“The Obama administration remains fully committed to combating threats of terrorism in Afghanistan,” said Secretary Napolitano. “In coordination with U.S. and Afghan military forces, the dedicated civilian Department of Homeland Security personnel assisting the Afghan government with customs and border control have made significant progress in disrupting al Qaeda operations in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.” 

 

However, not everyone is oblivious to the comedy of Napolitano’s Afghan visit. For example, Fox News military analyst Colonel Bill Cowan said on Sunday, “[Secretary] Napolitano should first secure the U.S. borders before lecturing officials in other countries on how to protect their borders.” 

 

In her meetings with President Karzai, Secretary Napolitano reportedly discussed the Homeland Security Department’s ongoing efforts — coordinated with the Afghan government — to combat the illicit diversion and trafficking of precursor chemicals that terrorist and other criminal organizations use to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

 

Unfortunately, not one of the reporters traveling with Napolitano mentioned the details of reports that showed weapons of mass destruction being smuggled across U.S. borders during undercover operations by so-called Red Teams — special units set up to test security vulnerabilities.  

 

Napolitano discussed DHS’ deployments of border security and customs personnel to the region to assist Afghan border police and customs officials and help establish an Afghan customs academy. In the last twelve months, DHS efforts have expanded and now more than a dozen U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are providing training and guidance to the Afghan government and sharing best practices—including the six officials that arrived with Secretary Napolitano on New Year’s Eve.