Danger Signs on the Border - Douglas Farah

counterterrorismblog.org

By Douglas Farah
A tip of the hat (actually, two tips) to Todd Bensman of the San Antonio Express-News for two articles (one in his paper and one one his website) on the reality that Islamist terrorists have crossed the U.S. border, and are likely to do so again.
Bensman is one of the few investigative journalists left with a staff job who takes these investigations seriously. As much of newspaper world, in particular, slash their investigative capabilities, these gems will grow ever more rare.
Bensman looks at the recent case of three Afghanistan national with genuine Mexican passports seeking to enter the United States. The good news is that the Mexicans are willing and able partners in investigating these potential breaches. The bad news is that they nonetheless had real passports, which makes getting caught much harder.
In his other story Bensman looks at the 10 cases of terrorists who made it across the border, including al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas operatives. This is the first time I have seen the cases laid out in some detail and linked to terrorist groups.
What is of greater concern to me than Mexico, per se, as I have written earlier, is the number of Latin American countries where terrorists and their sympathizers, particularly but not limited to Hezbollah, can likely acquire legitimate travel documents that do not arouse much suspicion.

My full blog is here.