Chertoff: 'Clean-Skin' Terrorists The Big Threat
Michael Chertoff tells the London Telegraph that the US and the West has to do more to protect themselves from "clean-skin" terrorists -- those born in the West who become disaffected enough to align themselves with radical jihadists. He also insists that the US has "every right" to toughen its visa policies, a move that has been unpopular in Europe:
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Michael Chertoff, who arrives in Britain tomorrow for talks with John Reid, the Home Secretary, said the US was determined to build extra defences against so-called "clean skin" terrorists from Europe."We need to build layers of protection, and I don't think we totally want to rely upon the fact that a foreign government is going to know that one of their citizens is suspicious and is going to be coming here," he said.
Mr Chertoff insisted that the US required additional information, including email addresses and credit card details, to vet European passengers and rejected "the idea that we're going to bargain with the European Union over who's going to come into the United States" under the visa waiver scheme.
"We have an absolute right to get this, in the same way that if someone wants to be a guest in my house I have a right to ask them who they are and get identification."
The July 7 tube and bus bombs nearly two years ago had shown that Britain had a problem with its Muslim immigrant population that America did not share, he argued.
Well, to be fair, Britain didn't know it had a problem with its Muslim immigrant population until the July 7 bombing either. Canada didn't know about its native Muslim problem until the capture of the Toronto cell. Some in the national-security apparatuses of both countries probably tried to track it, but the nations by and large did not recognize the threat until it appeared.
The same could happen in the United States. Muslims in the US have integrated better into society than in Britain, which insisted on the kind of multiculturalism that tends to Balkanize nations. Economically and socially, Muslims have made themselves Americans, with a few exceptions. It doesn't take many of those, however, to generate the kind of disaffection and hatred that can result in a devastating terrorist attack. The 9/11 plot succeeded with only 19 primary actors.
Does the phrase "clean skin" seem a little un-PC? "Clean" infers an opposite of "dirty", an inference that's likely to raise a few eyebrows in the non-white populations of both Europe and the US. That's not Chertoff's intent; later in the interview, he defines "clean skin" as "a person whose documents are completely legitimate, are not forged," but surely one can come up with a better term -- especially when trying to make a point about how egalitarian we need to be in our suspicions.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on April 4, 2007 7:36 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (1)
Comments (9)
Posted by NoDonkey![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 8:12 AM
Joe Biden refers to them as "articulate" terrorists.
Posted by TomB![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 8:32 AM
Captain,
I would differ on the “Disaffected” argument. Many of those born here are really living in the Muslim Universe, with deep “US – THEM” attitudes. They know how to talk without an accent, but they think like Muslims, see us as infidels and don’t integrate (but use the resources, thank you very much). This attitude can be best described by short, descriptive principle following Islam for centuries (and sorry in advance for the offensive language) “We have right fuck your women, but you can’t fuck ours”. In some countries (Great Britain, Canada) this is augmented by misguided multiculturalism, keeping them in their ghettos and festering the problem further.
And yes, there are also those “disaffected”, building grudge, converts and enlightment seekers…
Posted by Lew![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 8:35 AM
"Clean Skinned"???
Is there something in the water out there? What part of Chertoff's brain hiccupped to produce that lovely little phrase? I can't imagine a dumber choice of words to express a perfectly legitimate notion, and thereby unfairly discredit the notion itself, than "Clean Skinned"!
Where do we keep finding these people?
Posted by Harrell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 9:51 AM
Sounds like a reasonable thing to do. I wonder when he's going to show the same concern for the thousands flooding into our country south of the border? Oh, never mind. I forgot. There couldn't possibly be any terrorists in that bunch... just hard-working undocumented migrant workers. Reports that many of them are heavily armed, and in some cases are dressed in Mexican army uniforms, and have had gun battles with U.S. Border "Control" officers is just the stuff of urban legends. Don't worry. Be happy.
Posted by The Fly-Man![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 9:56 AM
What about the idea that Al-Quaalude types going into a barrio neighborhood, say like in Dallas or San Antonio and laying low by living in your average illegal immigrant apartment complex where no one is esta. The sheer lack of vigilance should be such a premium motivator for "dirty" skinned, if you will to carry Sec. C's categorization further, terrorists to acclimate without any trouble at all. If I was a terrorist and "dirty" skinned that's where I'd be.
Posted by Thanos![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 10:15 AM
Clean papers, clean background indeed would have been a better term, but immigration officials and bureaus oft use the term skin when referencing a person's travel docs e.g. your passport is part of your "skin", your plane ticket's another. The LLL sites are going to go nuts over this. Look for them to call for his resignation.
Posted by Thanos![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 10:28 AM
Here's a case where the term was used in testimony before congress for instance:
http://kyl.senate.gov/legis_center/subdocs/09072006Rosenzweig.pdf
Posted by PersonFromPorlock![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 11:32 AM
The term "fifth columnist" was coined to describe exactly such hidden enemies. Of course, if we use it that way then it leaves us without a word to describe Congress and the MSM -- unless we borrow from Lenin.
Posted by ajacksonian![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 4, 2007 12:20 PM
And the worry of having Hezbollah in Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil working with FARC in Columbia is a very real one. What does the US do when radical Islam has a Latin American face to it?
I expect that Congress will send them money to help out.