http://www.americanchronicle.com/articl ... leID=11045

NO INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY TO SECURE BORDERS FROM TERRORIST THREATS
Randy L. Harrington

Randy L. Harrington is a freelance journalist and writer who lives with his wife, and two sons in Chandler, Arizona. He has practiced law, psychology, and medicine. His articles have appeared on the internet. He brings a unique life experience to his writing.

Randy L. Harrington
June 30, 2006
WASHINTON—A top U.S. Counterterrorism official said Wednesday that the United States has not had an intelligence strategy to secure the US borders for years. The current strategy has resulted in uncoordinated and sometimes incomplete threat information about illegal immigrants crossing the nations borders.

It has only been over the past year that the Bush administration has begun to develop plans to analyze border security issues with information obtained from all intelligence agencies, a counterterrorism official told a House committee.

Charles Allen, the intelligence chief for the Homeland Security Department told the House Homeland Security committee that “When I came in, we did not have an intelligence campaign against the Border...I agree with you that we should have done more earlier, but we are now at this vigorously.” Allen said that his department is in the preliminary and early stages of completing a comprehensive plan involving border intelligence, and that these plans include working with the Pentagon on surveillance and reconnaissance programs.

Allen declined to disclose many of the details of the plan because of security concerns. He said that his department has created an office that analyzes threats at the nations borders, which include drug and immigrant smuggling, as well as money laundering.

Allen cited the need “to bring all the capabilities of the national intelligence community onto this problem.”


Democrats on the House Homeland Security committee expressed their outrage that security officials were not aware of some elementary vulnerabilities at more than 190,000 miles of the US border.

Representative Bennie Thomson (D-Mississippi) said “frankly, we should have been talking about border intelligence five years ago in the aftermath of 9/11.”

The hearing came about because of the House Republicans push for immigration reform legislation this year to address increased border security.

Representative Rob Simmons (R-Connecticut), who is a former CIA officer, said that US officials arrest an average of 3,000 illegal aliens in the US daily, which includes one person “for terrorism or national security related reasons.” Simmons aid that “many come for opportunities that American provides, and we understand that. But, others have a more sinister intent.” Simmons said that it is intelligence driven border operations that “will be the key to targeting and interdicting these threats before their arrival.”

Official government figures indicate that there are approximately 12 million illegal aliens in the United States. About 85% of these illegal aliens are from Mexico, and that US officials have no idea who, or what connections, if any, that these 12 million illegal aliens have with terrorist organizations, or countries that are hostile to the United States.

The Bush plan for immigration reform has died in the Senate, and has no hopes of passing. Bush's controversial plan provided for a guest worker program, as well as amnesty for some of the 12 million illegal aliens believed to be in the United States. The Bush plan failed to provide for any border-intelligence strategies, and according to some Congressional members failed to adequately fund border security plans.

SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: REUTERS; U.S. HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE HEARINGS.

© Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.