WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States that killed some 3,000 people, America's efforts to secure the homeland against a similar attack are being hampered by political interests. Intelligence reports, including recent public statements by the Secretary of Homeland Security, warn that the United States remains vulnerable to radical Islamic terrorists, while many obvious gaps in our defense remain uncorrected.
A new study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), "Persistent Inaction: Inviting International Terrorism," points out numerous weaknesses in our defense against global terror network that have been identified by the 9/11 Commission and other experts, but which have been allowed to persist because special interests have a vested interest in the status quo. Six years after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, America's borders remain unsecured, and we still have no way of tracking most foreign visitors, or determining whether they leave when they are supposed to. The full report is available at http://www.fairus.org/2007Sept11Report.
Millions of people still sneak into our country across inadequately patrolled borders, and despite mounting evidence of the growth of radical Islam in Europe and elsewhere, the Visa Waiver Program, that allows visitors from those countries to enter the U.S. without obtaining a visa, is being expanded due to pressure from the tourism industry. Other special interests have steadfastly opposed improvements in our system of documentation that was successfully exploited by the 9/11 terrorists.
"That our enemies want to attack us and kill Americans is a fact of life that we have all come to recognize," observed Dan Stein , president of FAIR. "That we have not yet taken all reasonable steps to prevent al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations from succeeding in their mission is inexcusable six years after 9/11.
"No one expects absolute security, and we all know that we cannot hermetically seal our country and shut out the rest of the world. What we can and must do is close the obvious flaws in our homeland security. The costs and inconveniences of addressing these vulnerabilities pale in comparison to the potential devastation of another major terrorist attack," said Stein.
Persistent Inaction: Inviting International Terrorism suggests steps for reducing the threat of a terrorist attack, while allowing our nation to operate successfully in a global economy. "Thankfully we have avoided a major terrorist attack over the past six years through good fortune, good police work, and a vigilant public. But luck only goes so far, and another attack would be doubly tragic because we failed to take the necessary steps to prevent it," concluded Stein.
SOURCE FAIR
