Clueless in D.C. Ping!
Posted on 04/19/2006 2:28:03 PM PDT by robowombat
Chertoff plays down border incursion reports By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday played down reports outlining hundreds of border incursions by the Mexican military over the last 10 years. Chertoff, speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., acknowledged that the Border Patrol has long known of crossings by uniformed troops, which some agents in border states say shows a level of collusion between Mexican military officers and drug-smuggling cartels.
But he suggested that many of the incursions could have been innocent mistakes -- such as authorities in Mexico crossing into the United States in desert areas where the actual dividing line between the countries is unclear -- or criminals wearing camouflage outfits being confused with actual soldiers.
"I think the stories are overblown," Chertoff said. "I asked the chief of the Border Patrol about it. The number has not increased; in fact, it had decreased a little bit."
The Daily Bulletin first reported on Sunday that the Border Patrol has tracked 216 such incursions by Mexican military or police forces since 1996. The highest total was in 2002, when 40 such crossings were recorded; in 2005, the number was nine.
Chertoff largely confirmed those numbers, saying incursions had averaged "approximately 20 a year" over the last 10 years. He also said that reports of corruption among Mexican troops were true.
"We do have instances where we have Mexican police or military who have deserted and become involved with criminal activity," Chertoff said. "But we've also had bad cops in the United States, too. It happens."
He said the United States and Mexico have a collaborative relationship, and called the idea that incursions were a serious problem "scare tactics."
Rafael Laveaga, a spokesman for the Mexican consulate, has denied that any incursions by Mexican military have taken place.
T.J. Bonner, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, dismissed Chertoff's comments as uninformed.
"Were he to go out there on actual patrol with Border Patrol agents ... and experience what we experience -- where you encounter a group of highly trained, very well-armed Mexican soldiers coming across our border, and your closest backup is an hour or more away -- I think he would be a lot more concerned about it," he said.
Bonner rejected the idea that the incursions might be innocent mistakes, noting that the number of times the U.S. Border Patrol has accidentally crossed into Mexico is far lower.
He also blasted Chertoff for belittling the number of incidents.
"For him to say this is only a few hundred -- come on," Bonner said. "One is far too many."
I can imagine this conversation:
Chertoff: "Chief, the number of incursions by the Mexican military has gone down. RIGHT?"
I know the feeling!
The department needs to be retired. It is nothing but an expensive bureaucracy put in place to usurp authority from the American people. Look at its lineage. Before 9/11 ever happened the Rand Corporation and the CSIS came up with this cabinet level department. When 9/11 occurred all theny needed was the signature of the president to open shop. If that doesn't sound fishy to you, it sure seems odd to me.
The NGOs, Rand and CSIS, of course have been given the lions share of the money to set the department up. This constitutes a public/private partnership that is the antithesis of a free government. The DOH duplicates the role of other cabinet level departments, and the design is such that, if you have been watching, it starts to take over other government offices with elected officials running them to replace them with appointed bureaucrats. This separates them from oversight by the voters and creates an entrenched bureaucracy that empowers the NGOs it uses to fulfill its mission. Not a good thing for a free republic.
Cherty needs to take a hunting trip with the VP.
It's wabbit season...
From the get go, the title "Homeland Security" smacked of Germany in 1939 or the Soviet Union in 1960.
When I first heard the proposed title for the new department I simply shook my head and thought: Some one in DC has waaaay too much time on their hands!.
After the queerly titled Patriot Act was unveiled and the DHS reorganization was announced, my suspicions were confirmed.
So build a fence, you bozo. The Israelis don't have a problem knowing where their border is, now that the fence is there. Neither do the Indians. These US government apologists for Mexican criminals should be fired. They are obviously not prepared to keep the invaders out.
Yep Build it High and Wide!
Take the money we were sending the palestinians and put it to the fence, the money seized from groups that front for terrorist...to the wall.
Take every able bodied illegal male, you catch and make him build 100' of wall, 25' high, 30' wide...and then set his butt on the south side of it and say Adios!
Bump!
My vote for post of the day!
Michael Chertoff is an embarassment to this administration. My prayers are for his speedy replacement and soon.
You hit the nail right on the head.
"Be assured. America is safe, protected"
Chertoff is an embarrassment to the country and more specifically to the Bush administration. I believe his job is a another unneccessay level of bureauocracy that makes America less safe, but at least we could have someone more competent if the job is going to exist. This makes me long for the days of Tom Ridge.
One of Bush's biggest mistakes was giving into political pressure and creating this joke of a department. 9/11 happened because unneccessary bureauocracy got in the way of the CIA and FBI's ability to do their job thank to Clinton's justice department and 30 years of weakening our intelligence apparatus. Adding the DHS only exasperated the problem. Putting a federal judge at the head of this department was a decision worthy of the bad decision that originally led to its creation.
I wish Cherty was as competent as Browny. Browny was the definition of a scapegoat.
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