Feds Focus on U.S.-Canada Border

D E T R O I T, May 10 -- The Canadian border is a bit like a neglected sibling whose misbehaving brother gets all the family's attention.

Before Sept. 11, the U.S. Border Patrol had more than 9,000 agents on the U.S.-Mexico line. Fewer than 400 patrolled the Canadian border, which at about 4,000 miles, is more than twice as long. But one of the enduring lessons from the terror attacks is that Osama bin Laden was targeting the American economy as much as the Pentagon and the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

For that reason, the federal agencies responsible for America's borders — the Customs Service, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard — have focused new attention and resources on safeguarding the long neglected northern border. Indeed, Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said, "Right after the attacks, the No. 1 priority of the U.S. Customs Service became the terrorist threat."

Nowhere is that more evident than at the Ambassador Bridge, a privately owned span that connects Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, home to the big three automakers. On average, 5,000 trucks a day, many of them loaded with auto parts, roll across the Ambassador Bridge, making it the busiest commercial border crossing in North America.The trade that crosses it exceeds all of America's commerce with China.

For that reason, federal agencies and trade experts fear the bridge is an inviting target for terrorism.

"If you want to take on the United States, you won't do it by going toe-to-toe with American forces," said Stephen Flynn, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The way you do it is try to weaken our soft underbelly, which is our dependency on being a globally engaged, commercial society, and that's what gives me great cause and concern."

The Lookout

The Customs Service and the Border Patrol have beefed up their operations here, adding more manpower and equipment. National Guardsmen remain on active duty, assisting with the added inspections of cars and trucks. Since it is physically impossible to inspect every vehicle without shutting down the interstate system, the Customs Service conducts inspections based on targeting "anomalies" among drivers, vehicles and cargo.