Counterterrorism Blog

Michael Cutler asked me to post his comments on three cases and the Visa Waiver Program:

Once again we have more news which illustrate just how potentially dangerous the Visa Waiver Program is. A German court decided that a German citizen of Syrian origin who might have been involved with the 9-11 hijackers should not be extradited to Spain; a terrorist has been "taken down" for having committed fraud on his application for United States citizenship; and Abdurahman Alamoudi, a politically connected Muslim activist, turned out to be a “sleeper” Al Qaeda operative.

First, the German case: The German court decided that a German citizen of Syrian origin, Mamoun Darkazanli, should not be extradited to Spain as a suspected supporter of al Qaeda who was involved with at least two of the hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. According to the article, he provided logistic and financial support to al Qaeda and yet, Germany is refusing to turn him over to the Spanish government, notwithstanding the fact that a warrant has been issued for his arrest. It would appear that he is about to be released from custody leaving him free to roam freely.

Because this terror suspect is now a citizen of Germany, he could at least in theory, hop on an airliner or ship and present himself for admission to the United States without first obtaining a visa. Of course, if he travels under his own name it is to be presumed that he would be identified by our CBP inspectors and not only prevented from entering the United States, but he would be taken into custody in conjunction with that outstanding warrant. However, if he were to obtain a passport under a false identity, he might succeed in evading the so-called watch-list at a port of entry.

Visas provide our nation with another layer of protection we cannot afford to do without. In this commerce-driven world we are exchanging security for profit. My friend Peter Gadiel of 911 Families For a Secure America, whose son was slaughtered in the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, refers to the view taken by our political and business leaders where the potential for the loss of innocent life at the hands of terrorists as "The cost of doing business!" I fear he is justified in making that statement. The thing is that it is not only our "leaders" who don't seem to give a damn, it would appear that there are many others in other countries who show a similar lack of resolve and spine to confront international terrorists with meaningful strategies and cooperation.

Germany wants to have its citizens travel freely around the world including visa-free travel to the United States. On the other hand, they refuse to cooperate with other nation's efforts to apprehend and neutralize terrorists and their supporters. They will succeed in not having to turn over the suspect in this case. They will also demand the right to have their citizens travel freely to the United States and elsewhere. When there is another terrorist attack somewhere in the world, no one should be surprised- we are still not treating this crisis as we should.

On the second case: I just received the latest edition of the ICE Newsletter and one of the main stories caught my eye. I have consistently opposed the Visa Waiver Program for 3 reasons. First of all, it provides a level of protection against bad guys who would want to enter the United States to ply their trades whether they are shoplifters, drug dealers, members of gangs and/or organized crime groups or terrorists. Second, if you are investigating a criminal or terrorist organization it is important to have all of the information you can obtain about members of the organization that you are investigating. An application for a non-immigration visa can furnish critical information beyond the obvious photographs and fingerprints. Finally, and this relates back to the article that predicated this e-mail, when you are investigating criminals and terrorists your goal is to neutralize them. Virtually everyone is familiar with the fact that Al Capone was not arrested for murder, gun running, assault or even bootlegging during the days of Prohibition. Even though he was involved with all of those activities and other such violent and heinous crimes, his failure to pay income tax ultimately caused his undoing. He was successfully prosecuted for income tax evasion.

Immigration benefit fraud can be similarly used to successfully prosecute various criminals and terrorists. In fact, visa fraud committed in support of narcotics trafficking now carries a maximum sentence of 20 years of incarceration while visa fraud committed in conjunction with terrorist objectives carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail. However, aliens who are permitted to enter the United States without a visa cannot be prosecuted for visa fraud because they never applied for a visa in order to enter the United States. Incidentally, visa fraud is a crime that is committed when an alien lies on an application for a visa where the lie concerns a material fact such as membership in a terrorist organization, a past criminal history or other such information which, if known by the official who adjudicates the application for the visa would have caused that official to deny the application.

The linked ICE article shows how a terrorist has been "taken down" for having committed fraud on his application for United States citizenship. While I understand that there are folks in the travel industry who fear that the visa requirement would present an inconvenience to travelers, I would suggest that there is a great inconvenience to be concerned with. Terrorist attacks in which many people are killed or injured and buildings are demolished.

During my last appearance at a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security I made the statement that if our nation reacted to the attack on Pearl Harbor the way that we have reacted to the attacks of September 11, there would be a different flag flying over our nation's Capitol.

Finally, the Alamoudi case: George W. Bush has spoken wistfully about wanting to admit "good-hearted" aliens into the United States who simply want to work in our country. While admittedly many illegal aliens are simply and purely motivated to violate our borders to send money back to their family members in Mexico and other such nations, some of these aliens are, in fact, so-called "sleepers." They present the image of a person who is simply seeking employment and thus are able to "hide in plain sight." Although with the current situation where the enforcement of the immigration laws from within the interior of the United States is concerned, they don't need go to great lengths to hide since the odds are excellent that there is no one looking for them. The 2,000 special agents of ICE that are supposed to enforce the immigration laws throughout the entire United States is so pathetically small a number as to be virtually negligible.

The article shows how easily our politicians including two Presidents of the United States, one from each party, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, were so easily snookered by a key fund raiser for al Qaeda. Abdurahman Alamoudi was that individual. I ask that you put his name is Google to read more about him and his treachery. In order for any organization to accomplish goals, money is one of the first requirements. We have seen terrorist organizations develop their skills at generating money from legal, quasi-legal and blatantly illegal activities. Our nation is not only a target for radical Islamic terrorists, it is also the cash cow for these violent organizations. These terrorist organizations have become proficient at working their way into the political mechanism of our country and our politicians are often manipulated by them. Politicians are generally intent on portraying themselves as being balanced, and they are greatly concerned with gaining votes and campaign contributions. The terrorists are well aware of this and have played this to their maximum advantage. This endangers our nation an imperils our allies. I only ask, will anyone learn from this incredible blunder?

Here is the link to the documents filed by the federal prosecutor to seek Alamoudi's incarceration. I would remind you that this is the same person who was spoken so highly of by some of the highest ranking members of our political establishment. I have often used the term "Hide in plain sight." This guy could not be more visible if he tried! Also see this article and this column about Alamoudi.