El Paso dropped significantly. Now this is an oversimplified and short version of the events, but they are accurate. (By the way, the Chief is now in Congress) If these are the kinds of problems the minutemen and all the others are trying to prevent by the sensationalist type of media coverage, I guess that is OK. In reality, if BP was given the resources and say if the Customs Patrol was brought out of mothballs, it could be done. BUT....

If the reason for all the fuss and muss is terrorism, stop looking at the "brown horde" (derogatory term for the masses of illegal aliens that come from Mexico that has been used for years) that seems to worry so many and go way north. The threat from Canada is much greater, anyone who has any knowledge of terrorism will concur. It is wrong to use the terrorist threat as an excuse to mask the real threat. If Congress wants to stop illegal immigration, all it has to do is give clear, strong direction and provide the resources. On the other hand, if they want to stop terrorists at the borders, they might have to ruffle some feathers from those coming from the north. Those who are much more likely to complain about long lines and questions before being allowed entry into the US and I don't mean the "brown horde".

BT

Observations from the Northland....

2005-05-17T10:10:00.000-04:00

As we conclude our interdiction training on the longest unguarded border in the world, I have a few observations.

The Officers doing the job really want to do the best job they can.

The status quo keeps them from doing that.

By hosting and supporting the training, the managers are showing their desire
to change the status quo.

In order to make the changes, the Officers need to push the envelope a little to
break the routine and throw some curves to the bad guys.

The terrorist threat is much greater on the Northern border than on the Southern border(quantifiable) .

One final note, if the folks running the show would turn the troops loose and put them in a full enforcement mode, they would impress the hell out of everyone. It is the border, we are going to inspect you and we don't care if you are white, black or purple. We don't care what you are wearing or driving. We will conduct a threat assessment, make the call, do what we need to do to keep the country safe and by doing that we will keep you safe. Steely eyed vigilance is what I like to call it, let the travelers know they are crossing an international border and it is more than just crossing the street. Be professional and the public will understand that we are working for them.

BT out!

Strides....

2005-05-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

Contrary to popular belief, there is some good things going on. One of them is bringing cargo interdiction training to the North East. It has been going on in the North West for a while now, with nice results. The fact that it has moved in this direction says quite a bit. Hopefully, a few fires have been lit in some of those doing the job, and as they show their enforcement results, more and more will jump on the band wagon. Respects to those hosting the training and my wishes that you reap that which you have sown.... as there is no turning back now!

If we can just get the burros to let the professionals develop the courses and do the training, we will come back to where we were a few years ago. Not to be negative, just an objective observation.

As for Esteban, best wishes in your new direction, thanks for always being a straight shooter and stay safe. It won't be the same without you, but nothing seems the same anymore.....

BT

The Frigid North....

2005-05-08T14:02:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay between blogs, but I am on the Northern border providing some training to those protecting the borders. Maybe I will put one together up here.

BT

Smoke and Mirrors....

2005-04-28T23:01:00.000-04:00

While the media is focused on Arizona and the people trying to do Border Patrol's job, what is being glossed over is the trial of Ahmed Ressam. He is the terrorist that was stopped by U.S. Customs attempting to bring in explosives through Port Angeles, WA. Believe it or not, he wasn't trying to sneak in through the Southern border. Illegal aliens from countries that have harbored, trained, or produced terrorists are caught try to enter the Northern border almost daily. To compare those coming over to work in the fields or some other type of manual labor with the terrorist threat would be almost humorous if it wasn't so ignorant. To fail to distinguish between the two is disingenuous.

What you will find when examining the illegal aliens coming from Mexico is that most of them come over and work and then return home. Of the millions caught every year, how many have been caught and returned to Mexico only to be caught trying to come over again? Most of them. The same cannot be said for those coming across the border from Canada.

Wait for the smoke to clear, break a few mirrors and see where the greater threat lies.

Earning my Keep...

2005-04-26T23:05:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lag on posts, but I have been earning my keep. Everyonce in a while, I bow up to put something in print, but wisdom keeps me from hitting publish. Hang in, because good things are starting to happen.

BT

Deterrence and Interdiction on the Border...

2005-04-12T23:32:00.000-04:00

There are a little over 300 ports of entry across the United States, most of them are on the land borders. Between these ports is the Border Patrol. What every one of those Officers knows is that their business is one of interdiction and not of deterrence. Now one looking in from the outside might say that deterrence is a good thing, especially in the realm of terrorism. We would rather dissuade the terrorists from trying to enter the country than try to catch them when they attempt to enter. Here is the monkey in the wrench so to speak, picture the ports of entry, border patrol roving Officers and Xs as obstructions affixed to an incline. If you run water down the incline, what you will find is that the water goes around the obstructions. That is what happens if you attempt to deter illegal aliens, narcotics smugglers, or terrorists trying to enter the country, they go around the obstructive Officers. The focus has to be one of interdiction, trying to catch them all, which in some ways causes a deterent effect. The mentality of those working the borders has to one of enforcement. The responsibility of those with oversight is to provide the number of Officers needed to conduct the job, provide incentives to keep them in the job, stress interdiction as opposed to facilitation and back up the Officers when they need it.

Bump in the road...

2005-04-06T22:46:00.000-04:00

It ought to be more than a bump in the road. Crossing the U.S. borders should be more than a line on a map. Everyone is subject to inspection at the border, diplomats may be the exception, but even they can be inspected in certain circumstances. Why isn't everyone inspected when they cross the border? Because there are a lot more travelers than Officers. Except for a few cursory questions and verifying documents, most people coming into the country spend very little time dealing with border Officers. They get so used to the cursory inspection process that when they are selected for a more intensive inspection, they are offended. In fact, they have been conditioned to this facilitation by none other than the border agencies. Border Officers are continually bombarded with professionalism training, smile and greet every passenger admonitions, facilitate the traffic-we don't want the people waiting statements, but you better not admit a terrorist! Terrorism is our number one priority, but smile and greet everyone! "We must prevent terrorists and weapons of mass destruction from entering the country", but lets move this traffic!

There will always be the struggle to balance security and the economy (facilitation of people and goods into the country). This is normal, and the layered strategy to security is valid, but in the end it comes down to this; In the passenger environment, an Officer making a threat assessment on people entering the country and deciding whether to look at them further or release them. In the cargo environment, it might be an Officer or small group of Officers conducting threat assessment on incoming shipments and deciding which to look at and which to release. At the moment, even with all the bluster about terrorism, facilitation is weighing down the scale. It is a matter of will, and it is not the will of Officers that is at issue. Do our leaders have the will to make the borders more than just a bump in the road?

Current events persistently raise that question.

Thanks....

2005-03-29T20:34:00.001-05:00

Blogwise.com has reviewed Border Watch and added it to their site.
To this we say thanks.

That is only the half of it......

2005-03-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

Scott Johnson has a typical media column about the border in Newsweek International. It is a broad view of the border and border problems. A 50 percent article dealing with only half of the land border, once again failing to acknowledge Northern border issues.

Mr. Johnson correctly recognizes the present system of immigration enforcement is not working. He dances around the issue of Congress, but in truth, that is where the problem resides. Do they really want enforcement, have they ever? Who will pick the crops or work manual labor, surely no one related to them. Guest worker programs have worked in the past (The Bracero Program 1942-1964) and they can be effective again. To deny the need is foolish or ignorant.

He properly raises the issue of the shoot-out in Nuevo Laredo, which by the way ended on one of the bridges into the United States. Bullets from assault rifles (real assault rifles, as opposed to the media definition-black guns) flying into the port of entry. Ports of entry, where we station Officers, give them a badge, a gun, a vest, but don't think they deserve law enforcement retirement. Where as previously stated, trainees can be in their sixties or older, and often are.

What he fails to recognize is the 4 Canadian Mounties killed during a raid on a BC (British Columbia) bud operation (Canadian marijuana) and the increase in violence on the Northern border. The leaky Northern border where OTMs (other than Mexicans) are being smuggled into the country daily, and not to perform manual labor. The same border, where the union representing Canadian border agencies is continually raising the issue of arming their Officers.
The same border where Lucia Garofalo attempted to smuggle in Algerians. Garofalo, linked to people and groups commiting terrorist acts. Yes, the same border where Customs Officers interdicted Algerian terrorist Ahmed Ressam with over 100 lbs. of explosives. This, as opposed to the dubious intelligence about the Mara Salvatrucha group smuggling in terrrorists. Mara Salvatrucha, the group whose leader was recently apprehended by U.S. Border Officers, as usual doing the job.

So explain to me again, why does the media continue to focus on the "The Border War" down south, when there is a northern front?

Minimizing the threat.....

2005-03-15T21:23:00.000-05:00

I read with interest an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the story of illegal immigrants being smuggled into the US. Two men drive across the border at a remote port of entry, noting some discrepancies, the port Officers contact Border Patrol to follow the vehicle as it leaves. As so often happens, the Officer's instincts were correct. Soon after, Border Patrol stops the vehicle and finds seven illegal immigrants.

A typical story on the Southern border, seven illegals crossing to find work in the fields, or maybe move to the big city and get a job working construction..... An everyday occurrence, right? Coyotes moving human contraband. Except one thing, it happened in Lynden, WA, not on the Southern border. Two Canadian men smuggling illegal aliens, but not Mexicans wanting to find a job, but illegals from India and Pakistan. Pakistan, yes that same Pakistan that trained and harbored terrorists. The same Pakistan that provided nuclear secrets and technology to those we seek to prevent from harming our country.

And what of our two "Canadian Coyotes", described in the article as not knowing the seriousness of their crime, and only receiving $750.00 each to smuggle the illegal aliens. They will receive no jail time, as they apologized for their actions, saying they had learned their lesson and of course, they will never do it again.

Can you honestly equate the threat of terrorists from Canada with that of laborers from Mexico?
Can you honestly say that coyotes from the South would have been described in such endearing terms? Minimizing the threat shows a lack of proper perspective from the author of the article.
It does, however, show the vigilance and teamwork of the border agencies.

How serious can they be????

2005-03-07T23:47:00.000-05:00

Officers who work the border carry a weapon, wear body armor, display a badge, and carry credentials authorizing arrests for violations of federal laws. For years if you wanted to see the who's who of narcotics interdiction and arrests, you didn't look at the DEA, FBI, or the Marshall Service; you went to the border agencies. That doesn't even cover the millions of dollars seized leaving the country by these same officers.

In order to succeed at the above, sometimes you have to fight someone who doesn't want to be arrested. You might have to crawl under a vehicle or on top of a container, or belly crawl to the front wall. You might have to chase someone, conduct a vehicle extraction, arrest a murderer or in the case of Port Angeles stop, pursue, and catch a terrorist. You might have to enter the hold of a ship after stowaways, or board a ship alone in the middle of the night.

As the focus has moved to the interdiction of terrorists and preventing weapons of mass destruction from entering the country, the question arises.... how serious can they be?

How serious can they be when they continue to hire people in their sixties and yes even older? How serious can they be when candidates for employment couldn't even pass muster with some security agencies? How serious can they be when they hire someone you wouldn't even consider to be a night watchman at your business? How serious can they be when they threaten discipline for failing to greet those entering the country with a smile and hearty greeting, rather than steely eyed vigilance and matter of fact professionalism? How serious can they be when they continue to depend on high tech gadgetry instead of utilizing these tools while cracking more containers? How serious can they be when they fail to provide incentives to keep the young officers they do hire from leaving to other higher paying jobs with better retirement systems at other agencies?

How serious can they really be?

The Generalist....

2005-02-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

It wasn't to long ago that a multitiude of agencies came crashing together, with quite abit less than a plan. In one area, a few agencies came together and the goal was to produce one face at the border, a concept that I support. In the confusion, the myth of a super officer able to handle any and all situations was conceived, .... a generalist.

Spending many years in the private sector taught me quite a bit, including this gem. If you put your people in the area in which they are experts and you cover all areas with these experts, you are damn likely to produce a fine product or service. Your people will be happier, your customers will be happier, and in the case of the merged agencies, the bad guys will suffer. Every large successful organization relies on experts, that is what makes them successful.

The intent of the merger was not to produce a generalist. It was to put one face at the border, integrating the experts in the various agencies under one management structure that could be held accountable. In doing so, it would provide the nation with a superior level of performance in the areas of national security, economic facilitation, and the flow of people in and out of the country.

I have high hopes that this will be the end result of a good idea that has yet to take shape.

Random Threat Assessment....

2005-02-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

Random threat assessment seems like a contradiction in terms, and it is. There are random examinations conducted with no level of suspicion and there are those examinations that are based on threat assessment. On the many occasions that I have flown recently, even when in status, I have been asked to remove my footwear, undo my belt and roll down the waistline of my pants. I have been pat-down and had magnetomic wands shoved, well you know where. I have seen women touched inappropriately with hands and wands and of course seen cuticle scissors seized (with no due process or even a receipt) while Swiss army knives proceed. Aside from the fact that there has not been a revolt over TSA's methods (which I find amazing), what is incredible is that the agency thinks that it makes it all better by saying it was just a random exam.

When I am told that the exam was entirely random, what they are really saying is that they have no idea what they are doing, they are guessing. Today, we will exam everyone with red shirts, oh wait, we can't do that, it isn't random. We really don't know who the bad guys are so we will stick a wand up granny's skirt, just in case. Ineptitude at it best.

When a law enforcement agency stops somebody, it should be based on a reason, for some reason the words "Terry Stop", come to mind. TSA should have the integrity, as stated in their mission statement, to make stops for a reason. Based on a threat assessment, where ever that threat assessment derives. It might be behavioral analysis as is utilized by other law enforcement agencies here and abroad. It could be based on intelligence derived from the many agencies now working together to fight terrorism. It could be based on previous enforcement actions taken by the agency, but it should be based on something. Can you imagine if every one coming across the borders was subjected to this kind of treatment, the economy would stop and the lawyers would have a field day. TSA has to have the courage to base their examination on threat assessment, be able to articulate the suspicion, and be able to live with their assessments. If they lack this resolve, they will never garner any respect, nor will they safeguard the traveling public.

Criminals and Enemy Combatants.....

2005-02-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

As the war on terrorism has been ongoing for over three years from the American perspective (I use the American perspective because it has been going on for a long time, we just didn't take it seriously as a nation until 9/11), one of the hardest concepts for Americans to grasp is the difference between criminals and enemy combatants. I will save the difference between enemy soldiers and enemy combatants for later. Many people in this country feel that those affiliated with Al Qaida and 9/11 should be arrested in the battlefield, read their Miranda warning, tried by their peers and have the appellate courts available to them. Why, because that is what we do with criminals and those who perpetrated the events of 9/11 and their affiliates are criminals right?

Were the pilots of the Japanese planes on 12/7/41 at Pearl Harbor criminals? At the time the US was not at war with Japan, they perpetrated an unprovoked and premeditated attack. Surely, they must be criminals. Most of the same people, would probably disagree. Why, because they wore uniforms and flew under the flag of a nation? Is this the distinction?

The magnificent nineteen, as they have been described by some in the fundamental Islamic world, were as much soldiers as the Japanese pilots. They trained like soldiers, they had a chain of command, they called themselves soldiers, and they were at war with the US as proclaimed in bin Laden's fatwahs. The only difference is the lack of uniforms and a flag, hence enemy combatant and not enemy soldier, but certainly not criminals.

Certainly not entitled to the protections given to those accused of crimes under the Constitution. In fact, not even entitled to those protections agreed upon in the Geneva Accords. Why, because they are not signatories and more so because they fail to uphold the agreed upon ideals as evidenced in their targeting of innocents.

The distinction between criminals and enemy combatants must be established because war has forever changed. We are just behind the curve.

Rules of Engagement.....

2005-02-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

The country is at war. Thousands of miles away, brave men and women bear arms against an enemy. We have invaded countries in the desire to protect our nation and in doing so have removed tyrants who's routine acts are beyond our worst nightmares. The catalyst for this struggle, an act of war which stole 3,000 of our brothers and sisters, not in Iraq or Afghanistan, but here in the homeland. The threat, though somewhat diminished, remains.....

A Question: Is the threat to our country greater here or there? Surely it must be here with our population centers, the infrastructure, and the economy which provides for us all.

The Issue: Since the greater threat is here at home, where the attack which initiated our bold actions occurred. Have the rules of engagement changed for those who protect the borders of our nation? Have we moved from a peacetime to a wartime enforcement posture? Recently while traveling home from Europe, I encountered those with a steely-eyed vigilance and MP5s. While carrying a red passport and moving from one plane to another, I was searched three times. Perhaps I would have felt better if I had been cordially greeted with a smile and welcomed to their country for the hour I was there. . . . but I doubt it.

Doing it on the border....

2005-02-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

This is how I feel, I like the bill of rights and it worries me when those guarantees are diminished, for any reason. After 9/11 the former head of the British Security Service (MI5) commented that Americans would have to get used to the loss of freedoms in order to protect the nation against terrorism. She doesn't get it, what is the difference between losing your freedoms through the fear of on-going terrorist attacks or having it legislated away. The reason this diverse, multi-cultural, melting pot of a country endures and works is due to these freedoms and an economy that allows us to support and tend to our families. Remove either of these components and the strength provided by diversity, becomes the wedge that divides other countries into situations such as Kosovo, Rwanda, and Chechnya.

Many of those who would curtail our freedoms domestically, cry for seamless borders to facilitate the movement of people and the goods that fuel the economy. This is a contradiction in the name of security. It would seem to make more sense to screen those entering the country extensively at the border where some freedoms (specifically the 4th amendment) have historically, both through legislation and judicial review, been lowered and keep our freedoms within the borders intact. While this does not consider those who enter the country illegally, the vast majority of those coming into the country do not swim the Rio Grande River or cross the Northern border between legitimate entry points and this includes the 9/11 terrorists.