Return to Article: GAO, panel find inadequate inspection of foreign cargo
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10527
These are pretty scary comments, coming from people in the know. What's even scarier is the lack of response from other readers, the general public, and our leaders in the Administration and Congress, who seem to be ignoring this issue, at least until the next big terrorist attack.
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10196
Too bad Congress and the GAO didn't read the Government Executive "Mailbag" feature on this topic. It seems that many of those who responded to this article have a lot of expertise in this area, and what they say has a great deal of value in this debate. The same goes for other articles and comments posted here as well. Unfortunately, the typical appointed government manager/bureaucrat puts in his or her "hardship" tour for a year or so before fleeing back to the big bucks private sector. They wouldn't even think of consulting with those who really know about these issues, namely, those who choose government service as a career, rather than coming in for a year or two and screwing things up!
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10146
Thanks, Special Agent, DHS ICE for your comments re my service. In reading the prior 'drivel' by someone who wished to give me a quarter, it's obvious that they're not a current or retired government worker. As I've stated in another posting, ad hominem attacks against a poster do not state a valid argument, but they do indicate the level of maturity displayed. Just for the record, I was merely describing my experience with this problem, not praising myself. This nasty, unknown poster doesn't choose to even describe his/her identity with a job description, what does that tell you? But we both know that the problem re cargo exists, and I personally commend you, your collegues, inspectors, and all other WORKING Federal LEOs stuck in an impossible situation. Best Regards!
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10102
The senior inspector (retired) should be commended for his service. His experience in this area is something that our current crop of "leaders" are sadly lacking. I find him more credible, because he has "been there and done that", than most of the talking heads and so-called "experts" working for think tanks in Washington.
In most societies, older members are revered. Only here are they reviled and made fun of, because what they say, while true, may not be popular. Instead of attacking someone for offering their opinion, why not consider the substance of what they have to offer on the topic? You may learn something. One day, you will be in the same boat, watching a bunch of hotshots reinvent the wheel, instead of listening to someone with time on the job, who knows what needs to be done.
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10095
Re: US Customs Senior Inspector (Retired)
Boy, I hope I have enough of a life when I retire that I don't have to sit around and read internet news articles and comment on them.
This person is obviously impressed enough with his career and training that he feels the need to recount it here.
Well if you miss it so bad, you should not have retired, but you obviously did, and you know what? No one cares about what you think. You are not in the trenches anymore, so go fishing.
Your opinions, musings, and recollections are nothing but self-serving drivel that you should be telling the grandkids.
Here's a quarter!
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10030
Thank goodness for retirement! I spent about six years of my customs career in cargo inspection at JFK airport, and also taught OET training in (5)countries. Suffice it to say, we are still in dangerous waters! Why, because our cargo inspection system was/is/and will be unduly influenced by commercial forces...Of course, most cargo must be cleared rapidly, of course, most cargo is innocent. But, the vanished title of INSPECTOR conveyed a certain level of excellence. I have a lot of respect for former Customs Special Agents because I worked with them constantly. Who do you interface with now for WMD, Intellectual Property Rights, etc. when cargo is suspect? Not the former INS, not PQ, not the Coast Guard. DHS is a joke, a vain attempt to unnaturally combine agencies with radically different jobs, all for the same salary!! Retirement is good, or, as I now say, 'come on in, the water's fine'. Let your kids find their own jobs, get ready for the best (30)years or so of your life!
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9984
Customs special agents with expertise in smuggling investigations were merged with INS agents to form ICE, which now predominantly investigates immigration violations. CBP officers no longer have to notify ICE agents before contacting the DEA, FBI, etc., because they are no longer in the same agency, so ICE is left out of the picture. ICE enters lookouts on smuggling suspects, but the Coast Guard boards the vessels before they arrive, and compromises the investigation, even though the information originated from ICE. What good are seizures without arrests? Why was the Coast Guard allowed to usurp the role of the Customs Service after 9/11, especially since the Coast Guard has no experience in cargo inspection, while Customs had done this since 1789?
A proud agency, the U.S. Customs Service, was sacrificed by a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 by amateurs who knew nothing about border law enforcement, and we are now paying the price. And forget voluntary compliance, it's a joke. Employees of overseas manufacturers can still put narcotics or WMDs in a container, to be offloaded by conspirators at destinations in the U.S., regardless of whatever "agreements" are signed by corporate bigwigs. It's very frustrating, and very frightening, to see what we have come to.
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9976
It would be helpful if there were investigators to help in this endeavor. Unfortunately all of the ICE Special Agents are either investigating illegal aliens or drug smuggling. The expertise that once existed with Customs Agents in Trade Enforcement is quickly disappearing. Most current ICE agents have no training and little experience in Trade Enforcement. The current ICE management team has no interest in enforcing trade laws, it's an INS first mentality.
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9973
I worked as a Customs Inspector in New York in the early 1980s, and remember how we used to examine EVERY cargo shipment that was imported into the U.S., to some degree. Inspectors were stationed at every pier, and opened every 20 and 40 foot shipping container. We would open one or more boxes of merchandise, to look for contraband or other violations of the more than 400 laws Customs enforced on behalf of over 40 agencies. Specialized teams targeted suspected shipments for more intensive inspections. Customs patrol officers would search crewmen, longshoremen, and others leaving the piers, and also had a renowned vessel search team. Beginning in the late 1980s, Washington bureaucrats did away with patrol officers, and pulled inspectors off the piers. The Automated Commercial System (or as we called it, the "Anyone Can Smuggle" system) released cargo electronically without physical inspection. Now smugglers don't even bother to hide their narcotics, because they know that the containers will probably never be opened for Customs inspection. Today, if Osama Bin Laden travels to the U.S. on a cargo ship, he could walk off unchallenged by any federal law enforcement officer. Way to go, folks!
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9972
CTPAT is a joke. Voluntary compliance is a joke. You can't regulate a group or process and also provide "customer service". Risk management cannot possibly address the vulnerabilities resident in the volume of goods imported into the United States. No one seems to want to admit this obvious fact.
U.S. importers and consumers are going to have to come to grips with the fact that in order to secure this country, money will have to be spent to hire personnel, examine many more, if not all, containers, and pay higher prices for imported goods.
Continuing to let the Wal-Marts, Targets, Dollar Generals, AAEIs, and others who want to make a buck off of cheap imports dictate security policy in this country is a disaster waiting to happen.
Before 9/11, the consensus was "It can't happpen here". Now, as we lull ourselves into yet another false sense of national security, the consensus seems to be "It can't happen here, again".
Let's hope it doesn't happen again in a forty foot cargo shipping container from a "low risk" shipper, manufacturer, or country to a "low risk" importer.
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