In an under-reported story that just caught our attention, three middle eastern men, reported to be in the US legally, were arrested in late March attempting to gain access to the Camp Pendleton military installation in Oceanside, California near San Diego:

One of the nation’s largest military bases is reportedly under tighter security after three Middle Eastern men tried to enter without proper authorization.

10News learned the three men — 40-year-old Afghani Ahmad Rahmani Naeem, 41-year-old Iranian Vahik Petrossian and 27-year-old Iranian Sengekdi Norvik Avanosian — attempted to get into Camp Pendleton last weekend under what was considered suspicious circumstances.

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According to a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert issued to high-ranking Camp Pendleton officials, someone reported hearing hateful comments and terrorist threats from three men at a gas station in Oceanside Saturday.

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According to the alert, shortly after midnight Sunday, a rented silver Toyota Corolla driven by Naeem attempted to enter Camp Pendleton through the main gate. As it was being searched, Petrossian and Avanosian drove up in a black Mercedes, but were told to wait. Instead, they continued past the gate and onto the base. Following a short pursuit, the Mercedes was stopped and searched.

No weapons or contraband were found in the Mercedes, but base security noticed the air bag in the steering wheel of the Mercedes had been pulled out and re-attached with duct tape and had wires hanging free, the alert said.

According to the alert, Naaem told base security he was lost and was trying to go to Glendale. When interviewed, Petrossian and Avanosian said they were lost and trying to go to Glendale. The three men claimed not to know each other, the alert said.

Naaem, Petrossian and Avanosian were photographed and released after questioning, and a warning about the trio was posted to law enforcement.

However, later that morning about 8:30 a.m., Naeem returned in the Toyota and tried to get on the base again, saying he made a mistake and was trying to enter Interstate 5, the alert said. After his vehicle was searched, Naeem was issued a letter of debarment from the base and escorted to the freeway.

Source: 10 News

Nothing suspicious here other than the fact that these men are from Iran and Afghanistan, they may have made threatening comments before entering the military base, they were asked to stop and continued on in what was dubbed a “pursuit,” and that one of the men returned and was supposedly lost a second time when he was again caught trying to enter the base.

In an unrelated, but possibly related story because it highlights the gaping holes in our southern border, thirteen illegal immigrants wearing military uniforms and traveling in a stolen vehicle with government plates were arrested in early March:

“This effort is an example of the lengths smugglers will go to avoid detection, and the skilled and effective police work and vigilance displayed every day by Customs and Border Protection personnel,” Department of Homeland Security officials said in a statement provided by Border Patrol Agent Jerry Conlin, spokesman for the San Diego sector.

When agents stopped the van near Pine Valley, none of the 15 people inside —- including 13 illegal immigrants dressed as U.S. Marines —- was able to give the date of the Marine Corps’ birthday. One agent, a former Marine, knew that tidbit gets drilled into recruits during basic training.

The March 14 encounter would end in the arrest of the occupants of the oversized van, bearing stolen and altered government-issued license plates, according to the criminal complaint.

Source: Fox

The immigrants were arrested in the San Diego sector, near Camp Pendleton, which is approximately 13 miles from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

San Diego seems to be a preferred entry point for illegal immigrants and a hang out for middle eastern men engaged in suspicious activity, as evidenced by the following:

January 2011:

U.S. border guards got a surprise when they searched a Mexican BMW and found a hardline Muslim cleric – banned from France and Canada – curled up in the boot.

Said Jaziri, who called for the death of a Danish cartoonist that drew pictures of the prophet Mohammed, was being smuggled into California when he was arrested, along with his driver Kenneth Robert Lawler.

The 43-year-old was deported from Canada to his homeland Tunisia in 2007 after it emerged he had lied on his refugee application about having served jail time in France.

His fire and brimstone sermons and rabble-rousing antics catapulted him into the public eye during his short tenure as imam at a Montreal mosque.

He branded homosexuality a disease and led protests over cartoonist Kurt Westergaard’s illustrations poked fun at Islam and were published in a Danish newspaper in 2006.

He also caused anger when he campaigned for a bigger mosque to accommodate Montreal’s burgeoning Muslim population.

But after his deportation he complained that he had been physically and mentally tortured during the 13-hour flight repatriating him to Tunisia, a claim Canadian authorities deny.

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According to the court documents, a Mexican guide led Jaziri and a Mexican immigrant over the border fence near Tecate.

They then trekked across the rugged terrain under cover of darkness to a spot popular for drivers who pick up immigrants for smuggling runs into San Diego.

Source: Desk of Brian

For every one we catch attempting to cross our border illegal, five to ten make it in undetected. Chances are, the southern border, as porous as it is, has already been used as an entry point for members of extremist cells of the Muslim persuasion (as well as other terrorist or military elements that would do us harm). They are likely here and pinpointing their targets or awaiting instructions. It is only a matter of time.

Our government, through inaction and bureaucracy, is facilitating a future attack on the people of this country by failing to take the steps necessary to seal our southern border. According to the President, who has made no mention of the Other Than Mexican threat, the solution is immigration reform. We’ll continue in this direction, which is essentially a non-direction, until such time that we’re forced by way of a dirty bomb or mass suicide bomb attacks to change our border control policies.

For now, the government will continue to focus on the most serious issues facing the security of the homeland: Patting down six year old American citizens traveling through our nation’s airports.