The fear that international terrorists will cross covertly into the U.S. from Mexico has received a lot of coverage in recent months.
That coverage, in part, prompted Brady McCombs and I to write an analysis of the danger that terrorists would cross into the country illegally from Mexico. Our conclusion was that terrorists could try, but they are much more likely to either be here already or to come into the country using visas.
This issue also arose in some people's minds when a group of Iraqi refugees was arrested recently on accusations they took part in an effort to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the United States. No terrorism was alleged as part of the case, but that didn't stop letter-writers and other speculators from thinking it must be the case, with Iraqis involved.
Today, I happened to come across the attached story from the Jan. 10, 1986 Arizona Daily Star. The headline: "State can't halt border smuggling, terrorism, congressional panel told."
Parts of the story read like they're from today's news. Local officials such as then-Cochise County Attorney Alan Polley, said federal officials must take the lead in preventing terrorists from crossing the border.
And federal agents — in this case, FBI official Floyd I. Clarke — also delivered a familiar dismissal: "The FBI does not perceive that a major problem of transnational terrorism exists along the U.S.-Mexican border."
Another familiar comment from Clarke: Links exist between terrorists and drug-smuggling organizations, particularly in South America. Apparently, this is the same link that some people point to as dangerous today -- the presence of Muslim extremists in the "Triple Frontier" area of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
It all reminds me of my colleague Neto Portillo's column from June 5. It often seems the more things change on the border, the more the issues stay the same.
