March 02, 2005

"Visas for Terror"

In a sign that new Secretary of State Condi Rice is not yet ready to close the open-door visa policy for Saudis, consular chief Maura Harty was recently asked to say on indefinitely...
A controversial nominee to the post two and a half years ago, Ms. Harty swayed a reluctant Senate to confirm her by pledging substantial reform at the agency responsible for improperly issuing legal visas to all of the 9/11 terrorists. She has not made good on her word...

Lawmakers were steamed about a program that Ms. Ryan continued operating in Saudi Arabia for 10 months after 9/11 called Visa Express, which allowed residents in the country that sent us 15 of 19 hijackers to apply for visas at private Saudi travel agents. On the eve of the first committee vote on taking the visa authority out of State entirely, Colin Powell sacked Ms. Ryan and Visa Express was shuttered.

But Gen. Powell proved he had no appetite for reform, as he appointed the protégé and clone of Ms. Ryan, Ms. Harty, as her replacement. Ms. Harty, like Ms. Ryan, was a career veteran of the Foreign Service, and was an enthusiastic supporter of the courtesy culture—putting customer service for foreign visa applicants ahead of border security—instituted by her predecessor.

Not only that, but Ms. Harty was a top deputy to Ms. Ryan when many of the 9/11 terrorists received their visas, and she was involved when the agency was developing Visa Express...

Posted to Immigration_terror at March 2, 2005 09:40 PM

Comments