Dianne Feinstein Warns Terrorist Sleeper Cells are in the U.S….

…While Supporting Policies that Shield Them

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee (and, until last week, the committee chair), said on Sunday that she believes there are terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. that could be activated at any time. Discussing the terror attacks in Paris last week, Feinstein said on CNN, “I think there are sleeper cells not only in France but certainly in other countries and, yes, in our own.” Her words echoed those of Britain’s MI5 intelligence director Andrew Parker who warned that, “A group of core al Qaeda terrorists in Syria is planning mass casualty attacks against the West.”

Feinstein further stated that the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows citizens of 38 nations to enter the U.S. without a visa, is the “Achilles’ heel” of America’s defense against Islamic terrorist groups. Although the Kouachi brothers were on the U.S. terrorist watch list, she warned that even that is no guarantee that those identified as security threats could not gain access to this country. “There are stolen travel documents in large numbers. They could pick up false passports…We have a big problem there,” said Feinstein.

No kidding. We have a big and very dangerous problem.

Based on her sobering assessment of the situation, one would expect that Feinstein would be leading the charge to minimize the clear and present threats she describes. As is often the case when one applies logic to what goes on in Washington, that expectation would be unfounded.

If the sleeper cells of which she warns are not comprised of U.S. citizens, and have not been previously identified as terrorists (which is a strong possibility since they are sleeper cells), Sen. Feinstein is all in favor of granting them amnesty. She was a vocal supporter of the Gang of Eight amnesty bill that passed the Senate in 2013, and, according to her own website, is fully on-board with the president’s executive amnesty plan.

While the VWP, in Feinstein’s own words, is America’s Achilles’ heel, she voted against an amendment to the Gang of Eight bill that would have required implementation of a long-delayed biometric entry/exit tracking system. It’s kind of hard to identify foreign nationals who might be part of terrorist sleeper cells if don’t know who’s here.

Then, of course, Feinstein represents California, a state that in recent years has decided it would rather turn potentially dangerous aliens loose than turn them over to ICE to be deported, and is now busy handing out driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Feinstein has not expressed a word of concern, much less disapproval, of California policies that could potentially let terrorists slip through the net or make it easier for them to plan and carry out attacks.

Former President George W. Bush was properly criticized for ignoring intelligence reports of an impending terrorist strike one month before 9/11. In 2015, President Obama is ignoring equally ominous warnings that an attack against the United States is imminent in order to pursue his own immigration agenda. What’s worse is that the leading member of the Senate sounding the warning, and countless numbers of her colleagues in Congress, seem more interested in helping the president achieve his political goals than they are in carrying out their own constitutional responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of the American people.