(I assume you are referring to my closing parenthetical)
Everything you say is true, with one exception written below, but in some ways that reinforces my point. If I were a terrorist (lone wolves -- no predator pun intended -- aren't included here) I'd have likely received some training, including on how to move through…
(I assume you are referring to my closing parenthetical)
Everything you say is true, with one exception written below, but in some ways that reinforces my point. If I were a terrorist (lone wolves -- no predator pun intended -- aren't included here) I'd have likely received some training, including on how to move through difficult terrain to avoid detection. And even if I hadn't I'd still likely give this way to cross the border some serious consideration in my planning. It's these features that make being discovered all the harder.
There are predators to contend with along the northern border, but there are along the southern border too. The first that sprang into my head were coyotes: both the four legged and the two. The four legged are out looking for dinner; the two are out there to make a buck. They have no ideological skin in the game so they'll throw you under the bus if it means saving themselves. There is other wildlife out there that are much harder to see and aren't predators but are still deadly, rattlesnakes and scorpions for example.
It's true that the winters, that starts in mid Fall and ends mid Spring, is anything but conducive for infiltration, especially given the climate change that has allowed those polar vortices to dip farther and farther south. OTOH, I used to live near the Canadian border and late Spring through early Fall the weather could be glorious.
The exception I take is your ending question; it begs two key points. It takes money to get to either of our borders. A team coming from overseas can fly to Canada, Mexico or have the group split between the two. Even without counting the money needed for the logistics and training of even a small team of five, the amount needed for travel would be high just in tickets and the cost of fake passports. The second part is "why not just stay there?" The beginning of the parenthetical stipulates that we're talking about terrorists and people with a criminal intent, not immigrants or asylum seekers. They wouldn't be able to achieve their objective by staying in Canada if they're supposed to be in the US, and I don't think their handlers (terrorist) would be ok with that decision.
(Wow, I really do suffer from chronic diarrhea of the fingers and an inability to self-edit. Sorry.)
As to your last two sentences, I know the feeling. I wasn't actually thinking terrorists so much as asylum seekers, but as to your points about terrorists, I think our home grown ones are the much bigger threat. Islamic terrorists would see the terrain as not in their bailiwick (Afghanistan terrorists would be different) which is why the only time we know of that they tried it, they went through an actual vehicle crossing at the Washington border. For me the Southern border is the bigger issue and not just because of asylum seekers, but because the cartels are now making seriously big money in human trafficking. I don't think building a wall is going to change that, nor do I think increasing the Border Patrol is the answer. We need to form a dedicated alliance with Mexico and Central American countries to end the human trafficking component. Need to hit them at the beginning and the end instead of pretending just hitting them at the end is sufficient.
Ms Kochivar-Baker,
(I assume you are referring to my closing parenthetical)
Everything you say is true, with one exception written below, but in some ways that reinforces my point. If I were a terrorist (lone wolves -- no predator pun intended -- aren't included here) I'd have likely received some training, including on how to move through difficult terrain to avoid detection. And even if I hadn't I'd still likely give this way to cross the border some serious consideration in my planning. It's these features that make being discovered all the harder.
There are predators to contend with along the northern border, but there are along the southern border too. The first that sprang into my head were coyotes: both the four legged and the two. The four legged are out looking for dinner; the two are out there to make a buck. They have no ideological skin in the game so they'll throw you under the bus if it means saving themselves. There is other wildlife out there that are much harder to see and aren't predators but are still deadly, rattlesnakes and scorpions for example.
It's true that the winters, that starts in mid Fall and ends mid Spring, is anything but conducive for infiltration, especially given the climate change that has allowed those polar vortices to dip farther and farther south. OTOH, I used to live near the Canadian border and late Spring through early Fall the weather could be glorious.
The exception I take is your ending question; it begs two key points. It takes money to get to either of our borders. A team coming from overseas can fly to Canada, Mexico or have the group split between the two. Even without counting the money needed for the logistics and training of even a small team of five, the amount needed for travel would be high just in tickets and the cost of fake passports. The second part is "why not just stay there?" The beginning of the parenthetical stipulates that we're talking about terrorists and people with a criminal intent, not immigrants or asylum seekers. They wouldn't be able to achieve their objective by staying in Canada if they're supposed to be in the US, and I don't think their handlers (terrorist) would be ok with that decision.
(Wow, I really do suffer from chronic diarrhea of the fingers and an inability to self-edit. Sorry.)
fnord
As to your last two sentences, I know the feeling. I wasn't actually thinking terrorists so much as asylum seekers, but as to your points about terrorists, I think our home grown ones are the much bigger threat. Islamic terrorists would see the terrain as not in their bailiwick (Afghanistan terrorists would be different) which is why the only time we know of that they tried it, they went through an actual vehicle crossing at the Washington border. For me the Southern border is the bigger issue and not just because of asylum seekers, but because the cartels are now making seriously big money in human trafficking. I don't think building a wall is going to change that, nor do I think increasing the Border Patrol is the answer. We need to form a dedicated alliance with Mexico and Central American countries to end the human trafficking component. Need to hit them at the beginning and the end instead of pretending just hitting them at the end is sufficient.