Rep. McCaul says jihadis are trying to use the refugee flows.

 

"U.S. intelligence officials believe individuals linked to terror groups in Syria have tried to enter the United States as refugees, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a national security address today.

McCaul’s comments were sourced to an unclassified letter from the National Counterterrorism Center he received earlier this week, which said the center has identified “individuals with ties to terrorist groups in Syria attempting to gain entry into the U.S. through the U.S. refugee program.”

Federal officials have previously indicated that terrorist groups have wanted to exploit the refugee program into the United States."  abc news

------------------

Hmmm.  This would indicate that the NCTC believes IS or other jihadi groups have deliberately attempted to place people in the refugee stream in order to infiltrate them into the US. 

Canada will start receiving essentially unvetted Syrian refugees on the 12th of December.   As I have written before it will be impossible to keep these people in Canada if a few of them want to enter the US illegally on a mission.  The notion that confining the Syrian immigrants to Canada to family men is somehow a defense against jihadi infiltration is ludicrous.  Siyed Rizwan Farooq was a family man.

BTW the southern border is where detected attempts at jihadi infiltration have apparently occurred thus far.

It would seem that it is not easy to move jihadis to the US.  Border controls are tight.  Fiancée visas, refugee flows, these are not routes that would be used if it were easy to move doubtful people in.

IMO if they are trying something like refugee flows and fiancée visas, the alternative must be a walk in the desert or forest, or perhaps the visa waiver program.  pl 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-house-republican-michael-mccaul-fears-terror-linked/story?id=35635873

 

Comments

[Imagine]

Apologies for OT. Front-runner Trump is apparently planning to meet Netanyahu after Christmas. He has some thoughts to gather data on the Israel/Palestine deal problem there. However, if you feel called to aid in clear understanding and send an independent briefing analysis of the Israel situation, his skyscraper home address is:
Mr. Donald Trump
The Trump Organization
725 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022

...give the rare purple mandrill of peace a chance this Christmas.

[MRW]

NPR interviewed Trump's 'source' for his Muslim concerns and subsequent remarks yesterday: Frank Gaffney Jr. of the Center for Security Policy, who has been Pamela Geller, Daniel Pipes, and Steve Emerson's comrade-in-arms in their Pro-Israel Islamophobia campaign. The Religion Editor for "The Tennessean", Bob Smietana, did an investigative series on this crew in 2010 that is still of interest: "Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear." Smietana chased the money behind their non-profits--millions in the case of Emerson—that went into their own pockets. Brannon Wheeler, history professor and director of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies at the United States Naval Academy, had some choice remarks about the veracity of their historicity. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear

Frank Gaffney? The man is a nutjob.

So now Trump is making a pilgrimage to Netanyahu to determine what his policy wonks should be able to supply him from stated US national security positions stateside? What's he going to do if he becomes Prez? Give Netanyahu a seat behind him during the State of the Union address? Was this his daughter tugging on his suit jacket? Why can't we put someone in office who puts America first, and who *leads* with American values instead of sucking up to the Archie Bunkers of the Middle East.

[MRW]

I was in Canada recently where the rage at allowing the refugees in was unabated among the people I stayed with. Of course, these people were not Trudeau supporters (in the recent election).

I heard an interview on CBC with an Ottawa immigration official who explained in support of the vetted/unvetted business that the people they are letting in had been living in refugee camps or in Lebanon for four years. That they had been identified as such; they were not refugees from 2013 or 2012. The official said the people they had selected had residency paper trails in these camps--where are these camps?--that the Canadian government and UN NGOs selected over a year ago. I also heard various call-ins and interviews from Syrian professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc) that paid to emigrate, and were part of the quota. One guy was indignant that he was assumed to be a penniless supplicant asking for asylum on the Canadian taxpayer teat; he had family members who signed for him, and claimed he proved his financial independence to the Canadian government when admitted last June. The official claimed that there were travel restrictions on the refugees for the first year. They would have refugee status papers but they would not be given passports that allowed them to travel.

The borders are most porous in Eastern Canada and around the Great Lakes, as PL has highlighted. Here are some photos of recent refugees arriving in Quebec: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-syrian-refugees-plan-1.3336046. Good luck sneaking across in a place like Saskatchewan. You can stand on the western border of the province and see a rat run across the eastern border; that’s how flat and barren it is. Ditto 3/4 of the Alberta border. BC has forests, and the porosity increases in the Vancouver/Victoria area where you can use a boat.

The issue is a powder-keg in Canada. And if you really want to enrage a Canadian, tell them that they need the US to tell them how to handle it, or that they are too inept to handle their own border concerns. I made that mistake. Once.

[Jack]

Sir

As we have seen with 9/11, the Paris attacks and SB, the jihadists are trying to infiltrate using our immigration policies. Since they are all indoctrinated about the wonders of after-life and the path to "heaven" through "martyrdom" it seems we must develop tools of discrimination before they are allowed in. In this context it seems the reaction of the Republican and Democrat establishment to Trump's call for a temporary ban until we figure it out reeks of PCness. Why not debate the pros & cons of what he proposes. What are the risks if our current policies are continued? How many jihadists will get through?

The point you make of the porosity of our borders in particular the northern one is immensely important. How will the political establishment and corporate media respond if proposals were tabled for citizen committees having the responsibility of monitoring border areas for suspicious activity and people?

[Bill Herschel]

I was completely wrong about ISIS attacking in the United States. And, apparently, it becoming clear that the San Bernardino attackers were planted quite awhile ago. Do they even need people now?

I highly recommend reading this:

http://thesaker.is/week-nine-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-the-empire-strikes-back/

"The Saker" has issues, shall we say, but he would be the last person to sell Russia short, not least of which because he a patriotic, Orthodox Christian Russian. And this article says that Russia has almost no options at all and is playing from a position of extreme weakness.

I like to think about the current situation in terms of "Who got the memo?".

Anyone who is suggesting that the U.S. ally itself with Russia in Syria and, at least temporarily, granting that Syria is a sovereign state with an elected leader, focus on the jihadists trying to destroy our civilization--like Donald Trump, Huckabee, Cruz, Marine Le Pen, etc.--has not "Gotten the memo".

This memo was not addressed to the American people. In fact, an enormous amount of effort is being made to conceal its existence, its authors, its implementation, its potential consequences, its past consequences, or even that events correspond to anything like it except some kind of vague expression of "the rights of man".

And the final proof of it all is Obama's address. Iraq, Libya, Kosovo, etc. How long must this go on?

By the way, barring a miracle, no one should worry too much about Hillary Clinton being elected President. A Republican will be elected, just like a Republican Congress was elected by Obama. He's putting her in the position of having to run against him, and that is fatal.

[Fred]

Just out of fairness do you have Hilary's?

[turcopolier]

Bill Herschel

To quote Setphen Colbert, "I accept your apology." pl

[jerseycityjoan]

You bring up interesting points.

But now that I am sitting here thinking about this, I have to wonder, really, how important it is to those groups that they recruit people who will be here for several years or longer? After all, can't people on six months visitors' visas do quite a lot of damage, especially if they came here already trained?

What goes on in our high crime areas shows that our laws do not stop people from getting all kinds of firearms.

I can see why having people here for awhile may be valuable but honestly, isn't it remarkable that we have not had more people here on short term visas attack us? As long as they could shoot, multiple small groups of people could have been sent here since 2001 to kill and wound a few dozen people. They could certainly have done that, I think, in the time allowed them.

I'm certainly glad nobody did that, but why not?

[jerseycityjoan]

"Why can't we put someone in office who puts America first"

Well, for starters nobody who is running is willing to put America first.

Not a one of them is committed to making the interests of the American people their #1 priority, not even Bernie Sanders who after showing some independence about immigration is now clearly falling in line with Democratic Party expectations that America must accept just about anybody around the world who wants to come here to live and work.

I am not sure how much agreement there is anymore on what "American values" are. Certainly our elites are not our spokesmen anymore. Too many of them do not see things through our eyes and feel closer to the elites in other countries than they do to us.

[William R. Cumming]

Although I did know of the great Schism in Islam before being educated by SST I am wondering if Trump's advisers or he himself understand fully the various belief systems lumped under the moniker of ISLAM?

Again I ask how exactly does the US government determine WHAT RELIGIONS QUALIFY FOR 501(c)(3) status? Specifically tax exemption?

[bell]

mrw - thanks for sharing your view to this canuck.. the border in b.c. is pretty easy to cross in a lot of places, including via the water. i keep on hearing the quote 'they hate us for our freedoms' in my head.. funny how that is playing right now as a i type this! i am happy canada is taking in syrian refugees.. lebannon has been receiving syrians for some time and prior to turkey as i recall.. i guess the regime change ideology that the usa and others wanted to pursue in syria (or was in a pipeline from qatar to the med that assad didn't go along with?)had a few negatives that weren't considered.. the refugess are one of them.. clearly you visited some conservative folks here in canada, or folks guided by fear more than anything else.. fear sells. i will give you that..

[Swampy]

"I'm certainly glad nobody did that, but why not?"

maybe AQ did think of the short term visa trick, but then Bush was prez and the political climate was not conducive for such trickery.

We now got a whole new set of players - Obama and IS.

Maybe someone can enlighten us about the amount of scrutiny ST visas seekers get.

[Tyler]

The entire Borg just bet the house on there being no Islamic terrorism in the US for the next ever.

Trump has put the rest of the Republicans into a gambit of following his lead in deference or aligning themselves with President Cocoa Messiah. Bra-vo.

[MRW]

I was driving around today thinking about Daesh invading the porous eastern borders from the north.

It made me laugh out loud. Visions of guys who knew sand and 130F weather wearing parkas and rawhide shoehoes trying to navigate four feet of virgin snow in winter forests that stand like pencils in fresh dough. Talk about walking targets at 1 mph; Keystone Kops. Good luck with that. Gonna’ have to wait until the snow melts.

I went north to work in Montreal for two years from Manhattan, and spent November to March swearing at the deep wet cold I could never get warm from. Out loud, walking down the street, listening to the crunch of my boots like fingernails across a blackboard. Manhattan was the tropics by comparison. Never swore so much in my life, or so loudly, and I didn’t give a shit who heard me.

If I were these IS Daesh dogs, I’d pick a Caribbean Cruise Line and fly to a selected port of call, then sneak into Miami looking like a local. Or the Princess Cruise Lines in Longbeach CA with a side trip to Disney. In comfort, in style. Dressed to the nines. With their oil money, they can afford it. Hell, bring the kids and wife as cover, then send them home.

I pity the Syrian refugee grandmas who just emigrated to Montreal from balmy Lebanon. I’ll bet they don’t go outside until Easter.

[Amir]

The whole debate about domestic terrorism and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia connection, has been getting sidelined again: House passes security reforms to visa waiver program
https://www.rt.com/usa/325156-house-visa-waiver-bill

After 911, a law was passed that subjected everyone who was BORN in "the 6 countries sponsoring terrorism" (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, North-Korea and I then to remember Libya) were to be subjected to additional background checks. As you immediately notice, Saudi Arabia is absolved from any additional scrutiny. The "funny" part about this was that anyone holding dual Iranian nationality, prior this law was passed after Sept 2001, was already subjected to additional scrutiny as I can personally testify, prior getting approved for a Visa, prior boarding the plan, prior entering the regular customs at the point of entry in U.S.). Obviously that misplaced focus; did not prevent the Ben-Ladinites from getting the 15+4 Saudi et co-conspirators in place for the 911-Attack.

I am not going to haul discrimination because nothing has changed in that regard. That this so called reform of the Visa-Waiver-Program has passed, should not give you false sense of security. After these repetitive Saudi-inspired attacks, one has to still refocus on the Saudi connection, at last, hopefully.

Maybe the readers here can write to their congressman/woman in this regard.

[Amir]

You want to prevent attacks, start running checks on the Saudi connection. How many have by now been involved in attacks inside the border: 15+1 Saudi subjects and 4+1 Saudi-affiliates, for 911 & San Bernardino

[Allen Thomson]

> BTW the southern border is where detected attempts at jihadi infiltration have apparently occurred thus far.

Could you provide a pointer to that, please? The matter is of some interest to me.

[turcopolier]

Allen Thompson

I leave that to Tyler. pl

[J]

Colonel, TTG,

Off topic CBO wants to outsource 80,000 active duty slots -
http://www.defenseone.com/management/2015/12/putting-civilians-us-troop-support-jobs-could-save-billions-report-says/124244/

[no one]

Slightly OT; http://www.vvng.com/alleged-radicalized-muslim-arrested-at-victorville-home/

Chased his terrified neighbor with a sword on Monday.

[Fred]

J,

The ins and outs of budgeting (government) is something not well understood. This, however, sounds like another Cheney esq play on outsourcing that is going to be counter productive to actual combat capabilities. Cutting a dozen or so aircraft out of the procurement budget would save the same amount.

[Tyler]

Allen,

In Patagonia, between Sonoita, AZ and Nogales, AZ, five Middle Easterners (Pakis and an Afghani) were pretty much given up by their guide.

Some talk of it happening again but I can't figure out whether its up or down.

Tons of Asian Indians coming through every day. Who tells the difference between a Paki, an Indian, and an Afghani?

[Tyler]

no one,

I like how the media removes all agency from the attacker with their use of the word "Radicalized" as a verb, as if its a zombie virus or something.

"He was radicalized but its not his fault! Jihadi mind rays did it!"

[MRW]

Yup. They're conservative. A couple of them are raving assholes. Banging my forehead against the wall would have been easier than listening to their diatribes; uneducated know-nothings. Raving stupidity. But I have enormous respect for one of them because he's a cool customer under pressure consistently. He's young, just had a baby. New family man. Understand his POV. Could not ignore the protective blood coursing through his veins even though I found his reaction hyperbolic but that was a factor of his poor education. (I have a congenital thing since age three..that I recall: I **can't stand** uncontrolled displays of emotion under pressure. I don't trust people who lose their heads when the stakes are high, or lethal. I was born that way I think. I get hyper-aware of my surroundings. And calm, for some reason. I don't lose my head, and that includes facing guns and machetes, which I have.)

So I cut these people some slack...because they aren't in any fucking danger. I merely listened. And I'm just reporting.

[Jack]

Tyler

Asian Indians running across the southern border is interesting. On one hand they seem to be a successful immigrant community with the highest household income of any race category and many corporate leaders like the President's of Google, Microsoft, Adobe; US attorney for Manhattan; Governor of Louisiana and South Carolina. Then you have these folks entering illegally. What's that about I wonder? Is the border that porous?