Monday, July 18, 2011

Paul Presses Homeland Security Officials

{Kentucky}...During a hearing Wednesday on how suspected terrorists Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, were arrested in Bowling Green in May, were able to slip through the nation's security net and live in the United States. U.S. Senator Rand Paul pressed Homeland Security officials on his concerns about how, despite fingerprints linking one of them to a roadside bomb, the two Iraqi nationals were able to live for several years in his hometown of Bowling Green. Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledged the Bowling Green case highlighted gaps in the screening process that have since been corrected. The Senate hearing also explored how fingerprint database gaffes and visa fraud have further complicated tracking terrorists who travel and live in the United States.