Last week’s New Yorker said that retailers Wal-Mart and Kmart are unintentionally helping terrorists bypass port security:

Wal-Mart is by far the largest American importer… [and fears] the extra costs involved in strengthening port security. Wal-Mart, working through a Washington lobby that it dominates, has worked hard and successfully to defeat a series of post-9/11 legislative proposals to increase container and port security. [Link]

In one case, terrorists planned to smuggle explosives in a shipping container full of clothing from Pakistan:

… Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11th attacks, said that they wanted to invest in [the] Paracha’s family’s [NYC-Karachi clothing import] firm… his interest… stemmed from his interest in smuggling explosives into the country in shipping containers… one of the Parachas’ customers was Kmart… a “trusted shipper” whose containers normally pass through a green lane in which very few shipments are delayed for extra inspection. [Link]

Both the elder and younger Parachas were accused of aiding Al Qaeda. The father Shaifullah Paracha was lured to a business meeting in Bangkok and whisked away by U.S. forces to Guantánamo Bay. His son Uzair Paracha was arrested in NYC and convicted last November of providing material support to terrorists.

Prosecutors said [Uzair] Paracha posed as Majid Khan, a former Baltimore resident, to help Khan get immigration documents to sneak into the United States. According to government documents, Khan planned a series of bombings at gasoline stations. Paracha also agreed to manage $200,000 in al Qaeda funds… [Link]