Homeland Security Presents: Grim Terrorism Outlook, 5-year Threat and Border (In)Security Obama Doesn't See How Border Security Is Important

President-Elect Obama once said border security has nothing to do with Homeland Security, Town Hall's Hugh Hewitt reported in 2007.

Harry Reid certainly didn’t want to have this measure voted on, because he didn’t want to look foolish and have the Republican parts of the immigration bill passed around him on an end run, so he asked the chair for a ruling that the Graham amendment be stricken because it wasn’t germane to the original bill.

That’s right, the Democratic leader of the Senate wanted a ruling that border security funding has nothing to do with homeland security funding. All eyes turned to the chair, currently occupied by Barack Obama. Here is what he had to say.

HR: We have to have a ruling here first.
BO: The chair is not aware of an arguably legislative provision in the House bill, HR 2638 [the homeland security funding bill], to which Amendment number 2412 offered by the Senator from South Carolina [the border security funding amendment] could conceivably be germane.
Judd Gregg: So the amendment is germane?
BO: No, that the chair does not believe that the defense of germaneness is appropriately placed at this time.

So there you have it. Senator Barack Obama, the man who is trying to win your vote to be the president of the United States, the commander-in-chief, the man whose primary mission is to protect and defend the country, can’t see how border security has anything to do with homeland security. Unbelievable, but true.

Now, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff warns that the terror threat to the USA remains a real, probable threat. Chertoff cites continuing border security challenges as a major factor.

From USA Today/Associated Press:

The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.

Terrorists will continue to try to evade U.S. border security measures and place operatives inside the mainland to carry out attacks, the 38-page assessment said. It also said that they may pose as refugees or asylum seekers or try to exploit foreign travel channels such as the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 34 countries to enter the U.S. without visas.

Long waits for immigration and more restrictive European refugee and asylum programs will cause more foreigners to try to enter the U.S. illegally. Increasing numbers of Iraqis are expected to migrate to the U.S. in the next five years; and refugees from Somalia and Sudan could increase because of conflicts in those countries, the assessment said.

Because there is a proposed cap of 12,000 refugees from Africa, officials expect more will try to enter the U.S. illegally as well. Officials predict the same scenario for refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Intelligence officials predict the pool of radical Islamists within the U.S. will increase over the next five years due partly to the ease of online recruiting means. Officials foresee "a wave of young, self identified Muslim 'terrorist wannabes' who aspire to carry out violent acts.

Equally alarming, is Obama's choice of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security.

Free Republic gives us the Governor's mixed record she often appears soft on immigration and border security.

Scary times are getting scarier with The Messiah-in-Chief looming on the horizon. Stay vigilant, America. We may need to rely on ourselves for protection.