Posted on 01/05/2007 6:12:23 PM PST by Flavius
olunteers with the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps are headed for the Arizona-Mexico border Friday to provide backup for National Guard troops in response to an incident near Sasabe in which the approach of armed men forced soldiers to retreat. About 11 p.m. Wednesday, soldiers with a National Guard Entry Identification Team - which provides additional eyes and ears for the U.S. Border Patrol and notifies them of suspicious activity - saw a group of armed individuals approaching them in the desert, said Mario Martinez, spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Border Patrol Office.
The individuals came within 100 yards of the National Guard post, so the troops moved to a safer location and notified Border Patrol agents, Martinez said. When agents responded minutes later, the armed individuals were gone but the agents tracked their footprints to the U.S.-Mexico border, Martinez said. The incident occurred in the west desert corridor between Nogales and Lukeville near Sasabe, which has been a busy area for marijuana seizures since last year. Still, the Border Patrol does not know who the individuals were; why they were armed; or why they were in the United States, Martinez said. There was no verbal or physical confrontation between them and the guard troops, he said. Chris Simcox, the founder and president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said the incident shows the federal government is ineffective when it comes to protecting the border. "The fact that National Guardsmen were forced to retreat from an armed incursion," Simcox said. "It's just absurd." The volunteer border watch organization wants to send the message that National Guard troops aren't making U.S. citizens any safer. "The National Guard needs to be unhandcuffed and they need to be able to deal with these aggressive international incidents," Simcox said. The troops need to be able to apprehend and detain illegal immigrants when they encounter them, he said. The volunteers will be armed so they can defend themselves and they won't retreat if confronted by dangerous border crossers, he said. Major Paul Aguirre, a spokesman for the Arizona National Guard, said troops are armed and will defend themselves if their lives are in danger, but their role is to provide support for the Border Patrol. Martinez said the National Guard has been effective in its role. The troops provide vehicle maintenance and carry out administrative duties that previously kept agents away from their work on the border. The troops also spot illegal immigrants that otherwise would go unnoticed, Martinez said. The Border Patrol appreciates citizen involvement, but "the border is a dangerous place," Martinez said. "And we have Border Patrol agents trained specifically for that mission." Robin Hoover, the founder of Humane Borders and pastor of First Christian Church, said sending armed U.S. citizens to the border is "idiotic." "It's insane for non-trained personnel to go to the border," he said. "You're just begging for an international incident to happen." He also called into question how effective the National Guard troops were in their mission because they were unable to identify the armed individuals. He pointed out that both U.S. and Mexican military personnel inadvertently cross the border without realizing it and that could have happened in this situation. Martinez said it's important for people not to overreact to the recent incident and that the National Guard troops did exactly what they were expected to do. "We need to make sure that people know what happened out there is serious," Martinez said. "But we don't exaggerate it." Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or dquinn@azstarnet.com. 6 Comments on this story
I swear I read that, but can't verify it now.
I don't think it was 70 miles. It was .76 miles. It should have been written 0.76 miles.
When the Abu Ghraib prison fiasco broke, the US military guarding various Iraqi prisons were issued rubber bullets instead of real bullets.
Can you imagine being sent to a war zone and being issued rubber bullets?
This Nation and its leadership on Capitol Hill and in the White House need to do some serious soul-searching, if this Nation is going to survive. Their PC mentality is going to be the death of this Nation.
| New amnesty push likely in 07 by Bush, Dems |
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| Posted by Mount Athos On 01/04/2007 7:32:40 AM CST · 14 replies · 209+ views Marietta Daily Journal ^ | Wednesday, January 3 | D.A. King Five years into the war on terror, most Americans desperately hoped 2006 would be "the year" for solutions to the long national nightmare of intentionally unsecured borders and the resulting illegal immigration crisis. For many, the dream was that at a minimum, we would begin to see border security and immigration law enforcement similar to what Mexicans still living in Mexico enjoy. It didn't happen. According to a report released in late 2006 by the House Committee of Homeland Security, up to 10 million people entered the United States illegally and un-inspected last year. Georgia watched as its population of... |
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I find it interesting that this did occur within 4 days of each other.
Haven't heard much happening before that, except that they put the kibosh on the MCDC Operation Christmas Stocking just weeks before. They couldn't even bring them care packages of hot chocolate, sun block, ect...all in the name of "security and safety."
And they had clearance and permission to go down there before they started collecting the items. Hmmmm....
I didn't say there is a "conspiracy." I asked a question. However, if it is found that the chopper was shot down, do you believe the public would be informed so?
In the 60s we used to call it the 'Goldwater option.' :o)
They're at the virtual fence, hence they can enjoy virtual hot chocolate, etc. YUM. I wonder what happened with Mexico's demand for a U.N. resolution condemning the U.S. building a REAL WALL on OUR side of the border? Did it fizzle along with Congressional funding?
Not that it would be the only way to keep aliens out... since far more reside here simply by overstaying visas.
How many rubber bullets would you have to be hit with before you retreated? ;o)
days days = days ago
(this really helps my credibility, I know...)
Most likely it was put aside, once they saw that there is not a chance in hell it will get funded with the damnocrats in charge.
You know, the 'toon felt it politically expedient to downplay years of attacks from Islamofascists (including one or more on our soil). This emboldened our enemies to mount the 9/11 scale attack.
Now we have multiple attacks on our southern border, and Dubya apparently feels it's politically expedient to downplay them. This is undoubtedly emboldening our enemies. Given what we know now, I almost cannot believe the same mistakes are being repeated.
A reminder to all that, armed or not, the equivalent in manpower of an entire army division is still invading our southern border every couple of days.
And they're staying.
Our southern border should be militarized.
We are undre attack by a foreign, third world nation in the very heartland of America and our guradins are collaborating with the attackers.
This is one of the primary reasons the Republicans lost Congress.
Sorry about that, I looked and missed your name.
Wow fishergirl, hope that comes out okay.
What were the circumstances with your son?
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