I highly recommend reading this interview with Steven Emerson in the Middle East Quarterly found at [url]http://www.meforum.org/meq/june97/emerson.shtml[/url].  What is mind-blowing is the fact it was written four years ago.

I believe Emerson's comments, once widely publicized, will fuel the debate about whether our Homeland Security Office will react with a secret police force dedicated to spying on Arabs or wholesale deportation of Arabs here on visas.

Hopefully Tom Ridge realizes the extent of infiltration of fundamental Moslems into all segments of American society and will use the legal equivalent of "Roundup herbicide" on the conspirators.  According to Emerson, the task is huge.  But Ridge needs to get moving because as Emerson explains, there is a slippery slope between fundamental Islam and terrorism.

Fairly frightening stuff but not a huge surprise. What's going to be extremely difficult will be balancing civil liberties as we know them with reducing the impending terrorist threat. You just know the antis are going to throw even more restrictive amendments into any sort of anti-terrorist bills that are proposed. [:(!]

Very good read.  We have to assume that they would not have attacked until they had all the assets in place to wage war.  

I know some of you will disagree, but I can't help thinking that this is a natural outgrowth of our lax immigration policies.  When will the government ever have the guts to close our borders?  Probably never, because we all are children of immigrants.  We all have sympathy for immigrants seeking the American dream.  But when does it become time to say "enough is enough?"

Wars are usually processes of escalation until one side senses victory or the other side loses the will to fight.  We can count on the terrorists to become emboldened with success and eager to build on past attacks.  I am guessing the American people need to experience a truly catastrophic loss dealt by chemical or biological weapons until they rise up and demand tighter control of who gets in and allowed to stay.  It's a shame that more Americans have to die until we awaken to the threat living amongst us and take appropriate action.

The gunners have to be very careful, because even thought the antis put up a facade about being united etc.  Gun control is an extremely high priority for them.  Even after the WTC disaster, and the Calif. capitol building being hit by a semi-truck that did millions of dollars of damage, and our utilities under the threat of going backrupt, the Calif. legislature still passed 2 (along strict party lines) a gun owners licensing bills and is now on Gov. Davis' desk. Even thought Al Gore lost the close election because of gun control, the democrats and antis are not about just roll-over.  They used Al, and now that he is gone, they we try to get another water bearer for their cause.  They will be trying to slip  something past us.

Here is the correct link:

[url]www.ccops.org[/url]