Shocking and dangerous parallels.
Nearly twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001 ago radical Islamist terrorists conducted the deadliest terror attacks ever carried out on American soil, in the history of our nation.
The administration of President George W. Bush, in response to the terror attacks, working with America’s allies sent the military to the Middle East to hunt down those responsible for the deadly attacks and to deprive al-Qaeda and other terror organization with sanctuaries from which they could launch terror attacks in the United States and other countries around the world.
Afghanistan was considered a key to our military operations.
President George W. Bush and then President Obama both justified the use of our military forces overseas by declaring that we were fighting the terrorists “over there” so that we would not have to fight them “over here.”
I took issue with that absurd statement in an article I wrote several years ago, Fighting The War On Terror Here, There And Everywhere.
We will delve into the issue of how the war on terror needed to be pursued domestically as well as overseas shortly. (Think immigration law enforcement.)
But first, the disastrous strategic decisions of President Joe Biden to pull our troops out of Afghanistan have reverberated around the world.
Our allies fear that America can not be trusted and has no resolve to stand up and our nation’s enemies are greatly encouraged by Biden’s lack of resolve. There is a fundamental principle that states that negotiations should never be conducted from a position of weakness but from a position of strength, however Joe and his policies could not be weaker.
The issue is not that Biden ordered our troops out of Afghanistan, there are many, including former President Trump, who believe that the time has come for American forces to be removed from Afghanistan.
The issue is how Biden ordered the removal of troops to be conducted- he got the sequence of the evacuation ass-backwards!
At the pistol range the orders are, Ready- Aim- Fire.
In essence, Biden’s orders were Fire- Ready- Aim!
Sky divers are instructed to pull their ripcords BEFORE they hit the ground.
Biden would have instructed them to pull the ripcord AFTER impact!
Biden did not consult with America’s allies including NATO even though there are NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Biden ordered our troops to abandon Kandahar International Airport, literally in the dead of night without even notifying Afghan troops who were fighting alongside American soldiers.
Biden evacuated the soldiers before he evacuated American civilians or the Afghanis who had worked with our military and our government are were, consequently at mortal risk.
This sets up a very real possibility of Americans and allies being taken hostage by the terrorists.
Biden evacuated the military before removing or destroying a huge arsenal of military hardware and weaponry so that terrorists would have access to these weapons.
Under federal law, anyone who provides weapons or items of potential military use to certain prohibited countries is subject to criminal prosecution that carries severe penalties. The 19 hijackers who carried out the terror attacks of 9/11 wielded boxcutters. Imagine what terrorists who could gain access to a huge arsenal could do!
Finally, he left thousands of terrorists in prisons at Kandahar and elsewhere who were promptly released by the Taliban.
How many U.S. or allied soldiers died or were seriously injured in operations to capture of these highly dangerous terrorists? Now that they are free, they will once again pose a threat, not only to the citizens of Afghanistan but to countries around the world, including the United States of America.
If you thought “Catch & Release” only applied to the Border Patrol, Biden has allowed that dangerous practice to metastasize to our military operations in what is one of the most dangerous places on earth!
Having mentioned the Border Patrol we now need to turn our attention to the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, to which I provided testimony.
That commission ultimately determined that those terror attacks were facilitated and, indeed, made possible, by multiple failures of the immigration system.
In the wake of the terror attacks of 9/11 I have testified before numerous hearings conducted in the House and Senate about failures of the immigration system that undermine national security and public safety.
On May 5, 2010 I testified at a hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims on the topic: New ”Dual Missions” Of The Immigration Enforcement Agencies.
Back then the chairman of that important subcommittee was Republican Congressman John Hostettler from Indiana who was extremely critical of the way that President George W. Bush failed to follow the guidelines established by the Homeland Security Act to create the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). Hostettler’s prepared remarks included this paragraph that succinctly laid out just how critical immigration law enforcement is to protecting the United States from international terrorists and is worth considering today:
The 9/11 terrorists all came to the United States without weapons or contraband—Added customs enforcement would not have stopped 9/11 from happening. What might have foiled al Qaeda’s plan was additional immigration focus, vetting and enforcement. And so what is needed is recognition that, one, immigration is a very important national security issue that cannot take a back seat to customs or agriculture. Two, immigration is a very complex issue, and immigration enforcement agencies need experts in immigration enforcement. And three, the leadership of our immigration agencies should be shielded from political pressures to act in a way which could compromise the Nation’s security.
The frustration and consternation of Chairman Hostettler was absolutely justified, yet our political leaders from both parties refused to take commonsense measures needed to protect America and Americans.
President Trump was the only president to accept the critical nature of America’s borders and immigration laws and act accordingly.
In my view, as a result of his efforts to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws, came under fire in unprecedented ways.
For decades immigration law enforcement was hobbled by a policy of “Catch & Release” whereby illegal aliens who were arrested by the Border Patrol were promptly released from custody. Only a very small percentage ever showed up for their hearings. What was never discussed publicly was that the lunacy of Catch & Release also included the enforcement of our immigration laws from within the interior of the United States.
On March 10, 2005 the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims conducted a hearing on Interior Immigration Enforcement Resources. I testified at that hearing.
I urge you to read the transcript of that entire hearing and that you pay particular attention to the prepared statement of no other than Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee who, in criticizing President Bush for not providing necessary resources stated, in part:
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement merged the investigative function of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service, the INS detention and removal functions, most of the INS intelligence operation, the Federal Protective Service, and the Federal Air Marshals Service. ICE’s areas of responsibility include the enforcement of laws dealing with the presence and activities of terrorists, human trafficking, commercial alien smuggling operations, document fraud, and drug trafficking, and many important aspects of their work have been successful.
Just recently, for example, we were able to applaud Operation Predator, which was able to bring in 5,000 arrests since 2003 on the question of those who are non-citizens who have come into this country and who have been predators against our children.
Also, for instance, ICE investigators conducted an 8-month investigation last year of two men who were selling false identity documents to members of terrorist organizations. The ICE investigators developed such a strong case against these individuals that they pleaded guilty on February 28, 2005, to a charge of involvement in a conspiracy to sell false documents to purported members of Abu Sayyaf, a Philippines-based group that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 authorized 800 new ICE investigators for FY 2006 through FY 2010. The President’s budget only requests funding for 143 new ICE investigators for FY 2006, which is only 17 percent of the authorized number. We need all of the 800 additional ICE investigators authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.
And with a little lightness, Mr. Chairman, maybe the Administration was simply trying to tease us, to egg us on, to see if we had the stomach to do what is right, and that means that we need to fully fund the 800 additional ICE investigators. Let’s take the bait, if you will, accept the challenge, and do what we need to do.
The National Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act also authorized 8,000 new detention beds each year from FY 2006 through 2010. The President, however, has requested funding for 1,920 beds for FY 2006, which is only 24 percent of the authorized number. Mr. Chairman, I know that you are headed to the border, at least a portion thereof. I have spent some time at the border with Congressman Ortiz. I saw what the need was and the crisis—hard-working men and women who understand the needs of securing the border, but more importantly, understanding the needs of retaining those who have entered this country illegally. They cannot do their job without the full funding of these detention beds and the recognition that, in fact, we have a responsibility to provide them with the necessary resources.
Whatever happened to Sheila and her Democrat friends since that hearing?
Clearly she very well understands the perils we face because of systemic failures of the immigration system.
Even after the terror attacks of 9/11 increasing numbers of cities and even some states declared themselves to be “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens and among them criminal aliens and terrorists, in directly contradiction to the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
Now Biden’s immigration policies have turned America into a Sanctuary Country for illegal aliens and Afghanistan into a Sanctuary for terrorists who seek the destruction of the United States and our allies.
The title of my recent article will serve as my summation today, Biden Ends War On Radical Islamist Terrorists ‘Over Here’ and ‘Over There’ Too bad the terrorists aren’t calling it quits.
©Michael Cutler. All rights reserved.
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