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Joel Mowbray has this revealing and eye-opening article in the Washington Times:
A controversial nominee to the post two-and-a-half years ago, [Saudi Arabia consular chief] Ms. Harty swayed a reluctant Senate to confirm her by pledging substantial reform at the agency responsible for improperly issuing legal visas to all of the September 11 terrorists. She has not made good on her word.
...Lawmakers were steamed about a program that [Harty’s predecessor] Ms. Ryan continued operating in Saudi Arabia for 10 months after September 11 called Visa Express, which allowed residents in the country that sent us 15 of 19 hijackers to apply for visas at private Saudi travel agents. On the eve of the first committee vote on taking the visa authority out of the State Department entirely, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell sacked Ms. Ryan and Visa Express was shuttered.
...Ms. Harty unintentionally indicated to Congress that she had no real intent to reform Consular Affairs when she conceded that she had never looked at the readily available visa applications of the September 11 terrorists. (Applications of four of the terrorists had been destroyed.)
Had she done so, she would have seen that at least 15 of the hijackers actually did not meet the legal qualifications for a visa, and in fact, the only reason they were invited into the United States is because they were Saudis. She would have discovered that Visa Express was merely a symptom of a dangerous policy welcoming all Saudi applicants, no matter how unqualified under the law.
But she didn’t care.
...Worst of all, though, is that Ms. Harty has not closed the open-door policy for Saudis seeking visas. She has, in fact, opened it wider. The refusal rates for Saudi nationals wishing to come here has dropped steadily during her tenure, falling below 10 percent in Riyadh last year.
...Saudis’ easy access to visas has not gone unnoticed by al Qaeda. September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed reportedly told interrogators that the reason 15 of the terrorists were Saudis was because they had the greatest ease getting visas.
With Maura Harty at the helm, that hasn’t changed. And as long as she sticks around, nationals of the country that sent us 15 of 19 September 11 terrorists will continue receiving the red-carpet treatment. If that isn’t grounds for firing, what is?
Joel further points out that Condi Rice just had the opportunity to replace Ms. Harty, and inexplicably passed it up.
Why is Maura Harty not taking better care of these vital national security matters?
