February 12, 2008 at 07:54:18

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Terrorists Crossing the Border: Genuine Threat?

By Russ Wellen (about the author)     Page 1 of 3 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Russ Wellen - Writer

Day of Islam
Paul L. Williams
Prometheus Books, 2007

The left is notorious for its queasiness about national security. It's as if it's afraid to bring the issue up for fear that hawks will use it as a license to wage even more war. Let sleeping dogs lie, progressives think, as they rattle on about diplomacy to the exclusion of a rational discussion about the use of force.

Another area they tend to steer clear of for fear of encouraging the right's worst tendencies is illegal immigration. But that only compounds the problem that begins with their neglect of defense. Turns out a component of national security is nested within illegal immigration, like drugs in the gut of a mule.

Fears that illegal immigrants may be terrorists are usually voiced by the likes of Limbaugh, Dobbs, and Tancredo. Thus, progressives assume that, like the administration stokes the public's fear of fanatical Islam in order to roll back civil liberties, the hard right morphs immigration into terrorism to further another end. (Presumably, keeping the nation's complexion more latte than caffé.)

But just because the issue comes from right field doesn't mean it's automatically apocryphal. Acting as if that's true reduces progressives to the same childish contrarianism that's characteristic of the right at its worst. (Like, before 9/11, the Bush administration relegating terrorism to the trash heap because it was tainted by attentiveness to it on President Clinton's part.)

In fact, ignoring the threat of terrorism breaching our borders puts us in harm's way twice over. First, it provides the hard right with more ammunition to claim progressives are soft on defense. Second, if the threat exists, it places us in that much more danger as terrorists continue to stream across.

Worse, the threat is exponentially increased when you consider what terrorists and those helping them may be smuggling –- nuclear materials. In 2004, political scientist and one-time Defense Department staffer Graham Allison put the threat on the map with his book "Nuclear Terrorism."

In the recent Annual Threat Estimate, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said that "al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups are attempting to acquire. . . radiological, and nuclear weapons and materials." Also, Hillary Clinton seeks to create the position of Senior Advisor to the President for the Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism. Conceivably, she'd single out Allison himself for the post.

Someone she won't choose is the poor man's Graham Allison -- Paul L. Williams. You've heard of the "Left Behind" series. Williams's recent book on nuclear terrorism, "Day of Islam," is the third in what might be called the "Nothing Left Behind" trilogy.

A few pages into "Day of Islam" though, a progressive can be forgiven for thinking, "This is just a pretext to justify harsh treatment of illegal immigrants."

But, despite his affiliation with the hard-right organization, America's Truth Forum, Williams is one conservative who has more on his mind than halting illegal immigration for its own sake. His focus is on Osama bin Laden's attempts to procure enriched uranium and "nuclear suitcase" bombs, which he either has sneaked, is sneaking, or is trying to sneak into the US.

In fact, William's writing -- and this is almost unheard of among the heavy-handed right -- is free of overt partisanship. In other words, to him the business of halting nuclear terrorism is an equal opportunity employer.

Williams has put his money where his mouth is, too. For instance, he compiled an extensive dossier on the safe harbor for Islamic terrorists created by Canada's relaxed, UK-like immigration policies.

Then he singled out Toronto's McMaster University for failing to root out terrorists in its midst and allowing nuclear materials to be stolen from its nuclear research reactor. Williams is now saddled with a libel suit the school slapped on him.

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