IMMIGRATION AND TERRORISM

AL QAEDA IN AMERICA

People called me a pessimist back in 2004 when I said that Al Qaeda would be just as much a threat in 2008 as it was in 2001. Yesterday proved the optimists wrong.

As the New York Times reported, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell admitted that not only is Al Qaeda still recruiting, but that their efforts are steadily improving. They continue to train operatives to attack the United States, and many of their new operatives appear to be coming from the Western Hemisphere. Furthermore, many of these new jihadists seem to be from the United States.

While McConnell and others tried to ease the mind of the American public by saying that there is little evidence to suggest that they have infiltrated the motherland, this is in blatant contradiction to remarks made by President Bush during his State of the Union Address. During the earlier portion of his speech he admitted that terrorists are taking advantage of our broken borders, specifically that which divides the US and Mexico.

Due to the reaction of 9-11, terrorists have had to shift gears. Flying planes into buildings isn't on their current agenda. According to intelligence estimates, they are focusing on cyberterrorism, polluting our water supply, and possibly mounting attacks on other means of travel such as metro systems or railroads.

What our politicians need to take serious is what they have already recognized: the threat is on the motherland. If or when they do choose to attack us, it will be on our soil. This means that they must first be here. This will require our political leaders to begin taking matters such as our borders, work visas, and immigration very serious. It also forces them to be more scrupulous about what is coming in through our port system. Revising our agreement with Mexico to allow vast amounts of semi-trucks into our country is also a worthy consideration. Lastly, they may wish to take a closer look at the truckloads of refuse coming to our country (specifically Michigan) from Canada.

Each and every one of these must be taken very serious if we hope to stop a terrorist attack on our country. Unless our politicians begin taking steps towards stopping terrorists from entering our country, whether it's through immigration, visas, broken borders, imports, or trucking, they will be putting this nation at great risk. Worse yet, they will be derelict in their responsibility to confront the threat that they readily admit already looms over the American people.

PALEO v. STATE OF THE UNION (Part 2)

This is the second of a two-part series dealing with the recent State of the Union address. The first dealt with his remarks on immigration and the economy. This deals with remarks pertaining to Iraq, the so-called War on Terror, and the Middle East.

BUSH: "The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else."

PALEO: I am curious then as to how you explain saying that our aim is "build" preserve free and independent nations, with democratic governments answerable to their citizens. This isn't the government they had before. A secular democracy, one which is "encouraged" by you and others, is a form of government entirely alien to their people. There is no precedent here. It is, in its most basic form, an imposition of an alien system upon an alien people.

BUSH: "Our aim is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures."

PALEO: Why did this sentiment not fly with Palestine, Syria, or Iran? What happens when Hamas, The Muslim Brotherhood, or Hizballah get the majority vote? What happens if Saudia Arabia were to become democratic? Would we settle for Sharia in Iraq or Afghanistan? What if Al Qaeda received a popular vote in Pakistan or Indonesia? We have expectations, and we will not permit the people to speak were they to vote in favor of such ideologies.

BUSH: "Our generational commitment to the advance of freedom, especially in the Middle East, is now being tested and honored in Iraq."

PALEO: Our generational commitment? Who committed us? Certainly not the brave men who put their lives on the line to create an independent Republic. This is Wilsonian to the core, having no precedent in the historical American tradition.

BUSH: "That country is a vital front in the war on terror, which is why the terrorists have chosen to make a stand there."

PALEO: No, Iraq is a distraction. Iraq was not necessary. And terrorists are there because we are there. If we were in Saudi Arabia, they would be there. If we were in Syria, Pakistan, or Iran, they would be there. They believe that we are evil, granted; but when an "evil" is in their front yard, they take it personal. They feel, as would we, that these military actions are an affront on their religion and their culture. The only difference is that they, unlike us, take their religion and culture very serious.

BUSH: "Our men and women in uniform are fighting terrorists in Iraq so we do not have to face them here at home."

PALEO: This flies in the face with what you said earlier in your admission that terrorists are entering this country through our borders. You readily admit that they are not only "over there," but also "over here." The only problem is that our troops are over there and not over here. If terrorists wish to hurt us, they must be here. They can only get here through borders, immigration, visitations, and work visas. But what have we done to stop them from using these means to enter our country? Nothing.

BUSH: "Freedom in Iraq will make Americans safe for generations to come."

PALEO: We were safe from Iraqis when they weren't free. Iraqis could be foaming at the mouth and burning our flags all they want, so long as they do so over there. Our security from such radicalism, something that was relatively uncommon in pre-war Iraq, will only come from securing our borders, protecting our coasts, checking imports, and crunching down on who we let in this country.

BUSH: "We are in Iraq to achieve a result: A country that is democratic, representative of all its people, at peace with its neighbors, and able to defend itself."

PALEO: The goalposts have changed so many times, the American people are getting dizzy! Take down Saddam. Check. Weapons of Mass Destruction? Didn't work out the way we were promised. Setting up a government. Check. Helping rebuild infrastructure. Check. Arming and training a police force. Check. Elections. Check. Now these? Seriously, we are acting more like the Peace Corp than the US Military. These standards are not only high, they are utopian.