Senators Blast Canadian Border Security

'How to Man 4,000 Miles?'

Colburn said there are approximately 250 U.S. Border Patrol agents on duty at any given time out of a total of approximately 1,000 assigned to the Canadian border. There are 12,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Mexican border.

"How are 250 people going to man 4,000 miles? It sounds like you need more people," said Baucus.

"This demonstrates how our borders are so porous," said Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who said that a 24-1 ratio of agents patrolling the southern border versus the northern border represented "a disparity of focus."

Salazar questioned how Colburn could claim that the Mexican border was the most vulnerable area. Quoting a 2002 Canadian Security Intelligence Service report that said that, with the possible exception of the United States, which is the principal terrorist target, there are more international terrorist organizations active in Canada than anywhere else in the world.

Lawmakers also cited the case of Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian terrorist caught by a quick-thinking U.S. border guard crossing the border at Port Angeles, Wash., with approximately 100 pounds of explosives that were going to be used in a planned millennium terror attack at Los Angeles International Airport.

Senators pressed Colburn on exactly how many agents the U.S. Border Control needs to adequately protect the Canada-U.S. border.

'We Cannot Skimp on Resources'

"You've not been specific," Baucus told Colburn. "You've been avoiding questions. You've not been candid. Your testimony is not satisfactory. I don't get the sense that you really care."

Baucus told Colburn to "dedicate more time and resources to address this problem that's been so exposed today."

Other senators from border states expressed alarm, including Sen.Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

"This is deeply disturbing news. The fact is that the northern border is understaffed and undermanned," Snowe said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., demanded that Colburn tell lawmakers whether he had the necessary resources to patrol the borders effectively, saying no work the committee did could be more important than finding a solution to this issue.

"This is very troubling," Schumer said. "This report highlights a serious problem. ...We cannot skimp on resources. We cannot spend more than $200 billion on the war in Iraq and then skimp on resources here. You can't play offense and not play defense."