One way to ward off the terrorist threat is by building "smarter borders." According to Commissioner Bonner a key feature of this effort is, "extending our zone of security, where we can do so, beyond our physical borders-so that American borders are the last line of defense, not the first line of defense." To this end, CBP has recreated an attache program that will coordinate operational enforcement efforts in key international posts.

Attaches will serve as the Commissioner's representative and as emissaries representing border security efforts abroad. Last October, the former Customs attaches, who will continue with their principally investigative function, were moved to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). CBP's new attachés will partner with their ICE counterparts to assure that the Department of Homeland Security's international functions operate at optimum levels.

Part of the initiative to provide "defense in depth" is the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a voluntary supply chain security program. Companies who have committed to the program agree to conduct a supply chain security self-assessment utilizing CBP criteria which includes procedural security, physical security, personnel security, education and training, access controls, manifest procedures, and conveyance security.

Another facet of our international presence is the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which employs teams of CBP officers, who in coordination with their host countries, target, pre-screen, and observe the lading of maritime containers to assure the integrity of the process. CSI is already operating in 17 international ports and 22 more have signed agreements and are in line to become operational. In addition, the Immigration Security Initiative (ISI) will use CBP officers overseas to identify people who are inadmissible and prevent them from coming to the United States. Working in concert, these programs screen cargo, conveyances, and people who seek entry into our ports before they leave the foreign locale.

Attaches are an arm of CBP abroad and their mission is to keep terrorists and their weapons from our shores. They will serve as a liaison with the host country's government, providing technical assistance, fostering secure trade practices, and strengthening border authority principles by country, region, and where feasible, multilaterally. Integrating all of CBP's foreign efforts means that legitimate trade and passengers will pass seamlessly through electronic information portals that serve as extensions of our borders. On the other hand, tainted or unsafe shipments, terrorists, inadmissible aliens, human traffickers, and smugglers will be stopped before they can even get on the road.

Be a part of the global mandate Are you a CBP employee interested in other cultures? Do you speak or are you willing to learn another language? Can you cope with being in a cultural environment that is different from yours? If you answered "yes" to these questions then you may be suited for a CBP attache position. There will be a total of 15 attaches, the first is already working in Brussels, Belgium and attachés will be established in Ottawa, Canada and in Mexico City, Mexico by early summer. Attaches, while representing CBP, will report directly to the Department of State, Chiefs of Mission in their assigned country. Roger Urbanski, Executive Director of Foreign Operations, will be in charge of developing and managing the program. Urbanski says that a good candidate for a five-year assignment as an attache will have a combination of enforcement and trade experience and an aptitude for working in a global environment. But the most important attributes are being a good listener and tolerance.