The rest of the story is the stuff of summer blockbuster movies - - but, in this case, it was frighteningly close to being real. The media was soon filled with accounts of Ahmed Ressam's alleged ties to terrorist Osama Bin Laden. (Remember, when Customs inspectors stopped him, Ressam [aka Noris] was carrying highly volatile bomb components.) We now know, too, that Ressam is connected to other known international terrorists and apparently was planning to blow up major American targets. Some news accounts even used the word "cell," as in terrorist cell, to describe Ressam's web of associates - - all stopped because of his arrest.

After Port Angeles: More Partnerships for Protection

Immediately after the December 14 incident in Port Angeles, the Customs' Service Intelligence Division and Strategic Investigations Group mobilized to further protect the American people from new threats of terrorism. Their mission: to partner and work around the clock with other agencies in the national intelligence community, as well as with state and local law enforcement authorities, to coordinate counter-terrorism intelligence information, and get it to the proper action officers.