U.S. Wary Of European Terror Threat

Homeland Security Chief Says No Guarantee Catching Terrorists With EU Passports

(AP)  European terrorists are trying to enter the United States with European Union passports, and there is no guarantee officials will catch them every time, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.

Chertoff's comments on Capitol Hill comes as the country is entering a potentially vulnerable period with the presidential nominating conventions coming up next month; the presidential election in November; and the transition to a new administration in January - all of which may be attractive targets for terrorists.

In his last scheduled appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee, Chertoff said that the more time and space al Qaeda and its allies have to recruit, train, experiment and plan, the more problems the U.S. and Europe will face down the road.

"The terrorists are deliberately focusing on people who have legitimate Western European passports, who don't appear to have records as terrorists," Chertoff told lawmakers. "I have a good degree of confidence we can catch people coming in. But I have to tell you ... there's no guarantee. And they are working very hard to slip by us."

Chertoff and other intelligence officials have delivered similar warnings before, and he offered no new information about specific threats or an imminent attack.

Chertoff reiterated his concern that terrorists could sneak radiological material into the country on small boats or private aircraft. This material could be used to create an explosive device known as a "dirty bomb."

The Homeland Security Department has a strategy to protect against this small boat vulnerability and is testing radiation detection equipment in Seattle and San Diego ports.

Chertoff said that getting out a regulation to prescreen and enhance security of general aviation aircraft coming to the U.S. from overseas is one of his top priorities.

He also said he expects to approve new radiation detection technology this fall.

Responding to a question from Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, Chertoff dismissed any rumor that he is on a list of potential running mates for Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Chertoff quipped that the only list he has for next year is a list of vacations.

Chertoff's term as the country's second Homeland Security Secretary ends when a new administration takes over the White House in January.

[ubrew12]

A European terror threat?
Quick: invade Nigeria! Write up some no-bid contracts!

[canyoutellme-2009]

Every year 30,000 killed by handguns, and another 30,000 killed by drunk drivers.

You have more to fear from your neighbors than ever from a terrorist.

$200 million spent on bridge inspections and researching better traffic control would save 1000s of times more American lives over the next 10 years than spending $1 trillion in Iraq.

Regards,


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Posted by Nancy_Naive at 08:29 PM : Jul 17, 2008
+ report abuse

but, Nancy_Naive... you''re very Naive... if we were to do that... then we would fix our own infrastructure... and if we do that, then we would be providing good infrastructure for potential terrorists to use and destroy us... so it''s better if we keep things broken so they can''t cross all the bridges they can and fly all the planes they can to mess us up.

(p.s. I''m being sarcastic)

[pensacola88]

Most citizens of this nation have always known and accepted that barriers to terrorist activities are not free or error-proof.

The best way to create the barrier to terrorist activities is through civic connections and keeping an open mind to recycle opportunities to work towards any goals. Terrorist rely on victims to stay disconnected and be apathetic. The good news is that every citizen of this nation can do their part without requiring additional tax burden or sacrafice of liberties. Keeping connected to your civic organizations and families, is the simplest way to network and secure our country collectively. Recycling opportunity that an apathetic citizen threw away is the easiest way to close up the gaps in our opportunity market. Terrorists rely on opportunity and apathetic citizens freely give it to them.

Whatever we expect our nation to be, is proof of vision, and security is the easier when everyone is watching out for each other. We will have to open our minds a little and trust others again, without fear or reservation, because terrorists can thrive easier when our minds are closed and blind.

[whitemale08]

This is why there''s not going to be any more terrorist attacks because Mission Already Accomplished.

[gce65]

Quick! Raise the national threat level matrix-flag-color to Yellow! No, wait, make that.....Orange! Snap to attention, people! Feel fear on command!!!

[gce65]

The terrorists have succeeded, thanks in part to our politicians: we now live in terror of anything our own government might say to manipulate us into further fear.

[trishab4]

CBS: European terrorists are trying to enter the United States with European Union passports, and there is no guarantee officials will catch them every time, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.

-Chertoff should learn some lessons from French President Sarkozy who, with all wisdom, invited all Europeans and North Africans to a meeting where they could all be part of a ''Union for the Mediterranean'' type of ring. This will prevent the estrangement that our idiot politicians are trained to do. Isolation, Separation, Fear-Mongering, Alienation... Chertoff you need to graze some grass before nothing is left for you, donkey!

[musaubee]

terrorism,(ter''a.riz''am)1.The act of terrorizing or the state of being terrorized. 2.Unlawful acts of violence committed in an attempt to over throw a government. Is that not what George Bush and his crew are doing in their on going invasion of Iraq? When did N.Korea,Iraq or Iran,according to Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary C/R 1984, backed by Webster''s Nes World Dictionary Of The American Language C/R 1957 commit unlawful acts of violence against America attempting to over throw the government? That is the act that the George Bush government of America has done in Iraq! These are the violations that the Veterans For Peace took to congress and presented for the Impeachment of George Bush. There was no coverag of this by corporate American media. Why is that? Why does the American media not show endless coverage of such and event? It is time the American government go forward and right this wrong that continues to kill Iraqi people!

[formrusmcsgt]

Chertoff''s comments on Capitol Hill comes as the country is entering a potentially vulnerable period with the presidential nominating conventions coming up next month; the presidential election in November; and the transition to a new administration in January - all of which may be attractive targets for terrorists.
---
I don''t think so.

The last thing terrorists want is another imperialistic regime who understands not diplomacy.

An attack would galvanize support for McCain, which is the last guy they would want calling the shots.

They''re after an end to imperialism, not a furtherance of it.....

[guadalcanal3]

musaubee...How can you impeach President Bush for going into Iraq???....It was the Congress and U.S. Senate that gave him the "green light" to do so...he could not have "gone in" without their blessing..but everybody seems to convieniently forget that one fact.

[rosieod4prez]

guadalcanal3 - not everyone, just the far left.


It is called selective memory.



I also remember President Bush saying it would be a long war, right after the towers fell. But none of these far left folks seem to have that in mind either.

Nah - they''d rather try to mock him with that US Navy requested banner that he stood under.




Far left folks have just done too many drugs. No short term memory means no long term memory.

[irliberal]

Election season coming up!

FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR

Oh, and a little more:

FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR

Just to make sure McSame gets elected.

C''mon people. Make a better choice this time.

[rosieod4prez]

IRliberal - says chicken-little.


WE should fear Obama going to Iran and talking without preconditions.

Oh, wait a minute - he''s going to change his mind about that oo.


ok.



He''s for change.

[stevex47]

guadalcanal for the 10000th time,
"musaubee...How can you impeach President Bush for going into Iraq???....It was the Congress and U.S. Senate that gave him the "green light" to do so...he could not have "gone in" without their blessing..but everybody seems to convieniently forget that one fact."

Congess and everyone believed the lies powell, bush, cheney spewed. No one would believe a president would lie about WMD''s. Hence, when Plames husband TRIED to warn the world about boosh''s lies, he outted Plame in retrubution. Okay? For the 10000th time. They lied, we believed for a short time.
That''s why I''ll never let a druggie like limbaugh, manson like doop me into anything.

[jb01201a]

No, McCain has got his brother underneath the tiolet at Ma''s bank in New York waiting for a terrorist attack and he is going to cause it. See it now, number 1 on the New York Times list.

[stevex47]

Oh and guadalcanal,

It was a REPUBLICAN

[xraytwonine]

if you are forces in the dark would you attack where several spotlight is constantly shining?

[stevex47]

Oops, ha, It was a REPUBLICAN congress at the time. Like hitlers followers, they were going to do anything he asked.

[jb01201a]

and who was in control in 1993 - first wc, 1998 - africa and 2001 - with the USS Cole was hit ? Oh, I am sorry, it was George''s brother and the fascists and the neocons.

[smirk5]

But I thought we were fighting them in Iraq so we wouldn''t have to fight them here. Now, we''re told they can just get an EU passport and can travel here. But, if the "fight them there rather than here" slogan is correct, they''ll just travel to Iraq to attack us there instead. Or, just maybe, that whole slogan was just to easily fool the 19 percenters.

[sistatee-2009]

Why don''t they go to Mexico and walk across the border like everybody else?

[yankeerebel7]

Yeah, most Europeans have become very anti-Islamic immigration and given their current situation, it''s not surprising. Muslims don''t seem to assimilate as well in Europe as they have here. But either way, we all should fight against extremism.

[smirk5]

We need to fight them in Iraq so they can get passports to attack us here. Heck of a job Chertie!

[chuegevera]

To US...Please keep your segregation rules on the US territories. In Europe we learned from the Nazi era and dont need hitler like rule anymore.
we somehow succeded in establishing a rather integrated society and dont need a segregated one.

[yankeerebel7]

chuegevera - Integrated society? lol. I''m sure most European muslims feel that way. Actually they don''t.

[ciitzenusa]

There is a tremendous lack of knowledge about Int''l Terrorism here.
Go read up and learn:
www.thereligionofpeace.com

[timdgrim]

Michael Chertoff is also warning of terrorist threat from the North Pole and Antartica..something about Pi**ed of Polar Bears and Penguins tired of getting their ice melted by two legged overpopulated materialistic fossil fuel burning fools.

[timdgrim]

The Department of Homeland Security is also warning of possible terrorist Hurricanes that could try something this summer or early fall, possibly from the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico...and the possibility of terrorist storm cells that might hit the plains and Midwest of the U. S. in the form of Extremist Islamic Tornadoes. By the way, Vote John McSame ol'' Republican Scare Tactic Cr*p!

[deacon20081]

The Straw Men Commeth Out To Play

Setting up an October surprise are they?

[yankeerebel7]

They only want us to fear Europeans who are aware of the increasingly fascist bent of neocon Amerikkka. If there are any terrorists it''''s this administration and all of the terrorists that they "used" to support, and that they recently supported in lebanon to fight against the sunnis there. Don''''t believe it? Look up the article the Redirection in the New Yorker by Seymour Hersh.

Posted by ttinsly at 11:10 PM : Jul 17, 2008

============================

Thanks...I needed a good laugh this evening.

[lovegetpeace]

Could this be the ''October Surprise'' plan that we are all anticipating from President Bush before the Nov-2008 general election?

[Michael Arnold]

To all you scaredy-cat-jack-booted-gun-tot''n-paranoid-republicans out there: BOO!!!!!!

[pointbreak15]

STOP fighting for zionism and oil ...terrorism will certainly go away....as long as injustice is inflicted on to fellow human beings and our desire to dominate the world based on zionist doctrines this problem is here to stay ...some human are stone dumb and re-tar-ded in their delusions to think otherwise...being good,fair and peace confuses zionists....

[whiskyrocker]

I guess this means crude oil prices are going up.

[whiskyrocker]

I guess this means crude oil prices are going up.

[whiskyrocker]

I guess this means crude oil prices are going up.

[whiskyrocker]

I guess this means crude oil prices are going up.

[whiskyrocker]

I guess this means crude oil prices are going up.

[pointbreak15]

STOP fighting for zionism and oil ...terrorism will certainly go away....as long as injustice is inflicted on to fellow human beings and our desire to dominate the world based on zionist doctrines this problem is here to stay ...some human are stone dumb and re-tar-ded in their delusions to think otherwise...being good,fair and peace confuses zionists....


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[ubrew12]

Actually, I can totally believe there are European Muslims hankering for a chance to come stateside to unleash a little ''payback'' for Iraq. That''s cuz Europeans tend to be well educated, including the Muslims. Knowing that we''ve been unjust in the MiddleEast, European Muslims are FAR more likely to adopt terrorism in response to our violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, than Muslims in the Middle East, who for the most part have conflicts with the political establishments at home to resolve first, and are less well-informed to begin with. Muhammed Atta was a European Muslim, as were most of the 9-11 hijackers (i.e. they were exposed to Western educational values, which taught them to recognize the power struggles in the world in a different, less ignorant way). It seems that one of the consequences of a good education is a tendency to want to ''strike out'' against the established order, and this spills over into terrorism among the most radical. THESE are the folks we needed to worry about before we aimlessly killed half a million in Iraq. Too late for that. We should be vigilant against them, and work to explain our ''new path'' toward more accomodation and a willingness to work for peace, not just war. If Obama becomes president, I think that message will be successfully sent, and we''ll have a lot less to fear from European terrorists.

[cdfoxtrot1]

European terrorists. That''s a new one. Designed for the large number of idiots out there, like ubrew12. European Muslim terrorists. Wow.

[dougmsbbs]

Why worry about all this? If they want to all they need to do is catch a plane to Mexico and walk right over. God knows millions have already done it.

[jb01201a]

ubrew12 - with libs and people like you, 9/11 would happened once a week. Its incredible how you libs love to hide your head in the sand !

[normsw]

It will be a difficult task to intercept every attempt
to hit the U.S. again at some future date.
Our antiterrorist agencies deserve the public''s full support in hopefully preventing another disaster.

[stn_sage]

If a terrorist(s) gets into the USA, it''ll happen shortly after the next president is sworn in, especially if it''s Obama!

The GOP will do everything they can to sabotage, subvert, corrupt, and destroy his presidency before it even begins!

I would guess they might even sneakily fly them in from points south. But, if it happens don''t be surprised.

GOP leaders have shown us already many times what traitors they are, they stop at nothing to hurt the USA! Examples: Failure to help the citizens of New Orleans because they were poor, black, & Democrats; starting a phony war in Iraq, wiretapping America, shredding the U.S.Constitution,ignoring Congressional subpoena''s, suppressing science & information, mishandling the economy, selling America out to corporations, and exposing a federal intelligence agent!

With them out of power, we''re likely to see an increase in activity, but it''s not because they are no longer there keeping us safe, it''s because they are behind the attacks!

[lostusadream]

Sta_sage, terrorists attacked when there were both democratic and republican presidents. they don''t care who is president.it was eight years between attacks. to say that thay will attack if obama becomes president is stupid. .. what, do you have an inside picture of what is going to happen? how do you know?
you are obviously just another republican hack who just can''t deal with a democratic method of selecting a government. there are countries in the world if you want dictator ships, frankly i like it here just fine, the way it is.... and no, i have not made up my mind who i am voting for yet. it will depend on who the candidates select for VP.

[stn_sage]

lostusadream:

I recommend you go back and slowly re-read my post.
You have clearly misinterpreted it.

Finally, I am NOT a republican and I didn''t ask you to declare who you were voting for, though you can if you want to and it makes you happy!

[nextgenman]

This is news!? Chertoff sounds like he''s crying political wolf yet again.

[downtowner97]

When is the next "drill" scheduled?

[daysrnumbrd]

Which rainbow color terror alert are we under right now? I forgot.