Joel Mowbray has written several

Joel Mowbray has written several articles critical of the State Department’s issuance of visas to Saudis and others who turned out to be terrorists. Now National Review has obtained copies of the September 11 hijackers’ actual visa applications, and Mowbray, writing in National Review Online, has analyzed the applications and concluded that 15 of the 19 applications should have been denied. The article includes links to photos of six of the applications, so you can see for yourself how absurd it was to accept them. One application omits such basic information as age and gender. Most of the applications gave only the vaguest indication of where the applicant intended to live in the United States: “California,” “New York,” “Hotel.” One applicant identified his destination in the U.S. as “No.” He was issued a visa anyway. One applicant indicated he intended to stay in the U.S. for three years; this was a problem because the longest legal stay is two years. Not to worry: he returned a few days later with a new application that indicated an intent to stay for one year, and the visa was issued. Anyone who reviews these applications will conclude that the application process was strictly pro forma, and that anyone who asked for a visa got one. Clearly no one was thinking about security.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses