The Forgotten Tundra: America's Greatest Terrorist Threat

• Main Author: Mortenson,William V
• Other Authors: Air War College Air University Maxwell AFB United States
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: terrorists; terrorism; threats; Canada; national security; BORDER SECURITY; united states government; government (foreign); task forces; department of homeland security; United States border with Canada; border checkpoints; ibet (Border Enforcement Teams); Tundra
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD1018887; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD1018887

Over the past few years border security has been debated extensively by politicians and pundits alike, but the majority of this debate has centered on security challenges along the Southern border with Mexico. Some of these concerns are warranted when considering the level of violence that is being seen in Mexico, but much of that violence is in relation to criminal elements, and not terrorist organizations who seek to destroy America. In the post 9/11 world Americas greatest domestic threat to national security does not lay in the US border with Mexico, but instead its Northern border with Canada. This threat does not come from every day Canadians, but from terrorist organizations who have used Canada's progressive immigration policies to infiltrate North American soil. Their presence in Canada constitutes a serious threat US national security that must be dealt with appropriately. Both the United States and Canada have sought to improve security along the border in recent years through increases in resources and cooperation, but these efforts have done very little to mitigate the threat.Terrorist organizations, like Al Qaeda, have already expressed their desire to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and if they are successful they will likely be used against the West at some point in the future. For this very reason the United States must begin to take a more proactive stance to limit those security shortfalls that currently threaten national security. Americas failure to act today could result in unimaginable consequences for tomorrow.