Here is an article I posted over ten years ago on the About Facts website, it seems appropriate to repost it in today’s atmosphere. How Safe Are We? A democratic country like the US could never be truly safe from terrorism. The only governments that might have known everything or most everything someone was doing were the type that had spies on every block and where everyone was watching everyone else. Informing on other people gained certain perks for those who were the informers. They might have gotten a better apartment, a higher paying job, or some sort of favor while those who were reported weren't given much of a chance even if they were innocent. No one wants to have to live that way, that's for sure. But is there anything we can do to protect ourselves better than we are doing now, and what are we doing now? THE FOLLING TEXT IS FROM THE US GOVERNMENT The Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued security directives to require random inspection of air cargo and to require foreign all-cargo air carriers to comply with the same cargo security procedures that domestic air carriers must follow. Passenger aircraft that carry cargo and all-cargo planes, both foreign and domestic, will be subject to the random inspections on flights within, into, and out of the U.S. Inspections will be done by the carriers. TSA will ensure inspections are completed properly. Foreign all-cargo air carriers operating into and out of the United States also will be required to follow security plans approved by TSA which detail procedures for screening. In addition, identities of persons with access to planes and ensure the security of parked aircraft will be verified. END OF GOVERNMENT TEXT So, what does this really mean? It looks to me like it says, hey terrorists if you want to succeed in getting dangerous items into this country, put several of them on different planes and some will get through since we are only doing spot checks. Until a method is figured out, on how to inspect all cargo, we are certainly very vulnerable. It will be expensive to search all this cargo, but machines could be developed that will make it more reasonable though still very expensive. You have to look at it this way, is it more important to inspect this cargo or send money for pork barrel projects into the home states of powerful politicians? Air cargo is not the only cargo coming into this country, what about ships? THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AND US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Washington -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner announced today a milestone in the Container Security Initiative (CSI) with 25 ports now operational in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. "The 25 ports represent the world's major seaports, but we are not stopping there. We plan to expand the CSI network even farther," stated U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. "The expansion will extend port security protection to more than 80 percent of all containers coming to the United States." END OF GOVERNMENT TEXT This is all well and good but it hasn't happened yet and if and when it does it leaves a big 20 percent of unsearched cargo loop hole. And as with the air cargo, what types of searches are we talking about. Are these thorough searches or just cursory searches? If it means crates are not going to be opened and their contents searched then the whole thing is a joke. What is needed are powerful X-Ray viewers working in conjunction with Geiger counters, biological weapon detectors, chemical weapon detectors and explosive detectors. I may have left something out here, but I think you get the idea. We need some sort of large station with this machinery set up where the cargo can pass through. The people operating this machinery must have the highest clearances. Perhaps it should be operated by customs agents trained in use and detection. This is certainly no place for any other employees. All this doesn't even take into account the trucks coming into the US from Canada and Mexico. There are just so many ways of penetrating this country it is scary. If a large ship contains a small boat or fishing trawler it could release it near the shore, and if it had US markings no one might question it if it docked somewhere. Small planes are a little harder to get in, because they get spotted on radar but they still have a chance of getting in undetected if they fly low enough, just ask the drug smugglers. People can use scuba gear to swim ashore from a ship and get in that way. Of course, there is the problem of our unguarded border with Canada. There are spots along the US Canadian border where it is very easy to walk across. The border is huge and currently not entirely protected. Even the border with Mexico leaks. Just look at all the undocumented Mexicans that get into this country every year. Who says that terrorists couldn't sneak in this way also? The answer is, of course they can and may already have. Here is a scary thought. A study was conducted, it was commissioned by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. It concluded between 2.95 and 5.45 MILLION illegal aliens cross into this country every year through GUARDED ports of entry. This doesn't include the 3 to 5 million illegal aliens that cross into the US through unguarded ports of entry. So, it seems that even guarded areas are letting in aliens with false papers to the tune of 2.95 to 5.45 MILLION people. My friends, this country’s protection is like a sieve. I wouldn't be surprised if Osama Ben Laden slipped in. Something has to be done about this problem not just the creation of more departments like Homeland Security. We need action. The newest technologies should be examined to see if any of them might be helpful. So far, face recognition computer technology seems to be a failure. For a second let’s make believe the country is secure and no one can get in who is a terrorist. I know this is a dream, but please play along with me. We would then be faced with only the protection of citizens, property and companies. How do you protect the thousands of reservoirs around this country when just one small vile of a bio agent can kill thousands and maybe even hundreds of thousands? Nuclear plants around the country have tens of thousands of missing keys. That is hard to believe isn't it, but it is true. Nuclear material is lost or unaccounted for in so many places in this country and in other countries it is a nightmare. Explosives disappear from time to time from construction sites. Last time it was two planes that crashed into the twin towers bringing them down, next time it could be several gasoline trucks. Remember there are probably sleeper cells in this country with hundreds of terrorists already here. Why are we having such a hard time defeating terrorism? Terrorism is a series of small battles fought all over the world with little in common between many of the governments fighting it. Many of the people labeled terrorists are fighting just against one country. The IRA fought against British rule. The Basques fought against Spain and the Chechens against the Russians. But the Arab terrorists have been found fighting with the Chechens and may be involved with other terrorists. Now before I go on, let me say many who are considered terrorists are considered heroes by others. The colonists in this country were considered terrorists by the British I am sure. The difference today is we have a new breed of terrorist, one that stops at nothing. This is a terrorist who blows up children and their parents, and would think nothing of killing a baby. They blow themselves up because they think they will go immediately to heaven and would use torture for pleasure. What is the answer to this problem? No one has an answer, but it is my thought if the countries these terrorists came from had a higher living standard and the people were better educated and had decent jobs, they might feel different about blowing themselves up. If non-Arab countries that had Arab populations treated them as equals, this would also go a long way in quelling terrorism. I think a lot of the terrorism stems from a feeling of hopelessness. Many of the terrorists have nothing but a miserable life of poverty and dying is seen as an escape to heaven and a much better life. So how safe are we? We are not safe and may never be. To become safe, we need a huge reallocation of resources to secure our borders, detect people sneaking into this country with false papers, a more understanding foreign policy and swift and severe punishment for those caught in terrorist acts. We must track down those terrorists. How does someone like Osama Ben Laden constantly evade our detection? Is there a flaw in our intelligence, it sure seems like it? Are there spies in our government? Yes, the latest was an advisor who was pushing the agenda of a foreign country. Even our closest allies are spying on us. Should they be punished for this, damn straight. There was a saying used years ago that said the US was a paper tiger. While this is not true, we never seem to fully pursue our goals. It just doesn't look like we are using enough resources to catch the terrorists we are after. If those terrorists are in foreign countries that are protecting them, then we should go after them anyway, as long as we are sure they are there. It is time we carried a big stick again.
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