Will we give them work permits?

Bill Gertz, in my opinion the best investigative journalist around when it comes to national security issues, has this frightening report in the Washington Times:

U.S. security officials are investigating a recent intelligence report that a group of 25 Chechen terrorists illegally entered the United States from Mexico in July. The Chechen group is suspected of having links to Islamist terrorists seeking to separate the southern enclave of Chechnya from Russia, according to officials familiar with intelligence reports.

Members of the group, said to be wearing backpacks, secretly traveled to northern Mexico and crossed into a mountainous part of Arizona that is difficult for U.S. border security agents to monitor, said officials speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Gertz is not known for being an alarmist, so the fact that he felt comfortable running this story tells me that it should be taken seriously. Kerry could hammer Bush with this story in tonight's debate, as Bush's border policy has been tepid in my opinion. In the meantime, think back to the days and weeks after 9/11, when we all had just a little bit more caution and awareness of what was going on around us. It would behoove all of us to continue to maintain that sense of vigilance. The bad guys are still out there, and they still want to kill us.

"He is most free from danger, who, even when safe, is on his guard."
--Publilius Syrus