Suggestions for Homeland Defense

September 11th, 2001

In order to ensure terrorists don't pull off another 9/11 style attack in the United States, security planners must emplace sufficient countermeasures to ward off such a plan. In order to better understand what our Homeland Security officers do to protect us, citizens need to take a few minutes to think like a terrorist. The only way to understand how to protect something is to understand how to destroy it. If you "what if" possible terrorist scenarios ("How would I do it if I were a terrorist?") then it soon becomes clear that many terrible things are possible. I know this may seem like an alien concept, but trust me, it works.

First ask yourself a few questions: What kind of attack would cause the most damage with the least risk? Can you keep your plan secret until it's conducted? Who else needs to be involved in order for your plan to work? What supplies and logistics do you need to conduct your plan? Once you've answered those questions, you are on your way to understanding how easy it is to be a terrorist "mastermind". You've probably done this exercise a thousand times in your mind without realizing it. When you passed through a security checkpoint and still had some forbidden item on you, or when you walked into a "secure" area without being challenged you probably thought "that was strange", but since you aren't a criminal or terrorist you never took the thought to the next level.

Terrorists continue the process and figure out a way to do it again, only the next time for them may be deadly for us. This is called "pre-operational" planning. The terrorists conducted pre-operational planning prior to 9/11. They practiced their plan by boarding airplanes without the intent of hijacking them, and when they were successful during their planning they knew the plan would work. Practice makes perfect, right?

The second thing you do after conceptualizing your terrorist scheme is to think, "How can I prevent this from happening?" This is the real challenge for National Security planners. The idea is to put as many obstacles in the way of the terrorist as possible, and to devise ways of discovering the plan before it is executed. Devising terrorism countermeasures is made much more difficult in the US because we have people who believe certain countermeasures are a potential threat to American civil liberties. Case in point is the ignorant belief held by some that the Patriot Act will somehow intrude on honest Americans. The ACLU and its contemporaries often do not have a full understanding of the gravity of the potential threat to America. If they did, perhaps they would realize that they are potential unwitting accomplices in a successful execution of the next 9/11 attack on our homeland. The other unwitting accomplices will be politically-correct Members of Congress who don't have the backbone to protect the homeland.

If we look at the 9/11 attacks from a terrorist perspective, we see that they understood our system and purposely circumvented it. The terrorists were here illegally on expired visas, or entered the country illegally. The terrorists had dozens of false identifications provided by a support network already established in this country - fellow Muslims who were legal resident aliens or citizens. The terrorists were stopped for traffic violations but were not identified as illegal aliens because there was no immigration database. In the case of Zacharias Moussawi, the terrorist plot could have been unraveled before it was perpetrated, but out-of-date laws and procedures hindered an investigation and dissemination of evidence that may have stopped the attack.

There are a myriad of reasons why the attacks happened. One of the main reasons is that Americans have become accustomed to the freedom our founding fathers fought so hard to establish for us. Too many Americans take freedom for granted and resent having to be inconvenienced to keep it. The American people will have to willingly accept that freedom is ultimately not free, or be forced to understand it when another major attack occurs. The American people are ultimately responsible for their own freedom. They can vote for a candidate who has a real solution to the security problems that confront our nation. The solution to our problems will be decided in the Congress of the United States because they are the people who make our laws, and legislation must be enacted not only defining the security architecture that will protect America, but also provisions that will ensure the laws are enforced.

There are laws already on the books concerning customs, immigration, the deportation of illegal aliens, smuggling, etc that are not being enforced by law enforcement agencies and courts at all jurisdictions. For example, instead of immediately deporting illegal aliens, the INS is compelled to write them a summons to appear in court at a later date in order to be deported. The "illegal" alien is released on his own recognizance prior to the hearing. Do you think the illegal alien ever shows up for the appearance? The answer is almost always, NO. This is insane!!

Politicians and judges refuse to enforce laws because either it is not politically expedient, or they are getting paid by lobbyists to ignore the law. Bottom line is we've got to hold our representatives accountable and establish a plan to update our nation's defenses against our terrorist enemies. The old, cold-war security paradigm has shifted to a different, but equally complex enemy who must be conquered not only where they live but here at home as well. So what do we do?

1. Illegal immigration - Identify, prioritize, and deport illegal aliens immediately.

The terrorists we are concerned about are not US citizens and are predominantly Muslim men from Arab nations with a Muslim agenda. So it should not be a surprise that Arabs and people who come from non-Arab Muslim countries should come under higher scrutiny. In my opinion, this is not "profiling" people unnecessarily, this is common sense. Of course, we should expect the terrorists to also use Arab-American citizens or resident aliens, women, and non-Arab looking Muslims to pull off the next attack; but they aren't the primary threat. However, just because none of the 9/11 hijackers were named "O'Reilly" or "Hannity" doesn't mean we don't check them too. Why? Remember when I told you to think like a terrorist? If I were an informed terrorist who believed that security would only check Arabs then I would try to recruit, wittingly or unwittingly, a non-Arab looking person to help me with my plan. So since the current threat is from Arab nations, we should put illegal aliens from those nations on the top of the list for deportation. Deportation procedures cost money so we need to use it wisely. If Mexicans or Norwegians start attacking us, then we can put them on the top of the list. Until then, it's the illegal Arab immigrants first.

2. Immigration Policy - Do not allow any new people from any nation to legally immigrate without proper scrutiny.

Standards utilized by the Department of State in determining eligibility for all visas, and requirements for legal immigration should be immediately reviewed. US embassies and consulates have been known to approve visa applications with no scrutiny or ones that are later found to be fraudulent. There must be a system in place that mitigates the risk of "legal" entry into the US by fraudulent means.

All non-CITIZENS, regardless of immigrant or visa status, should be placed on an electronic immigration database and be required to provide biometric data at their US port of entry. Fingerprints and photographs can be electronically captured in a matter of seconds at the Immigration checkpoint. This information should be electronically checked against the FBI biometrics database. Taking fingerprints and photos allows for positive identification, and reduces the chance of error due to variations in spelling of the immigrant's name. All tourists must have a valid passport and visa in their possession at all times, or be subject to immediate deportation.

(Note on the importance of biometrics versus reliance on the Arabic name: Basically, a traditional Arabic name given in full consists of the kunya ('father/mother of X'), the ism (the actual given name, e.g. Muhammad or Abdullah), the nasab ('son/daughter of Y'), the nisba (an adjective indicating one's place of origin, religion, or some other identifier), and one or more laqabs (nicknames to provide further identification), in that order. For example, the name Abu-Mahasin Yusuf ibn Abi Yusuf Ya'qub al-Makki al-Hanbali al-Zayyat means "Yusuf, father of al-Mahasin, son of Abu Yusuf Ya'qub [note that Ya'qub is identified as father of Yusuf], from Mecca, belonging to the Hanbali school of religious jurisprudence, the oilman." Unfortunately for the outsider, people can be referred to by any part of this string (except, usually, the ism, since given names are too common to be of much use); if there is a conventional name by which the person is traditionally known, it is called the 'urf ('custom'). So our friend Yusuf might be generally known as Abu-Mahasin or al-Zayyat (the other laqabs being too common themselves to identify him). The great philosopher Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn Sina is known as ibn Sina (hence "Avicenna") or Abu Ali ibn Sina (in Persian he is Bu-Ali Sina). In Iraq the man will be known by his given name, his father's name, his grandfather's name, and his clan/tribe affiliation. For example Saddam (given) Hussein (father's given name) Al-Tikriti's (Al-Tikriti clan) son is called "Uday Saddam Hussein Al-Tikriti". Many terrorists will invent "Abu" names as pseudonyms to mask their true identity, for example "Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi" means "Father of Musab".) If you made it through this paragraph you can see how easy it is to confuse or mistake the identity of Arab and non-Arab Muslims.

Each immigrant's background should be screened as thoroughly as possible. The alien must be required to update his place of residence whenever he moves. This is done all over Europe, even for their citizens, so this idea is not without precedent. Remember, these people ARE NOT CITIZENS, and entrance into this nation is a privilege, NOT A RIGHT. When they become permanent CITIZENS, not just resident aliens, their personal file could be deleted from the database, and the requirement for registration is no longer necessary.

A standard national-identification card format should be established by the Federal government and enforced by the states. The invention of a national identity card that incorporates electronically coded data linked to a database and other safeguards would substantially mitigate the risk of forgery or falsification. This card may also be used to convey driving privileges if applicable, thus alleviating the need to carry multiple documents. Identification is already a normal part of everyone's life, so this shouldn't be thought of as something sinister. Every person living or permanently residing in the US should be required to have one of these cards on his/her person after the age of 18. The card should clearly state "CITIZEN" or "NON-CITIZEN" and be color-coded for easy identification by law enforcement personnel. Law enforcement should be able to access not only routine "wants and warrants" and driving eligibility, but also a NON-CITIZEN's immigration information on the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). These checks should be conducted when the law enforcement officer has reasonable doubt that the NON-CITIZEN has violated a law, during the conduct of an investigation, including routine traffic stops. If the NON-CITIZEN is found to be in violation of the law, he should be processed for immediate and irrevocable deportation.

3. Immigration Policy - Physical Security Measures at the Border and Ports of Entry.

In addition to the administrative measures described above, physical security measures at the borders and ports of entry should be increased. The borders with Mexico and Canada are inherently porous and susceptible to clandestine infiltration. In addition to the current physical security measures in place, the US should erect a continuous barrier on both our northern and southern borders in order to discourage illegal border crossing.

Technical surveillance measures should also be increased to aid in identification of intrusion across our borders. These measures will be extremely expensive and may never completely stop the determined infiltrator, but will increase the likelihood of his detection/capture, and possibly deter his attempt in the first place. Remember, the terrorist/smuggler is going to take the path of least resistance and try to minimize his risk of failure. Any measures that deter also protect. A terrorist looks for our complacency, therefore increasing our security measures forces him to look for new avenues of approach and reduces his chances at success.

Captured illegal border crossers should be photographed, fingerprinted, and added to the immigration database prior to being irrevocably deported. Biometrics data that is taken at the time of capture can be used to deny any subsequent attempts to enter under other circumstances, or under false identification.

4. Homeland Security - Identifying Terrorists

The Department of Homeland Security, specifically the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and state/local law enforcement agencies should ensure they have seamless access to the immigration database. All incidents pertaining to NON-CITIZENS should be entered into the database. If a NON-CITIZEN commits a violation of the law in a particular state, any law enforcement agent in another state should be able to easily access that information.

Again, biometrics data is vitally important. If the NON-CITIZEN commits a crime under a false name or provides false identification, it will make no difference because his fingerprints and photo will be on file. An electronic system is already in place that allows for fast access to fingerprint data stored in a central FBI fingerprint repository/database. Standard hardware/software to access the immigration database should be made available in all state and local law enforcement agencies in order to expedite identification of foreign criminals.

A cooperative system should be established at the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies allowing the police to establish "informant" networks for the purpose of identifying terrorist infrastructure and plans. Police utilize informants now with great success, and as a matter of normal practice, to identify various criminal enterprises. It is essential to codify techniques, tactics, and procedures to legally allow law enforcement to collect information on potential terrorist activities in the US without being unnecessarily challenged as a violation of civil rights. If a police agency investigates conspiracy to commit murder under current laws and regulations, it is assumed that they are acting in the best interest of public safety. The same mindset should be adopted when investigations are conducted vis-à-vis terrorism cases.

Additionally, Posse Comitatus should be reevaluated concerning the Department of Defense's participation in the investigation and direct participation in terrorist related cases on US soil. Considering that Islamic terrorism is an international enterprise, and that the DoD is often the primary collector of terrorist intelligence overseas, it stands to reason that DoD's organic counter-terrorist, law enforcement, and intelligence assets could be of great value in stopping terrorism in the US. Current law prohibiting DoD's participation in homeland law enforcement should be revised to allow participation in terrorism and espionage related cases.

These are just a few ideas to increase the overall security posture of the United States of America without significantly infringing on the rights of US Citizens. Some of my suggestions assume that NON-CITIZENS must voluntarily submit to certain requirements in order to obtain entry in to the US or NOT ENTER THE US.

The suggested requirements are not demeaning and do not take away the dignity of the prospective visitor to our nation, however they do significantly improve our nation's ability to identify, prosecute, and neutralize potential terrorists and criminals.

I believe the United States of America is one the greatest nations on this earth - founded on the principle of liberty and justice for all. But just as NON-CITIZENS don't have the liberty to vote in this country, they should also not have the liberty to do as they please without exception. We welcome the immigrant who wishes to make the USA a better place, and who wants to be a part of the American Dream. However, if they are coming to this country to hurt us or to commit crimes, then we should have a system in place to stop them.