Claims that 60 Afghan and Iraqi terrorists sneaked into the United States via Mexico to attack a U.S. Army base were investigated and dismissed by the FBI .

The allegations became quick fodder for talk shows, blogs after they were included in an article in The Washington Times. Before the threat was deemed as unwarranted by the FBI, it was first checked out by U.S. officials, The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday.

"Every report, every rumor has to be investigated. We have to err on the side of caution," Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Homeland Security office, told the Morning News. "We operate on the knowledge that groups like al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah have communities of support in Texas and the U.S."

But fewer than 1 percent of 24,000 non-Mexicans arrested by border police in the past year were from any of the 35 countries deemed "special interest" or likely to export terrorists. And importantly, McCraw told the Morning News, the vast majority of people from suspect countries aren't terrorists.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International




Publication date: 11 December 2007   

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