Stand by for squalls

 

In nautical weather terminology, a "squall" is defined as "a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds ... Usually, this sudden violent wind is associated with briefly heavy precipitation ... A squall line is an organized line of thunderstorms".  It's generally considered hazardous, and has been known to damage or even sink ships.

I fear that, given the unknown number (but certainly in the thousands) of unvetted, un-background-checked Palestinians and others of Middle Eastern origin that the Biden administration has admitted to our country over the past three years, we may be in for squalls of terrorist origin within our borders.  Don't forget, Hamas and Hezbollah have been active in Mexico and other South American countries for years, and have established working relationships with Mexican cartels.  There's no reason in the world why they shouldn't have taken advantage of those facts to sneak their terrorists into the USA;  in fact, given their outlook on life, the universe and everything, they'd be criminally negligent in their own eyes if they haven't already done so.

Those crossings are given further weight by the US Border Patrol's own figures.

The Border Patrol apprehended 11 illegal border crossers who were on the [terrorist] watchlist during the four years of the previous administration. That number rose to 15 in fiscal 2021, which was the first fiscal year of the current administration. It reached 98 in 2022, and it has reached 80 already in the first months of fiscal 2023.

There's more at the link.

That report was published in April this year, by which time the Border Patrol had detected 193 potential terrorists among border crossers since the Biden administration took office (as compared to a mere 11 during the previous administration).  How many more since then?  And how many more did they fail to detect, who successfully entered the USA?  That number could be several times as large, for all we know.  500?  1,000?  It's anybody's guess.  My personal SWAG, informed by my own experience of terrorism (see the previous article), is that it could well be into four figures by now.

What this means is that there are almost certainly multiple terrorist cells already inside this country, and by now they'll be armed and equipped to do their job.  They didn't have to smuggle weapons or explosives into the USA;  there are enough already here, and sympathizers enough to buy them (legally or illegally) or steal them, and make them available to terrorists.  What's more, many of those sympathizers will by now have been trained by the terrorists to be as effective as they are.  We have, in so many words, what World War II propaganda termed a "Fifth Column" already inside the USA, ready, willing and able to commit terrorist acts against us and our country.

If things continue to go to hell in a handbasket in the Middle East, and the current conflict between Israel and Hamas widens, I fully expect that fifth column to go into action.  That means all of us need to exercise greater care and attention, be more aware of potential threats, and upgrade our and our families' personal security - facilities, equipment, habits and mindset - as far as possible.  I'm not saying we need to become paranoid;  but we certainly need to consider where we live, who lives among and around us, and what potential trouble spots might be seen by terrorists as "soft targets".  The latter is easily determined by looking at where they've struck in the past.  Nightclubs, shopping malls, street festivals, mass sports events - all are potential targets with relatively low security that's not hard for a trained person to bypass.  We go there at our own risk.

I strongly suggest we all plan and conduct ourselves accordingly.

Peter