Gee, I feel so safe ……..don’t you? Isn’t it comforting to know what a wonderful job Homeland Security has done to keep us safe at home?

KEY WEST - The U.S. Coast Guard, one of the key lines of defense in the Florida Straits on homeland security, drug smuggling and migrant interdictions, took eight of its 10 Key West-based patrol cutters out of action indefinitely Thursday because of structural problems.

The decision, announced by the Coast Guard’s top commander, Adm. Thad Allen, who flew to Key West to tell crews personally, will create a hole in surveillance and law enforcement of the Florida Straits at a potentially critical time, with the failing health of Fidel Castro.

”I would say there is no good time for this,” said Commander Brendan C. McPherson, a spokesman for the admiral.

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