Posted on 06/21/2008 5:12:23 AM PDT by kellynla
McALLEN, Texas -- The thousands of National Guardsmen sent to reinforce the U.S.-Mexican border two years ago have almost completely withdrawn, despite pleas from border-state governors once skeptical of using soldiers to catch illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.
When the Guard was posted along the southern frontier in 2006 to help the strapped Border Patrol, critics warned that sending soldiers would be an insult to Mexico and that innocents could get shot by troops trained for combat, not law enforcement.
But none of that happened, and now those worries have given way to fears that a bloody drug-cartel war on the Mexican side will spill into the U.S. and overwhelm the Border Patrol.
The four border-state governors who contributed the bulk of the troops have tried in vain to persuade Congress and the White House to extend the Guard's presence, which will end as scheduled on July 15.
"Until Border Patrol has all its new boots on the ground, there's going to be a vulnerability," said Pahl Shipley, spokesman for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
The Border Patrol said the National Guard force, which reached a peak of 6,000 before diminishing last year, bought it enough time to hire and train more agents. The patrol expressed confidence that it can hold the line on its own.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
A man in one color uniform doesn’t offend Mexico. a man in another color uniform does. Yah, riiiight.
“The patrol expressed confidence that it can hold the line on its own.”
At least the ones interested in promotion towed the government line.
an insult to Mexico?
Mexico and its uneducated unwashed illegals can go to hell.
Why is there a drug war in Mexico?
Because there is a billion dollar payroll here spent on those fighting the war on drugs.
Let those who want to kill their own brain cells do so. Let taxpayers keep more of the money they earn, instead of having it confiscated and given to those waging the drug war.
Now the motivation for violence at the border is greatly reduced.
> When the Guard was posted along the southern frontier in 2006 to help the strapped Border Patrol, critics warned that sending soldiers would be an insult to Mexico and that innocents could get shot by troops trained for combat, not law enforcement.
I’m a foreigner, so this might sound dumb. Is “The Posse Comitatus Act 1878” the reason why the US Army isn’t securing your borders against Mexico? I would have thought preventing foreign invasion sat squarely within their ambit.
Why the National Guard? Aren’t they the equivalent of Territorial Forces, drawn from the citizenry as part-time soldiers?
And finally, as America has an armed populace, and as you have a Constitutional right to keep and bear arms for the purposes of maintaining a Militia, and as most of your jurisdictions have provisions for private individuals to perform Citizen’s Arrests, what stops your private citizenry from going out and rounding up the illegals?
Between Militant Muslims and the Mexican Invasion the United States certainly has its hands full.
God Bless America
*DieHard*
The exact same four states that fought Buhs in thier deployment.
And the three of the same states the Fed had to sue to get the fence built.
Just in time to help the democrats with more illegal voters.
To answer your question, I think some of the States involved have part or all of their National Guard deployed or at least that is what I was told. The National Guard in our area that we talked to were from Alabama not sure they all were, they rotated and we had some from Louisiana here too. Yes I think the states could use their own units and pay them- “IF” they are available. The National Guard is gone now in our area and immediatly BP started getting more illegals and drugs- it had been pretty quiet here but the smugglers know the NG is gone so they are back to business as usual.
I don’t see our governor using NG that he would have to pay- after all he is the one that declared the border area a disaster area- collected federal money and then would not give that money to local LEO to use to fight smuggling and border crime- he had better uses for the money I am sure.
The area I am in is considered the El Paso sector of the border, though I am in NM, so with the cartel shootings in Juarez you would have thought the NG would have stayed but no, D.C. still doesn’t get it on the border issues.
Isn't that what they are for, to protect the individual states?
“The four border-state governors who contributed the bulk of the troops have tried in vain to persuade Congress and the White House to extend the Guard’s presence, which will end as scheduled on July 15.”
Now who controls Congress? And why doesn’t Bush get tough with these folks?
Texas STATE Guard Bump!
http://www.txsg.state.tx.us/default.aspx
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
You are correct.
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