Safe, and bankrupt?

To the editor,

Thanks to Devin Schmit for the enlightening story about U.S. Border Patrol operations on the North Fork ("Quiet north border 'requires protection,'" Jan. 14).

Having been convinced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that all Americans, especially we North Forkers, are in abiding danger of being killed by Islamic terrorists, it's good to know that Border Patrol agents are selflessly risking their lives on our behalf — warily cruising the North Fork Road in swarms of Chevy Tahoes, and hiking, skiing, horseback riding, snowmobiling and river rafting out of their border-station-turned-spa at the Canadian frontier.

As Customs and Border Patrol Supervisor Richard Johnston is quoted as saying in Schmit's story, "It's a good way to patrol the border and a good way to get out and get some exercise and have a good time." (If I were cynical, I'd think that duty on the North Fork is a reward and repository for agents who have endured the vicissitudes of patrolling the Mexican border.)

And, thank God and the DHS, we're only going to get safer! According to Larry Wilson's Jan. 14 column, the Border Patrol had four agents on the North Fork before Sept. 11, 2001. But, Wilson continues, "What bothers people the most is the constantly increasing number of agents — reportedly between 24 and 35 as of today — and that more increases are scheduled."

It warms my heart to know that our president and Congress have seen fit to allocate $55 billion to the DHS for fiscal year 2010 — rather than squandering that money on frivolous things such as shoring up the nation's decaying infrastructure, or providing relief to Americans who have been ravaged by the banking fiasco and the subsequent recession.

Shortly before the November 2004 U.S. elections, Osama bin Laden released a videotape in which he boasted that his international terrorist organization al-Qaeda was pursuing a policy of "bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy," just as the Soviet Union was bled by Muslim fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

If I weren't aware of the good intentions of our president, Congress, the DHS and the Border Patrol in protecting us from the Islamic bogey man, I'd say that increasing the number of agents from four to 35 or more along the quietest section of international border in the country was helping al-Qaeda to succeed.

Richard E. Wackrow

Polebridge