StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

America!   "The land of the free and the home of the brave."  But, unless you’re a Native American, none of us are from here!  For generations, immigrants have come to these shores seeking liberty.  Alas, today, that is no more, because it cannot be the way it was.  September 11th changed all of that.

America!  We are a land of many, from myriad shores.  In waves of thousands, immigration made our country what it is today.  It is who we are.

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Our history chronicles their coming.  The Irish, the Italian, the Asian, the German, the Jewish (my grandparents fled the pogroms and came here from Russia in the early 1900’s - they learned English, became professionals and raised families) and many other groups.  It is said that America! is the melting pot.  We all assimilated together (a purposeful redundancy).  And yet, today, that is no more, because it cannot be the way it was.  September 11th changed all of that.

A Memorial Day editorial in the Washington Post spoke of honoring our war dead.  And told of 3 soldiers…"One was a Navy petty officer from Haiti, one a Marine noncom from St. Vincent and one an Army sergeant from Canada."  It went on to remind that in years past, America’s fighting men (and now women) came to this country by many means, some documented and others, not…but they came, and filled with the ideals of America! they fought for their new country in wars past.

Yes, Memorial Day was a day for Remembering Americans of many nationalities…because it is who were are, or rather who we were.

In the mid-19th century there was a huge wave of immigration to this country, much of it caused by famine and political repression abroad. As is usually the case, America had need of these people — the large majority of whom came from Ireland and Germany — but a sizable proportion of the native population didn’t much care for them. The discrimination against Irish immigrants is well-known, of course: Many saw them as a permanent underclass. Of the Germans, it was said that they kept apart, refused to learn English and didn’t assimilate.

In our past, there have been riots protesting one group of immigrants or another.  In our past, there has been bias, fear, hatred and ignorance about one group of immigrants or another.  But in the end, we were Americans all!  And the immigrants assimilated.

And yet, September 11th, 2001 changed all of that (at least in my mind), because it cannot be the way that it was.  I’m sorry to say that, but it is true.

Assimilation is the key word.  Today, there is a difference.  I’ve known a pretty Asian girl, now married and almost 35 years old.  When I last saw her, she spoke with a heavy Chinese accent, and yet she lived in this country all of her life.  She was an American by birth, and yet, she had not assimilated.  Read the words of the Mexican woman quoted in the article linked to the word "assimilation"

"I think I’m still a Mexican," she says. "When my skin turns white and my hair turns blonde, then I’ll be an American."

The "old" America regrettably was lost on September 11th.  Because after that day, many like myself, children of first generation Americans opened our eyes and realized that the "new" immigrants did not come here to assimilate and become one of us.  Would they fight for this country in a future war?  Would they serve, as I and many others do?  From the southern border come illegal aliens…many not to stay, but to work and send their money back to their country…even those who stay, not to assimilate and learn English.  They demand two-language documents, even after they pass their citizenship.

And then, there is the fear that immigrants like Aamr Bahnan Boles, a Chaldean Christian Iraqi who crossed over to the US from Mexico illegally, come not for religious freedom, but for other reasons.  It is an unavoidable fear today that we have Terrorists Among Us.

If in no other way than this, that we can no longer blindly accept the World’s "huddled masses" without question, the terrorists have achieved one of their goals (in the past, I’ve written that "the terrorists have won").  Sadly, I don’t think that the arms of this Nation can be opened so wide as to not question the motives of people wanting to enter our borders.

It is a
question of our National heritage based on the search for religious
freedom, versus our National security based on the not so irrational
concern about Middle Eastern terrorists seeking to enter our country.
Sadly, it is not easy, if at all, to tell the difference between a
Chaldean Iraqi, and an Iraqi who is either Shi’a or Sunni.  And until
all people entering this country are subjected to holding periods
during which background and security checks are performed, the search
for religious freedom must unfortunately take a backseat to the
assurance of National Security.

I may take some "hits" on this one, but so be it.  I have written what I believe, and what I believe others think, but do not write or speak.  Comment as you like.

Crossposted on RCP.

More thoughts from others on Memorial Day:
Right Truth - Memorial Day Weekend Thoughts …
Freedom’s Lighthouse - Memorial Day Heroes Tribute - Video Collection
Fore Left! - Memorial Day tribute
Woman Honor Thyself - Memorial DaY MusingS
Faultine (and Maggies Notebook) - Absurd Glimpses of Memorial Day 2007
Uncooperative Blogger: From the White House Commission On Remembrance
Maggies Notebook - Absurd Glimpses of Memorial Day 2007
Immigration Prof Blog - Saying Thanks to Immigrants on Memorial Day

For a slightly different perspective, go to LowDown Central, Islamists Threats in the U.S.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions, Social Issues Sphere: Related Content

5 Comments »

Los Zetas are a para-military criminal organization, former Mexican special forces, (trained by U.S. special ops at Fort Benning, Georgia), that are now the brutal enforcers for the Gulf Cartel in Mexico’s narco-wars.  This
is deadly serious stuff.  For those who want to see
movies about Los Zetas, here are some of the more recent finds.  Some of this glorifies Los Zetas, and some of the rest shows their
brutality. 

These hombres operate just on the other side of our border with that Third World country we know as Mexico…think of it…the murders in Nuevo Laredo, just 150 miles from San Antonio.

Los
Zetas
Killing
Zetas

Zetas - el hijo del
muneco
Zetas
(saludos pepeplomos al pollo y a todos los alfas)

Link
to all of the Zeta Movies and another link
"just in case."

If you haven’t spent any time
watching some of these movies, then you seriously don’t have the
insight you should have about Los Zetas.  Beware all Americans!  My
opinion is that the narco-violence and traffic represents a serious
threat to American National Security.  I’ll be reading and watching
more.  A link to all of my previous posts about Los Zetas can be found here.

Crossposted on RCP.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

No Comments »

Whether with a nuclear bomb (à la “24″) or with a so-called “dirty bomb,” there is no question that terrorists (bin Laden) wish to kill 1000’s or more with a weapon of mass destruction.  The real question is how likely it is to occur, and are we ready in such an event?  Is it the “worst case scenario?” and who are we to believe?

Make no mistake about my position!  A great threat is posed by al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden…it is one of the reasons why I personally believe that the “head of the snake” must be cut-off.  Further, it is no secret that bin Laden wishes to acquire WMD or nuclear capability…but still…Certainly, all of what follow is simply my opinion and interpretation.

The current “debate” is based on a report published in Israel News, ‘Al-Qaeda trying to go nuclear’ quoting Rolf Ekeus, currently High Commissioner at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and formerly Director of the UN Special Commission on Iraq, who told reporters that the threat of a nuclear attack on a European city by al-Qaeda was tangible, and that steps are being taken to protect nuclear facilities from which terrorists can obtain enriched uranium. It may also be worth the trouble (and time) to read this interview by Jim Lehrer with Ekeus from September 22, 2003 on his belief that the reason that no WMDs were found in Iraq by the last inspectors was in fact that there were no stockpiles, and that Hussein’s WMD program was to develop the strategic capability

This “report” is relayed on Newsvine, American Israeli Patriot, and StrataSphere (to name just a few).  “No less than” NewsMax.com claims that FBI Director Robert Mueller has confirmed that Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group desperately want to obtain
nuclear devices and explode them in American cities, especially New York and Washington, D.C.(yet there is no mention of such an interview elsewhere - like on the FBI website).  Of course, it should be noted that in Mueller’s January 11, 2007 statement to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, he did say that  “Although a nuclear terrorist attack is the least likely to occur due to the required technical expertise and challenges associated with acquiring weapons-usable material, the intent of terrorists to obtain this material is a continuing concern.”

A four year old report published in the Washington Times is also cited as a precedent, and quotes a now debunked CIA claim that al Qaeda was “ready to use nukes.”  Notably, it was nearly two years ago that “no less” than WorldNetDaily proclaimed that al Qaeda had already smuggled nukes into the US and that it was prepared to commit to the American Hiroshima.

Make no mistake about my position!  A great threat is posed by al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.  There is no reason to doubt the intention of bin Laden’s fatwa.  I have read the reports.  It is clear that bin Laden’s goal is to obliterate millions of Americans if he can.  There is no question that mass casualty terrorism is still a great threat.  And there is equally no question that he would like to get his hands on a nuclear weapon.  But when the sources of such reports are “no less” than NewsMax.com and WorldNetDaily, it gives me pause to think, and to delve more deeply than either of these Internet rags…(and the Washington Times isn’t that far removed from litter box lining either).

What is the Risk?
Well, given our porous border security, as Bill West of Counterterrorism Blog writes in Border Insecurity as America Faces WMD Terror:

If 100+ hapless Haitian refugees on a decrepit wooden sailboat can evade detection by the best efforts of the US military and law enforcement to secure our borders from such intrusion, can we truly expect that a sophisticated and well funded terrorist organization, or hostile foreign intelligence service, will have any trouble penetrating those border defenses?

What is the Risk?
A study publilshed in the International Journal of Health Georgraphics in February 2007 - Vulnerability of populations and the urban health care systems to nuclear weapon attack – examples from four American cities - makes it clear that the use of a conventional nuclear weapon (versus a “dirty bomb”) would be catastrophic.

ABSTRACT
BackgroundThe threat posed by the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) within the United States has grown significantly in recent years, focusing attention on the medical and public health disaster capabilities of the nation in a large scale crisis. While the hundreds of thousands or millions of casualties resulting from a nuclear weapon would, in and of itself, overwhelm our current medical response capabilities, the response dilemma is further exacerbated in that these resources themselves would be significantly at risk. There are many limitations on the resources needed for mass casualty management, such as access to sufficient hospital beds including specialized beds for burn victims, respiration and supportive therapy, pharmaceutical intervention, and mass decontamination.

ResultsThe effects of 20 kiloton and 550 kiloton nuclear detonations on high priority target cities are presented for New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. Thermal, blast and radiation effects are described, and affected populations are calculated using 2000 block level census data. Weapons of 100 Kts and up are primarily incendiary or radiation weapons, able to cause burns and start fires at distances greater than they can significantly damage buildings, and to poison populations through radiation injuries well downwind in the case of surface detonations. With weapons below 100 Kts, blast effects tend to be stronger than primary thermal effects from surface bursts. From the point of view of medical casualty treatment and administrative response, there is an ominous pattern where these fatalities and casualties geographically fall in relation to the location of hospital and administrative facilities. It is demonstrated that a staggering number of the main hospitals, trauma centers, and other medical assets are likely to be in the fatality plume, rendering them essentially inoperable in a crisis.

Conclusion
Among the consequences of this outcome would be the probable loss of command-and-control, mass casualties that will have to be treated in an unorganized response by hospitals on the periphery, as well as other expected chaotic outcomes from inadequate administration in a crisis. Vigorous, creative, and accelerated training and coordination among the federal agencies tasked for WMD response, military resources, academic institutions, and local responders will be critical for large-scale WMD events involving mass casualties.

There should be no doubt that the effects of a terrorist use of a nuclear weapon, as so ably depicted by the Fox Show “24″ this past season, would be massive and nearly cataclysmic.  So why then do I minimize the most recent scare tactic reports?

How Likely is the American Hiroshima?
For an answer to the question about the American Hiroshima, first let us look at what What Bin Laden Sees in Hiroshima.  Apparently a question was posed to a convocation of 60 scientists about the likelihood of a nuclear attack by terrorists within the next five years (this meeting occuring in February 2005).  Only 3 or 4 scientists acknowledged this fear.  But certainly, the small number should not cause anyone to minimize the actual threat.

“There has been increasing interest by terrorists in acquiring nuclear weapons,” Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the world’s chief nuclear watchdog, said in a recent interview, excerpts of which were published in Outlook last Sunday. “I cannot say 100 percent that it hasn’t happened” already, he added, almost as an afterthought.

In fact, the Washington Post article goes on to admit that while the technical and scientific capabilities would be difficult at best for a private (non-state) entity to pull off, the possibility cannot be rejected, especially with the non-proliferators of Iran and North Korea out there, possible peddling their nuclear wares to the highest bidder, or with Pakistani nuclear secrets being thrashed about…or from the lost Russian nukes (alleged to be of the “dirty bomb” suitcase variety - nonetheless devastating in their effect)…

More on An American Hiroshima.

One can also look to Stratfor to assess the possibility of the occurrence of an American Hiroshima.  In their article, The Unlikely Possibility of an ‘American Hiroshima’ -  August 3, 2005 - (note again that the link is to Google through which you should be able to access the Strafor article)…

The publisher of online newspaper World Net Daily alleged in an Aug. 2 interview with daily political magazine FrontPage Magazine (dot com) that al Qaeda has nuclear weapons within the United States and is preparing to unleash an “American Hiroshima.”

Publisher Joseph Farah claims al Qaeda has been planning a large-scale nuclear attack for years, and that at least some of its nuclear weapons have been smuggled into the United States over the Mexican border with the help of local criminal gangs. In the same interview, however, Farah contradicted himself, claiming the devices were smuggled into American cities by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Although it is known that al Qaeda has long been interested in acquiring or developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the likelihood that the network possesses functional nuclear weapons is remote…[more]

Furthermore, it is well know that in his December 23, 1998 interview that Osama bin Laden publicly acknowledged that “I would say that acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a
religious duty … If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then this is
an obligation I carried out and I thank god for enabling us to do that
… But how we could use these weapons, if we possess them, is up to
us.”

Stratfor’s conclusive statement on the current (then in 2005) likelihood of an al Qaeda nuclear attack:

The idea that these devices are pre-positioned in American cities and that al Qaeda is awaiting a significant date to unleash them is simply preposterous. First, dates and anniversaries are not particularly important to al Qaeda. Second, such a weapon would be its crown jewel — and the network would never run the risk of it being discovered by leaving it hidden for long periods……The very existence of “briefcase nukes” also is questionable. Some have claimed that perhaps 100 such weapons from the former Soviet arsenal are unaccounted for. With so many of these devices supposedly on the loose, it is logical to assume that some trace of at least one of them would have been uncovered by either Russian, U.S., British, French, German, or Israeli intelligence. To date, this has not happened. It is important to keep in mind that these are complex devices that require a great deal of regular, careful maintenance. They do not have an indefinite shelf life.

Speculation about terrorists possessing and using nuclear weapons has been making the rounds for years. Because of the exponentially increasing risk associated with holding onto a nuclear device, however, any group that possesses one would use it sooner, rather than later. If al Qaeda had a nuclear device, it would have used it by now.

To bring this “argument” further, the Council on Foreign Relations recently debated the question of How Likely is a Nuclear Terrorist Attack on the United States?
The argument, or the question is debated in a series of letters.  In one, the author, Michael Levi poses that terrorists would likely have “only” a 10% chance of success…and in counterpoint, Graham T. Allison aruges that at 10%, the devastation is too high to discount or dismiss.

Are nuclear materials that could fuel a terrorist’s bomb more or less secure than they were a year ago? Thanks to initiatives like the Nunn-Lugar program, highly enriched uranium and plutonium in Russia are far safer from theft today than they were in the early 1990s. But the risk that terrorists will buy or steal nuclear material from a rogue state increases as more countries acquire the ability to produce weapons-usable material. Therefore it is vitally important to roll back North Korea’s nuclear program and to constrain Iran before it reaches its enrichment finish line. By becoming a nuclear-armed state, each will trigger a cascade of proliferation in its neighborhood.

Other reading on the subject
Al Qaida and the War on Terror after Iraq
Responding to Nuclear Attacks

Anyone who reads this blog with reasonable frequency, I think, will agree to my even levelheadedness when it comes to terrorism and our risks.  I do not minimize the potential and threat of a nuclear attack on the United States or Europe in the forseeable future.  To the contrary, I believe that we’ll see something on that order before this “whole thing” (the Global War on Terrorism) is over.  I will, however, opt to go with the opinions of Stratfor and the Council on Foreign Relations before, in fact, long before, I believe something written or alleged in NewsMax or WorldNetDaily, or even the Washington Times.  The risk is real, no doubt.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for your time and indulgence.

Also cross posted on RCP.

Also please read an interesting article (sort of from my own “technology what ifs”), Nuclear weapons and orbital combat systems at Right Truth.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

8 Comments »

Recently I’ve recounted the story of Aamr Bahnan Boles who came to the U.S. illegally through Syria to Russia to Guatemala to Mexico and finally to Texas.  But, is it right to do so when he came in search of religious freedom as an Iraqi Chaldean Christian?  Afterall, one of the things that those we memorialize on Memorial Day fought for is our religious freedom.

Chaldean Christian refugees in the U.S., Syria and Jordan say the American-led war unleashed Islamic militants who have targeted them because of their religion in vicious campaigns of murder, kidnapping for ransom and forced property expropriations.

Ordinarily, religious persecution can qualify victims for U.S. resettlement visas. But the U.S. State Department hasn’t issued visas to Chaldeans and won’t recognize them as especially persecuted for their religion, asserting that they are among many groups amid Iraq’s sectarian strife who could make the claim. So they wait.

While most are sitting out the war as refugees in Syria and Jordan, other Chaldean Christians have chosen not to.

They are coming illegally to Texas…

Rather than detail the plight and travels of the family of four described in this newest article, Out of Iraq, a flight of Chaldeans, instead I’m going to simply focus on the lobbying efforts on behalf of the Chaldeans that have stalled. 

And if you do go to the article, please spend the time looking at both of the Audio slide shows: A look at the Chaldean Christians of Iraq living in Detroit | Part II (you might have to click on the links on the article page and not the ones here).

Lobby campaign stalled
Long before 9-11 and the war in Iraq, Chaldean Christians were sneaking
across the U.S. southern border, mostly hoping to join relatives among
the roughly 250,000 Chaldean Christians who have settled in major
cities such as San Diego and Detroit.

Many of the Iraqi
Christians have the financial means and the will to immigrate. In Iraq,
as in the U.S., they tend to be educators, professionals and business
owners…

• Iraqi Christians
  declare political asylum once they make it to U.S. soil. Indeed, these
  days, an Iraqi Christian stands a much better chance of gaining legal
  residency by coming across illegally than by applying for a visa.

• the Chaldean
  Federation has lobbied the U.S. State Department and Homeland Security
  Department to issue 160,000 visas for Iraqi Christians on grounds of
  religious persecution for the past 18 months…

• The initiative
  has run headlong into a domestic political debate over Iraq war policy
  in which the Bush administration is not eager to acknowledge a
  permanent refugee problem by resettling large numbers.

• 5,500 admission
  visas for all of the Middle East (only 500 for Iraqis - none specifically for Chaldean Christians)…

• FY’08 the number will rise to between 7,000-25,000 with no specific earmarks for Chaldeans

• "big stumbling
  block at this time is the security check"…"all Iraqis considered the same…Chaldeans are victims of terrorists; they are not
  terrorists."

Storm Note: So, it is a question of our National heritage based on the search for religious freedom, and our National security based on the not so irrational concern about Middle Eastern terrorists seeking to enter our country.  Sadly, it is not easy, if at all, to tell the difference between a Chaldean Iraqi, and an Iraqi who is either Shi’a or Sunni.  And until all people entering this country are subjected to holding periods during which background and security checks are performed, the search for religious freedom must unfortunately take a backseat to the assurance of National Security.

Also crossposted on RCP (vote often).

See previous posts:
Part 1: Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries

Part 2: Border Security - Breaching America: The Latin Connection

Part 3: Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries - Part 3

Part 4: Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries - Part 4

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, International Issues, Iraq, National Security, Opinions, Religion Sphere: Related Content

2 Comments »

In the final installment of Breaching America, Chaldean Iraqi Aamr Bahnan Boles makes it to the United States, and declares, ‘I’ve made it to America’. The human smuggler offering to help Aamr Bahnan Boles and his two friends cross the border into America was tall, dark and pricey…and says, "I can get you to Texas, no problem," he told them. "For a thousand dollars each."

Boles and the
others had just walked out of the detention center for immigrants in
Mexico City. The guards, knowing the three were about to be freed after
three months in custody, had arranged the rendezvous with a smuggler. 

Way too easy?  The smuggler (coyote) said his name was Antonio.

"Where are you from and where do you want to go?" the smuggler asked.

"We are Iraqis," Boles said in halting Spanish, "and we want to go to America."

Even as a Chaldean Christian, Boles is categorized by the U.S.
government as a "special-interest alien" coming from one of the 43 countries where
terror groups are known to operate and can therefore be subjected to
extra screening and harsher treatment than other immigrants when caught
crossing illegally (NOTE: illegal still means illegal)…the system is fallible, and just as likely to punish the benevolent as to release the dangerous.

The limited number of visas being granted to Iraqis, even those seeking refuge from religious persecution makes the task of getting to America that much harder for people like Boles (Iraqi Passport Changes Complicate Refugee Problems).

Antonio, the coyote, led Boles (and two others) to Monterrey and then by truck to Matamoros…At 5:20 a.m. April 29, 2006, they waded across to Texas one at a time using an inner tube…

Boles’ small group triggered a motion detector while hiking up a dirt road toward U.S. 281. U.S. Border Patrol agents in three SUVs rumbled out of their hiding places to check the area.

Boles and his companions were hiding in brush when they saw the green and white vehicles coming toward them. They leapt out with hands raised and ran toward what they thought was salvation.

"Iraqi Christians! Iraqi Christians! Iraqi Christians!" they shouted over and over, jumping up and down. "Political asylum! Political asylum!"

None of them could have known they already were marked men.

Special interest illegal aliens are supposed to be gathered up and sent into deportation
proceedings or immediately send them back. The routine is to run the
fingerprints and names of apprehended border crossers through
interlocking government databases that look for criminal history,
outstanding warrants or past immigration violations.

• supposed to run these names through the agency’s National Targeting Center database

• supposed to notify the
  nearest FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which has its own more
  extensive databases and access to counterterrorism and intelligence
  resources.

• an effort then is made to interview every special-interest immigrant in person.

• More than 1,500
  special-interest immigrants have been captured in Texas since 9-11,
  including nearly 300 between March 2006 and April, among them Boles and
  his two companions, along with Iranians, Yemenis and Afghans.

• "It’s not reached a level where we’ve had a threat to national security in the San Antonio district"

• Other federal counterterrorism authorities, however, say they have connected some border jumpers to terrorism.

• But Houston-based
  federal prosecutor Abe Martinez, chief of the Southern District of
  Texas national security section in the U.S. attorney’s office, was
  asked if Ahmed or anyone she smuggled might have been involved in
  terrorism…"Were they linked to any terrorism organizations?" Martinez said. "I would have to say yes."

FBI and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents concede they can’t get
around to interviewing every captured special-interest immigrant. Until
thousands of new detention beds were ready last year, Border Patrol and
ICE routinely released special-interest immigrants on their own
recognizance, usually never to reappear, simply because there was
nowhere to keep them.  

Their capture eventually led to a court hearing that lasted 15 minutes afterwhich they were sent to a prison.  A week later, ICE agents came to question them (actually interrogate).

Boles found their questions insulting and their manner brusque and intimidating, unlike his experience with the Americans who had questioned him in Mexico.

Storm Note: Brusque and intimidating?  What the fuck does an illegal expect?  I know, Boles is a religious freedom seeker.  And yes, I know that American was born out of people seekign religious freedom.  But that was not after September 11th.  I’ve often made the point that I don’t believe that any of our rights have been abidged since September 11th or because of the Patriot Act(s).  I guess, to an extent, those seeking asylum in the United States may have been most affected.  I don’t know that there are any alternatives.

• At last, the agents left Boles, exhausted and feeling hostile toward the   country he hoped would adopt him…New agents would return three weeks later and interview him again about
  the details of his life and travels, most likely looking for
  inconsistencies…That was the last he heard from the FBI and ICE.

• Boles spent his 26th birthday behind bars…After he completed his sentence in November 2006, he was remanded to
  the custody of immigration authorities and transferred to a federal
  detention facility near Port Isabel. Once again, Pakistanis, Jordanians
  and Yemenis were among his cellmates.

• Unlike many "OTMs" Boles family hired a lawyer…Relatives in
  Detroit hired Harlingen immigration lawyer Thelma Garcia, and she began
  pushing government lawyers to secure a ruling from the FBI. Finally,
  toward the end of the year, the FBI notified the court that it had
  cleared Boles. He was not a national security risk.

In the end, Boles was released, and after a judge in court grilled him about his Christian faith and practice, he was released.  After the "ordeal" Boles actually felt bitter. "My feelings
about America are all mixed up," he said…"We knew they’d do an investigation of us, but why did it have to be a
criminal investigation? I believe it was an unfair sentence for him to
send us to jail." Bitter, perhaps, but in America after having entered illegally.

Storm Note: What I find most interesting is that Boles, and I assume many others like him, seeking religious freedom and asylum, are the ones who sought to enter the country illegally.  Yes, there are some people fleeing from the war in Iraq and from religious persecution.  And still, in Boles’ mind and probably those of many others, America is to blame for trying to ensure that OTMs and others are not risks to National Security.  I see no alternative to this stringent controls.  But if you want to know, the solution lies in locking down our borders, performing security checks and interrogations, perhaps creating detention centers (or holding facilities) for asylum seekers while background checks are completed, creating strong and bullet proof identity documents and probably a few other steps that I have forgotten. 

As a new reader, you probably are not familiar with previous posts on the subject of Muslim immigration to America.<>   Back in September 2006, there was a post, Rebounding Muslim Immigration to the U.S. in which this article, More Muslims Arrive in U.S., After 9/11 Dip indicated that in 2005, nearly 100,000 people from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have come to the U.S.

This is a complex issue of National Security and national conscience (that last part is bound to rankle some of the more conservatives among us).  Perhaps the unavoidable has happened because of September 11th.  No longer does the Statue of Liberty welcome everyone without question.  To preserve this Nation and protect it from devastating terrorism, I simply do not see an alternative.

Also crossposted on RCP (vote often).

Links to Parts 1-3:
Part 1: Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries

Part 2: Border Security - Breaching America: The Latin Connection

Part 3: Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries - Part 3

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Federal Policy, International Issues, National Security, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

No Comments »

Just like a bad publicity agent releasing "news" on a Saturday night, Iran now claims to have discovered espionage networks made up of "infiltrating elements from the Iraqi occupiers" within its borders (also here).

The Intelligence Ministry has "succeeded in identifying and striking blows at several spy networks comprised of infiltrating elements from the Iraqi occupiers in western, southwestern and central Iran," said the statement, using shorthand for United States and its allies…

…the state IRNA news agency said the uncovered networks "enjoyed guidance from intelligence services of the occupying powers in Iraq" and also that "Iraqi groups" were "involved in the case."

Meanwhile in Washington DC, we’ve neither confirmed nor denied the allegations about intelligence…"We urge Iran to play a positive role in Iraq … and stop blaming everyone else for problems they are only bringing on themselves," White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.  This "incident" (I hesitate to use that word) comes days before the Iran-US talks are supposed to start.  This also follows the leaking of information that President Bush had authorized the covert CIA action to destabilize the Iranian government.

Current Affairs, International Issues, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

2 Comments »

UPDATE: Seems like Yushchenko and Yanukovych have reached an accommodation early on Sunday morning followed more than 12 hours of
talks between the two men aimed at ending a long-running political
crisis…and have agreed to hold elections on September 30.

EARLIER POST: What might be considered the "normal" rule of law has blurred in the recent events in the Ukraine with several thousand Interior Ministry troops
loyal to the president reportedly moving toward the capital, Kiev, in
defiance of orders from Interior Minister Vasyl Tsuchko.  Ukraine, a former satellite of the Soviet Union is seen by many as the buffer between Europe and Russia.

Back in January in a post discussing Negroponte’s resignation as Director National Intelligence, and his assessment of the Global situation I wrote (or quoted):

Ukraine’s political situation is also unsettled. The power struggle between President Yushchenko and recently re-installed Prime Minister Yanukovych continues to buffet Ukrainian politics and national policy.

Ukraine’s Orange Revolution brought lasting changes, including greater media freedom and a strengthened role for civil society. Improvements to the political process resulted in free and fair parliamentary elections in March 2006. However, Yanukovych’s reemergence after his party won that election increased cynicism in the region about the promise of “colored” revolutions, bolstered Russia’s position in the region and leaves Georgia isolated as virtually the only former Soviet republic fully-committed to Euro- Atlantic integration.

Yushchenko has been promoting Ukraine’s involvement in the European Union.  So now Stratfor’s Red Alert: Ukraine — Sliding Down a Slippery Slope (again, this is a Google link that should remain "hot" to get you to the actual article) today speaks to the point of what is now happening in the Ukraine and what it means.  The players here are Viktor Yushchenko (the President who was poisoned with Dioxin during 2004 Ukrainian elections) and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who Yushchenko beat in the election).

• On April 2, Yushchenko dissolved Parliament

• Yanukovich (Prime Minister) has repeatedly taken advantage of the country’s weak
  institutions in order to peel power away from the increasingly
  unpopular Yushchenko (President)…but in the degraded situation, Yanukovich has maintained influence…

• …the Interior Minister, Tsuchko sent troops to the prosecutor’s office without consulting the president
  – a questionable action explicitly designed to head off Yushchenko’s
  unilateral dismissal of the prosecutor (the institution next in line
  after the court), an equally questionable answer…

Why is this important?  According to Stratfor’s analysis, if the troop movements are confirmed, Ukraine is moving toward a potential civil war…and a possible opportunity for Vladimir Putin to intervene…

Now that concentration is gone, and the leading politicians, to put it mildly, despise one another. Add in the breakdown of the constitutional order and Ukraine is sliding down the slippery slope of "might makes right." If things do go that far, the only country positioned to intervene in any way is Russia.

Intervening is something that Russian President Vladimir Putin, well into a long-running effort to reassert influence in the old Soviet space, would sorely love to do. But he will not move until violence has broken out. He wants Russia to serve as savior, not conqueror.

The point of all of this seems to be that Putin’s Russia would love to re-exert some power in this region and may well simply be waiting for the opportunity.

More on the movement of troops and the situation:
Ukraine: Troops blocked outside Kiev
…Tensions
between Yushchenko, who has sought to lead Ukraine into the European
Union and NATO, and his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who
seeks to preserve Ukraine’s close ties with Moscow, have been building
since the president ordered parliament disbanded in April and called
new elections…

Ukraine’s Special Forces Move Toward Kiev
Special forces loyal to Ukraine’s leader Viktor Yushchenko headed
for the capital Saturday, raising fears of violence as a feud between
the ex-Soviet state’s president and prime minister deepened, AFP news
agency reported on Saturday, May 26. Elite units
from all over Ukraine, estimated by the interior ministry to total
3,600 men, drove in convoys of buses toward Kiev in what appeared to be
a show of force by Yushchenko.

Yushchenko has claimed control of the interior ministry’s
30,000-strong military branch, while his bitter rival Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovych has the loyalty of the rest of the ministry’s forces,
including the police.

Yushchenko and Yanukovych resumed negotiations on Saturday over
their power struggle, which has raised concern in neighboring Russia,
the European Union and the United States…[more]

Background on the Ukraine here.  See President Yushchenko’s official website here.  And this may well have alot to do with the fact the Ukraine is heavily into the petroleum business (see here).  Oil production in Ukraine in
January-April  2007  increased 3.1% year-on-year to 1.108 million tonnes
in the first four months of 2007, the Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry
told Interfax.

Situation bears watching as it evolves.

Also crossposted on RCP (vote often - "gotta pay the rent" - LOL!!!).

Current Affairs, International Issues, National Security, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

2 Comments »

Breaching America, a series of Border Security exposés, continued the story of Aamr Bahnan Boles, one Iraqi Chaldean Christian (but how many other illegals from Islamic countries have done the same) to the U.S. through surreptitious means from the Middle East through Guatemala…and reveals the lesser known border security issues of Mexico stopping illegals at its southern borders, ultimately fearing the loss of the billions of dollars of greenbacks flowing back to Mexico from illegal aliens.

Part 1: Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries

Part 2: Border Security - Breaching America: The Latin Connection

The bus that he is on gets to a makeshift checkpoint in Tapachula, Chiapas where three uniformed offiers board: "Documentos! Ahora!" one of the uniformed men barked. "  Todo el mundo!" 

Its a demand for documents that makes everyone shudder.  As a "special interest alien" (from Iraq), Boles fears discovery of the phony travel papers he had purchased for only $750.  He had thought that the border crossing to America would be the hardest, but he didn’t know that Mexico, too, closely watched its southern border.  Now he feared what he knew were overzealous and corrupt Mexican border guards who demanded papers from all of the passengers.

The police asked those aboard the bus to produce travel documents and state their nationality. From some of the foreigners they demanded cash. Boles watched as the money disappeared into the pockets of the uniformed men.

He decided to try lying. With his dark features, Boles hoped he might pass for a Guatemalan. The officers approached.

"Dónde está sus papeles?"

Where are your papers?

"I don’t have any," Boles replied, using Spanish he’d picked up in Guatemala.

"What country are you from?" the officer asked, eyeing him hard now.

"Guatemala. I am a Guatemalan."

"How much money are you illegally transporting through Mexico?" the officer asked, now clearly skeptical. "Let me see it."

"I have nothing," Boles said. "Banditos robbed me at the border. They beat me and took my money."

"Get out!" the officer ordered, grabbing his arm and pulling.

Outside, two more officers joined the mix.

"You don’t sound like you’re from Guatemala," the first said to Boles, who now stood surrounded. "I’ll ask you one last time: Where are you from?"

Boles saw no way out.

"OK, OK," he said. "I am an Arab from Iraq. I’m an Iraqi."

With that admission he was escorted to another vehicle and taken to a detention center run by Mexico’s National Institute of Migration where he was placed in a cell block with other Arabic detainees.

He had become ensnared in the outer edge of a largely unknown American security net, spun out of fear and perhaps a necessary presumption that Boles and his new cellmates might well be terrorists bent on infiltrating the U.S.

As odd and as incongruous it may seem given the unwillingness of the Mexican government to stem the flow of illegals across its border with the U.S., the Mexican government also has an almost obsessive fear and preoccupation that another attack against the United States might originate from Mexico.

Despite public disagreements over illegal immigration by Mexico’s own citizens, the U.S. found a more than eager partner in efforts to stop this one category of migrants from getting to the U.S. border. The main motivation: keeping the billions coming from Mexicans working in the U.S.

Before and after 9-11, top Mexican officials were quoted as saying they believe terror networks had long operated inside Mexico. For example, in May 2001, Mexican national security adviser Adolfo Aguilar Zinser told the BBC that "Spanish and Islamic terrorist groups are using Mexico as a refuge. … In light of this situation, there are continuing investigations aimed at dismantling these groups so that they may not cause problems in the country."

Its an easy, and yet contradictory explanation that you get here:  Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, described what Mexico’s interest is: The presumed American reaction to any terror attack from Mexican territory would be abrupt and radical border restrictions, which could catastrophically disrupt the $25 billion in annual remittances that Mexican workers in the U.S. send home and upon which Mexico’s struggling economy has come to depend.

"The day that happens," Sarukhan said of a terrorist infiltrator who attacks from Mexican soil, "this relationship is over as we know it. Everything. So it behooves my country to ensure that that border is not used as a potential staging ground for terrorist penetration or attack to U.S. soil. Mechanisms put in place by agencies on both sides of the border are providing the results."

"Mexico is
busting their ass to cooperate on this," said one U.S. federal agent
knowledgeable about the programs. "It’s a big deal."

• Mexico, for the
  past several years, has allowed American interrogators into its
  detention facilities to directly question special-interest detainees.

• Mexican
  intelligence officers from the National Security and Investigation
  Center to conduct as many interviews as possible while American agents
  check terror watch lists and fingerprint databases for them.

• most Arab
  immigrants, once they cross from Guatemala by land, typically fly
  rather than cover the dangerous 1,000-mile journey to America by land
  or rail…"You’ll almost never find an Arab person walking," the official said.

• Not all who have
  used Mexico to cross into the U.S. have been economic migrants. One of
  them was Detroit resident Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, a Lebanese national
  later convicted in Michigan of raising money and recruiting for the
  terror group Hezbollah.

• "The bottom line
  is just because you don’t get a hit doesn’t mean he’s not a terrorist,"
  the federal agent with Mexico experience said. "You still could be.
  Fake names are a big problem. I think one of these days something bad
  is going to happen, and it’s going to have a Mexican signature."

A federal source said that at times the Americans have arranged to fly
such detainees to their home countries, if cooperative, for
intelligence services there to interrogate them. The results get
reported back to the United States.

When a detainee arouses deep suspicions, questioning is taken to another level.

These situations fall
short of "rendition," a recently criticized practice in which American
intelligence agents have flown suspects to third countries where they
could conduct the interrogations themselves with little accountability,
the agent cautioned.

Boles and two fellow Iraqis he befriended while in jail evidently fell into this category.    

The San Antonio Express-News has
been unable to independently corroborate the practice. The FBI did not
respond to a query about it.

Some special-interest
immigrants who raise no red flags while in Mexican custody are simply
released with papers instructing them to leave the country within two
weeks.

After 90 days in detention, Boles and his two compatriots were only too
happy to leave the country as ordered. They headed for the Rio Grande
and, just beyond its placid brownish-green waters, the Promised Land.

But the long journey of Aamr Bahnan Boles was far from over.

This story reeks of bureaucracy, corruption and holes in our immigration system and points to the inconsistencies and contradictions in our relationship with Mexico, and in Mexico’s immigration policies and concerns.  The big question is if one, undaunted and cash poor Iraqi Christian can get through all of this, how many Islamic Fundamentalists determined to get into the United States through this sieve of security have already done the same?

Also crossposted on RCP (vote often).

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

3 Comments »

When NJ Gov. Jon Corzine was critically injured in a car accident, I was distressed at how many people trashed him and other Democrats for the mythical belief that rules weren’t for them, but only for others, rather than being concerned about his condition.  I’m not defending Corzine, but I think that his new :30 commercial should be required watching in every household, not just for this Memorial Day Weekend, but every day.

Saying, "I’m New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, and I should be dead" I believe that the Governor hassuccessfully done what many in the past have tried…making putting on your seatbelt each and everytime for the driver and for passengers, a mandatory behavior.  If you haven’t seen the video, click here and watch it now.  It is also found here: 

Governor Corzine’s Seatbelt PSA
Windows Media | Windows Media (downloadable) | Quicktime | Real Media

So to all of those who focused on this constant and very distasteful partisan hatred (and I do mean hatred) about Democrats (or Republicans), stop it!  And buckle up.  Because we want you to live too!  Yes, even you!

As for anything else, I think it is high time that auto makers equip all of their cars with safety sensors that would make it impossible for the ignition to be engaged if the system recognized a passenger (they already have sensors that can detect weight on a surface) without a buckled seatbelt (sensors I am certain can be used to alert if the circuit hasn’t been closed on the seatbelt of an occupied seat).  They already have ignition cutoff or bypass sensors for alcohol, why not for this?

Buckle up and save your life!  Even those who could only rant on about how Corzine should receive a ticket (which he insisted on), or how "rich people" don’t think that the rules are for them.  More and more the "anti-the-other guy" attitudes of Americans is troubling (actually sickening, but I didn’t really want to offend anyone).

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend folks…for thoughts more in tune with the patriotic nature of the weekend, please read Memorial Day Weekend Thoughts … (noting that I don’t really agree with the writings of Godlewski).

Also crossposted on RCP as a public service.  And Cheat Seeking Missiles has a related piece on this topic.

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, Opinions, Technology Sphere: Related Content

2 Comments »

The calendar cannot be set back and we cannot undo what has already been done.  The attacks of September 11th are reality…the fact that we didn’t see the signals decades earlier is now irrelevant.  Politicians and political correctness aside, the reality is that we live in a World at War and regardless of politically correct language, it is a War on Terror.  To simply strike the words, "War on Terror" or "Islamic Fundamentalism" or "Islamic Jihadism" from legilslation or other writing, is so obviously an act of ignorance, avoidance and cognitive dissonance (see Double Speak and the Lunacy of Language).  And in that political correctness those who embrace this in their ignorance, weaken the focus of our attention on the absolute reality that terrorism is the enemy…we (each other) are not the enemy!  We’d better realize that!  How the reality of global terrorism can escape Congress or Presidential Candidates is beyond me.

While arguments can rage on about the merits of the Iraq invasion, or the definition of victory in Iraq, or the survival of the supposedly "friendly" and allied governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan (both countries in my opinion on the brink), the reality is that the enemy is out there…not lurking at all, but out there in plain sight.  And the undercurrent of Global Terrorism is striking at the stability of other governments (eg., Sudan, Morocco, Algiers, Somalia, Turkey, Lebanon just to name a few).  Does anyone with any insight think that once the Horn of Africa becomes unstable, that other parts of the African continent may fall prey to Islamic Fundamentalist Jihadist terrorism?

There have been many arguments about whether "terrorism" can be anything but state sponsored.  I think that by now, the financial independence of al Qaeda as a non-state entity is established and accepted.  Are there nation states involved?  Of course there are!  Nations are complicit in the existence of al Qaeda and other groups within their borders.  However, in my opinion, the enemy is far from simply being the states that might harbor al Qaeda or its clones or franchises or even now, terror cells with no connection to al Qaeda at all.  And the enemy is more than just al Qaeda.  While there may now be interconnections, FARC in Columbia,

Jemaah Islamiya, Abu Sayyaf and other regional terrorist origanizations are equally our enemies.  And it goes beyond…

Some people argue that "terrorism" is a concept and therefore not something against which you can wage war.  But to "them" - the terorrists as embodied in al Qaeda - they are in a War Against the Infidel.  Just read the damn fatwa of bin Laden ("Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places") if you need to understand that this is a war. 

And it is a war unlike any other that we as a Nation, or we as a World has ever faced.  And yet, there are some who wish to fight this war as though it was one of the traditional type.  There may never again be a war fought by great armies on a battlefield, since war has now evolved to an environment not dissimlar to war game or virtual reality simulations, and might even parallel a video game being played right now somewhere in America on a family computer.  Global terrorism is violence, and it must be met and defeated, largely by force and counterattack (maybe in some cases, even pre-emptive attack), but it also takes the form of cyber
attacks like the ones now occuring in Estonia (reputably by Russia).  This War on Terrorism is multi-faceted and asymmetrical…"some" people still don’t get it!

Is it a clash of ideologies?  To some extent, perhaps that is what it is.  Is it a clash caused by what some people assert is a fallacy or illegitimacy of a World religion?  No, I don’t believe that at all, but I do find it difficult to accept the credibility of those who parrot the words "religion of peace" to derisively attack all of Islam or all Muslims…in fact, I find it quite stupid, and a reflection of a person’s lack of intellect to do so (sorry guys and gals, that’s my opinion).  But is it a clash of cultures?  Absolutely…of course it is!

My concerns include the fact that we as a Nation may not actually understand this…we may not actually understand the nature of our enemy.  Also on my radar screen is that the Global War on Terrorism may actually find some (note that the word is "some" and that should not be construed as any indication that great and bloody battles will not be fought in the this "Long War") of its solutions in addressing some of the societal problems and shortcomings that cause young people in Islamic or Arab countries to gravitate toward the jihad (see Recruiting Terrorists Among Those Who Have Nothing Else).

As for politicians like John Edwards…his recent statements calling the "War on Terror" a Bush bumper sticker or an excuse to attack Iraq…is one of the many reasons why I left the Democratic party a few years ago (I’m frankly not at all interested in any explanations or "I didn’t mean it" or "in context" statements).  I would not be honest if I said that I was a "Bush Republican" because I am not (that shouldn’t be a surprise to my frequent readers).  Many of his policies as well as his prosecution of the War in Iraq are things with which I do not and cannot agree.  That, despite the fact that I was among the many who believed in the CIA/NIE before the Iraq Invasion, supported the invasion, and to this day believe that there is no choice but to see the War in Iraq to the end (defined as a stable government of the choosing of the Iraqi people, whether we like the leader of the government or not). 

Unfortunately, we (the US or the Coalition) cannot ultimately dictate
the form and style of the post-Hussein Iraqi government…this is a FACT that is certainly lost on those who promote acts, for example, like the assassination of al-Sadr.  But to deny the reality of the War on Terror is to ensure that I cannot vote for the individual or the party that supports that piece of crap position.

The preceding was an editorial opinion piece by Stormwarning © 2007

Some "Storm oldies" on the subject of Global Terrorism (if you’ve read this far, please take a look at least at some of the precedent thinking from the early days):
War on Terror - Not Just State-Sponsored
The Changing Face of the "War on Terror" - 2006 QDR
Iraq, GWOT and the Cost of Freedom
On the Precipice
Year-end observations — 2006

Cross posted on RCP.  Additionally, the rhetorical question (at least the way I read it) of how the Democrats will end the War is discussed on the Right Truth.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions Sphere: Related Content

3 Comments »

This continues the story of the illegal sojourn of Aamr Bahnan Boles to America (Border Security - The Danger of Illegal Immigration from Islamic Countries).  After 3 days of International air travel, layovers, alone and speaking nearly no Spanish, Boles landed in Guatemala uncertain of whether he would
be thrown into some dank Guatemalan detention cell and then deported to
Syria or remain free to pursue the bright dream that had driven him
this far: escaping the war and starting a new life in America.

He had not been alone on that flight from Syria…in the human pipeline that traverses the seas, spans
continents and winds its way to the U.S. boundary.  Boles traveled with a group of other
so-called "special-interest aliens" from Iraq and 42 other countries
where terrorist groups operate are automatically deemed security risks
when they steal across the border.

The trip had taken a year,  "…land him in jail
and literally test his Christian faith — began in earnest when he paid
a man in Damascus $750 to secure a Guatemala tourist visa, supposedly
from a consulate office in Amman, Jordan. Boles took a stranger’s word
that it was legitimate. Would Guatemalan customs officials accept an
Iraqi passport and a Guatemala tourist visa without question..?"

Damascus Syria to…Moscow Russia, to…Havana Cuba, to…Guatemala City, Guatemala where he waited, tensely wondering what would happen when the authorities saw his Iraqi passport and Guatemalan travel documents.

When it was Boles’ turn, the humorless officer flipped through his Iraqi passport with its Arabic lettering, every page blank except for stamps from Syria and Cuba. The customs official added his stamp and waved Boles through.

Boles went to the Central District of Guatemala City, looking for a smuggler who could get him into the United States.

Guatemala is a pivotal stop along the serpentine routes where American law enforcement has tried to intercept special-interest immigrants. Immigrants from all parts of the world find it a virtually unpoliced superhighway, where local Arabs and corrupt border officials help people like Boles move under the radar, camouflaged in the multitudes.

Guatemala is one of the world’s busiest transshipment nations for undocumented immigrants of every nationality, mostly South and Central Americans.

South of Guatemala are the South American and Central American countries where many special-interest immigrants first arrive and prepare for the final push north.

North of Guatemala is Mexico and America’s southern border. So virtually everyone on the way to the U.S. by land is eventually funneled through Guatemala. But, like other Latin American countries, Guatemala offers more than just geography.

Gustavo Barreno, who served from 1997 through 2005 as a federal prosecutor in charge of enforcing his country’s human trafficking laws, called smuggling "the No. 1 cash industry for government officials in Guatemala."

"The business is gigantic. You have no idea," he said. "Everyone is involved — everyone. And for Arabs to come into Guatemala it’s really easy — really easy."

Santos Cuc Morales, Guatemala’s national director of migration talks of corruption in the Guatemalan immigration service, insubordination in the ranks, agents on the take…all stemming from the most lucrative industry in Guatemala, human smuggling.

Boles found a job in the Central Zone 1, and waited to make the 900 mile trip that would still make him cross two International borders…for 8 months he worked and saved money for the smuggling that would cost him no less than $5,000.  He overstayed his Guatemalan tourist visa…Boles is a Chaldean Christian

(Border Security: Iraqis, Mexicans…What’s Next?)…after waiting, through
friends of friends he found a Guat