ABC reveals Customs' failure

ABC News recently put out a very shocking investigative report.\nIn order to test the security of the nation's borders, some ABC News correspondents took 15 pounds of depleted uranium and smuggled it through seven different countries before finally arriving unchecked in New York City.\nThe depleted uranium, which in the form used by ABC News is legal to transport and non-fissile, was obtained from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The smuggling project was overseen by nuclear specialists from the Defense Council, Stanford University, Harvard University and the University of Salzburg in Austria.\nStarting on July 4 (Quite ironic, don't you think?), the suitcase that terrorist's dreams are made of began its journey in Austria, then traveled by train to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, a known haven for black market atomic trading. Throughout the entirety of this train ride, the suitcase was not checked. \nIn Turkey, the suitcase was placed in a trunk, the trunk into a crate, and the crate into a shipping container along with ornamental vases and horse carts. The shipping crate was then placed onto a freighter bound for New York. The U.S. Customs Service had installed new X-ray machines and radiation detectors, so surely this would be the last stop before the uranium was finally found.\nAccording to the ABC News report, this was not the case. Apparently, a first-grader with a Where's Waldo book would have more luck finding their target. \nIf you aren't worried, you should be. The only thing that saved New York from becoming a real life "Sum of All Fears" scenario was that ABC was trying to prove a point. Customs needs to get its act together, and quickly. The reporters from ABC are probably not the first, nor will they be the last, to do this kind of smuggling. The radioactive material ABC had was not weapons grade, but could be made into such. \nSomewhere, in a palace with armed guards and nerve gas canisters, Saddam Hussein is smiling.\nSomewhere, in a cave with assault rifles and anti-infidel chants, Osama Bin Laden is laughing gleefully.\nGeorge W. Bush's new baby, the Department of Homeland Security, is supposed to streamline non-functioning departments like Customs and create a new, efficient entity to protect the American people. However, swallowing up smaller departments to make a big new organization has never worked too well. Look at the 29 or so companies that formed WorldCom (the company the Department of Defense contracted their information technology services from).\nWe hope the government can stop playing politics and protect this nation from very real threats. This international terrorism game is a game we cannot afford to lose. We can accept not being able to find Jimmy Hoffa. We can accept not being able to find one of the FBI's 10 most wanted. But to not find a nuclear payload is atrocious and a grievous blow to national security.\nYou can't play hide and go seek with a bomb. The bomb will always win.