Border Security or I'm so Board with Security?

 

 

"Intelligence services are like icebergs - only ten percent of what is known is disclosed to the public..."

Yesterday while our "press corps" was totally consumed with the damage control being offered by the Administration in the wake of the Gates book, AND the damage control being offered by Chris Christie in the recent New Jersey "bridge gate" scandal, we almost missed the big story of the day. James Comey, our new FBI Director, held a presser of sorts to discuss what he thought was the newest and biggest threat to America. Well, it turns out it was not that new - it was deja vu all over again.

When he first said the biggest threat was "homegrown terrorism", I thought here we go again. He must be drinking the same water as the Administration. I could image the next sentence being, "You know, Timothy McVeigh was homegrown, and look at the damage he did!" But no, he did not say that. The "homegrown threat" was Syrian born Americans who travel back to Syria to fight, and then become radicalized. They learn a bunch of bad habits, and then come back to the "Great Satan" only to cause all kinds of mayhem.

I will now say what I tell my wife when she lays out a tough scenario for me to deal with. "What do you want me to do with that information?" Am I suppose to worry, ignore, assume it was just hyperbole, or what? Having worked in the "field" when I was in the Navy, I do know that what is disclosed to the public is only a fraction of what is known. That is, unless you are part of this Administration, and leak like a sieve.

If this is indeed a problem, then we have a big problem. I would cancel all passports to Syria. Period. If a Syrian wants into this country, that person would get the same type of interrogation that Israelis use on foreigners who want into Israel. I have said for quite a while we need to play a game of "who's who" in our country. Since we do not have the will power to control our borders, I am okay with giving up a bit of freedom to ensure that everyone here should be here. Yes, I am talking a national ID. 

I guess the bottom line for me is this - if this is a real threat, tell us what you are doing to mitigate it. If it is not, sit down and shut up. The number one job of the United States government is to protect the safely and security of the states. If the people we hired are not up to the job, lets us know. Starting in 2014, we will hire people that can.