[Mr. Mojo]

Congress would have to give explicit approval for the mission.

Damn right. They could, they should, and if the (vast majority of) the American people have a say in the matter, they eventually will.

And, if you got your way...you would have succeeded in crippling thew ability of the US Army to project power overseas.

BS, Poob. I'm not advocating we use Army troops, just NG. .....In addition to significantly beefing up the Border Patrol.

There are many foreign countries and terrorist organizations who would be willing to pay a LOT of money to bring that about

You don't think Islamist terrorist orgs are actively trying (and often succeeding) to penetrate our own borders? Think again.

In 2003, the Border Patrol arrested 39,215 so-called "OTMs," or other-than-Mexicans, along the Southwest border. In 2004, the number jumped to 65,814. (4th paragraph)

Those figures worry intelligence and Homeland Security officials, who say al-Qaeda leaders want to smuggle operatives and weapons of mass destruction across the nation's porous land borders. James Loy, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress last week, "Several al-Qaeda leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons." (5th paragraph)

T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, says the Border Patrol has "reliable intelligence that there are terrorists living in South America, assimilating the culture and learning the language" in order to blend in with Mexicans crossing the border. (6th paragraph)

[Poohbah]

BS, Poob. I'm not advocating we use Army troops, just NG.

I see you are utterly unfamiliar with the "Total Force" concept. The Army relies on National Guard formations to perform its mission. Chain the National Guard to the US border, you might as well stick the rest of the US Army there, too, because you've just pulled most of their support.

As I noted, there are a lot of folks out there that want us to just fold up our tents, retreat inside our border, and leave them free to engage in all manner of acts contrary to US interests. And you're advocating their line.

Interesting.

Those figures worry intelligence and Homeland Security officials, who say al-Qaeda leaders want to smuggle operatives and weapons of mass destruction across the nation's porous land borders.

Congratulations: you have just stated that the border security mission must be performed with 100% effectiveness. Even one person getting into the United States illegally, by any route, just became unacceptable, because, according to your line of argument, one "leaker" can mean a city being destroyed. Please explain, in detail, how your proposal achieves that goal. If I can figure out a way to illegally enter the United States with a WMD with your proposal in place, you lose. You game?