Have you noticed it?  The slowly changing face of America?  It's subtle but it's there, and it has been evolving ever since September 11.

On October 8, 2001, the President of the United States created the Office of Homeland Security (OHS), which sounds, and now acts, much like the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) of World War II.  Both Offices were created in similar fashion and under nearly identical circumstances.  Recently, President Bush asked Congress, "...to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the American homeland and protecting the American people."

In each case, the organization, with its far-reaching powers, was pressed into existence through American tragedies.  The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that killed over 2,000 American sailors in 1941 led to the development of the OSS, and the OHS was a result of the al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center that killed over 2,000 American civilians in 2001, almost 60 years to the day later.

To quote from the Executive Order Establishing the Office of Homeland Security:

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

“Section 1.  Establishment.  I hereby establish within the Executive Office of the President an Office of Homeland Security (the "Office") to be headed by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

“Section 2.  Mission.  The mission of the Office shall be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks.  The Office shall perform the functions necessary to carry out this mission, including the functions specified in section 3 of this order.”

"For the first time, Americans will have under one roof the capacity for government to work together.  To identify and assess threats to our homeland, to match these threats to our vulnerabilities, and to ensure our safety and security,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft.

On the same day he announced the new Office, President Bush also appointed its first Director, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.  Some questioned whether or not Ridge would stay on as Director, suggesting that he may not be tough enough to handle the tasks of the new agency.  As one insider said, “He’s no Wild Bill Donovan of the OSS!”

 In consideration of the problems that the OSS had in working with the FBI during WWII,
it is not really surprising that that Bureau, as well as the CIA, is excluded from the new agency.  J. Edgar Hoover trusted no one, from the President on down, and certainly not the OSS, and he felt that he and his bureau were quite capable of protecting the United States on their own.

It was inevitable that the ridiculous suggestions and accusations would be heard around the world at the end of World War II.  After Roosevelt’s death, rumours started to spread that the President had received prior warning from double agent Dusko Popov that the Japanese were planning to attack Pearl Harbor.  The implication was that he deliberately chose to ignore this warning so that the American people would be so incensed as to be fully supportive of his declaration of war on Japan and Germany.   Of course, that is exactly what happened.  Did Roosevelt have prior knowledge?  We may never know for certain.

Recently, stories and rumours have abounded via the Internet that President Bush was in prior knowledge of the pending attack, similar to Roosevelt's alleged situation.  As an aside, I personally find this accusation to be absurd.

The creation of the OHS, with its far-reaching powers not shared by either the FBI or the CIA, is just the first sign of the building of  'Fortress America.'  Other contributing indicators include the announcement by the United States that the time limit on a 'temporary visa permit' has been decreased from 180 to thirty days, and that hundreds of foreign students have been unceremoniously sent packing as their visas have expired.

Within two years, the maximum stay on a temporary visa will be further reduced to fourteen days, also affecting Canada and its longstanding 'open borders' policy with the United States.  Tourism will still be encouraged, but with the same two-week maximum stay.

In continuation of the building of  'Fortress America,' countries will be ‘profile’ targeted for new immigrants.  Tax incentives will be offered to American citizens to encourage them to have more than the national average of 1.8 children per family.  Tax credits will be granted on the basis of the number of children, with the credit per child increasing proportionately with the number of children in the family.  The Parti Quebecois in Canada enacted a similar tax law some years ago in order to sustain the Quebec culture and language within the Province.  There, a tax credit is allowed for the first child, more for the second, and even more for the third, and so on.

 Appointing the Director of the OHS to a Cabinet position, bringing the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Customs Service and Coast Guard into the OHS with their nearly 170,000 employees and a budget of $37.4 billion would all further the building of the 'Fortress.'

Today, the United States is spending billions of dollars protecting her ‘Homeland’ and its thousands of landmark treasures such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Sears Tower.

All of these factors combine in the building of ‘Fortress America’.

Lynn Philip Hodgson