Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration, and Security Since 9/11
Author: Edward Alden
On September 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country in the world. But in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, the U.S. government began to close its borders in an effort to fight terrorism. The Bush administration's goal was to build new lines of defense against terrorists without stifling the flow of people and ideas from abroad that has helped build the world's most dynamic economy. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.
The Closing of the American Border is based on extensive interviews with the Bush administration officials charged with securing the border after 9/11, including former secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge and former secretary of state Colin Powell, and with many of the innocent people whose lives have been upended by the new border security and visa rules. A pediatric heart surgeon from Pakistan is stuck in Karachi for nearly a year, awaiting the security review that would allow him to return to the United States to take up a prestigious post at UCLA Medical Center. A brilliant Sudanese scientist, working tirelessly to cure one of the worst diseases of the developing world, loses years of valuable research when he is detained in Brazil after attending an academic conference on behalf of an American university.
Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to show how an administration that appeared united in the aftermath of the attacks was racked by internal disagreements over how to balance security and openness. The result is a striking and compelling assessment of the dangers faced by a nation that cuts itself off from the rest of the world, making it increasingly difficult for others to travel, live, and work here, and depriving itself of its most persuasive argument against its international critics—the example of what it has achieved at home.
Publishers Weekly
Former Washington bureau chief of the Financial Times, Alden provides a thoughtful and balanced assessment of border security and immigration policies before and after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, demonstrating how more stringent security can damage the U.S. economy by discouraging trade, tourism and an influx of bright minds and diligent workers. The author's vignettes make what could be a dry read engaging and urgent. Alden's policy prescriptions are book-ended with the story of Dr. Faiz Bhora, a leading heart surgeon from Pakistan who had trouble returning to the States to resume his work because of visa problems and was eventually caught in the post-9/11 Justice Department crackdown on visa applications by citizens of Muslim countries. Alden points out that the Department of Homeland Security concedes that most of its counterterrorism funds are being poured into securing and controlling the border with Mexico and makes a persuasive case that "immigration enforcement and counterterrorism are two different things, and for either to be effective they need to be separated." (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Kirkus Reviews
Sensible, carefully constructed roundup of recent border security measures by the U.S. government, analyzing their degrees of success and failure. Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, examines how America went from the most open country in the world to a nation hostile and unwelcoming to foreigners. After 9/11, the country moved into crisis mode. The president, who had advocated easing immigration restrictions between America and Mexico, panicked: What didn't the government know about who was in the country? John Ashcroft's Justice Department put in place a wave of initiatives. The Absconder Apprehension Initiative cracked down on people overstaying their visas. Operation Condor scrutinized visa applicants from Muslim countries. The Immigration and Naturalization Service, Customs and the Coast Guard merged under the Department of Homeland Security. The Hart-Rudman Commission, while toothless, underlined an essential paradox: The source of U.S. prosperity was also the source of its vulnerability. Chapters on "The Cops" and "The Technocrats" look in turn at those charged with detaining terrorism suspects ("once arrested," the author notes, "many of the detainees fell into a black hole") and those attempting to construct an information-driven "border of the future." An especially illuminating chapter on "The Scapegoat" shows the blunt assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, Mary Ryan, blaming the FBI and CIA for failing to share intelligence about the backgrounds of people applying for visas, including several 9/11 hijackers who entered the country legally. The author brings home the sobering consequences of closing America's borders. After 40 years of rapidgrowth, foreign-student enrollment in U.S. universities fell following 9/11 and did not pick up again until 2006; visa delays have made it harder to attract foreign investors; and the country faces a brain drain of foreign talent. While some of this material is painfully obvious, Alden's cogent analysis forces a closer look at these developments. A mild-mannered, useful study that informs without grinding an ax.
Books about: Cuidar em Mundo de Hoje:Tendências, Questões, e Gestão
Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement
Author: Nicole Hoplin
The Heroes Behind the Conservative Movement
We all know about Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, but who knows about Holmes Tuttle, Henry Regnery, and Antony Fisher? Yet it was devoted conservatives like Tuttle, Regnery, and dozens of others, who paved the way for leaders like Goldwater and Reagan by financing and helping to create a conservative movement of ideas and people. In Funding Fathers, authors Ron Robinson and Nicole Hoplin tell the untold, behind-the-scenes stories of the men and women who made the conservative movement the giant force it is today. In Funding Fathers, you'll learn:
* How a chicken egg smuggler created one of the most influential economic institutes in the world
* How three California businessmen propelled Ronald Reagan into America's political consciousness* How William F. Buckley Jr. turned a book deal and a $100,000 investment into one of the most influential publications of our time
* How "Spike" Hennessy helped resurrect Hillsdale College* Why Clarence Manion was the father of The Conscience of a Conservative
What People Are Saying
George Allen
"This unique, insightful book informs us of the many principled "guardian angels" who were the essential wind under the wings of the winning Conservative Movement. The dedication, the courage and character of these patriotic men and women tell the whole story of how many of our shared principles were advanced due to their undaunted, generous leadership. "The future of our Land of Opportunity for all will require similar creative teamwork and unflinching determination to stand strong for Freedom!"--(Virginia governor George Allen)
Jerold Panas
"Ron Robinson and Nicole Hoplin have written the first book of its kind. It is long overdue. It reveals inside information I've never read before of some of the major players of the Conservative Movement. I found the book packed with information-a lot of it never before disclosed. I was at once reminded of how a few individuals and families changed the course of history in this nation-much like our Founding Fathers at this country's birth."--(Jerold Panas, Jerold Panas, Linzy, & Partners, Consultants to Philanthropy)
III Edwin Meese
"This indispensable work is a must-read for donors to the Conservative Movement as well as those considering gifts to our cause. Funding Fathers tells the story of how the Conservative Movement really came to be, but more importantly, provides guidance on how to advance the next generation of conservative ideas, as the new Funding Fathers and Mothers."--(75th U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III)
Dr. Lee Edwards
"Here is the authoritative account of conservatism's Golden Donors-the men and women of means and vision whose remarkable largesse has made the Conservative Movement the most important political movement in America."--(Dr. Lee Edwards, Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought, The Heritage Foundation)
Dinesh D'Souza
"Funding Fathers reveals the remarkable tale of how a handful of contributions sparked the proliferation of conservative ideas. The success of the Conservative Movement makes this an indispensible guidebook for anyone who seeks to financially advance a cause, whether their gifts are large or small."--(Bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza)
"As a fundraiser I have observed that philanthropy usually results from vision and passion. These are wonderful stories about philanthropy in action. That is, people who believe in something and help make their vision become reality through a gift of time and resources."--(William T. Sturtevant, Senior vice president for principal gifts, University of Illinois Foundation)
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