Posted on 01/28/2013 8:17:09 AM PST by 11th_VA
As the U.S. government continues to expand surveillance and monitoring systems to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars within the borders of the United States, a recent announcement regarding the country’s southern air defense systems is raising eyebrows.
Our southern border is, in part, protected by the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS), which utilizes moored balloons hovering at about 15,000 feet to identify low flying aircraft and missiles that may penetrate the border and cross into U.S. airspace.
The system is utilized by the U.S. Air Force, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for a number of missions including detection of drug smuggling and preservation of the air sovereignty of the continental United States.
According to Exelis Systems Corporation, the company that built and jointly maintains TARS with the U.S. Air Force, the government has ordered a complete shutdown of Aerostat flight operations:
The government also indicated its intent that aerostat flight operations will cease on March 15, 2013, and that the remainder of the fiscal year will be used to deflate aerostats, disposition equipment, and prepare sites for permanent closure. We are currently reviewing all the details of the RfP and evaluating the possible impacts on the program and our workforce. We continue to communicate with the government on this matter, and we will have more information in the coming days and weeks.
An Exelis employee close to the TARS project had this to say about the closure of the sites:
“Not only will this closure mean hundreds of people will be out of jobs, but it also means our borders will not be safe, especially along the remote U.S. Mexico Border like in Texas.
These defense radars detect low flying aircraft infiltrating our borders.
Without these defense radars, low flying aircraft will go undetected.
It will be open season for any drug/gun/slave smugglers, terrorists flying in with nukes, low altitude missiles, or even a full scale low elevation invasion/attack against America.”
With China actively and openly deploying Russian-made low altitude strategic bombers, designing EMP weapons capable of disabling the country’s power grid infrastructure, and establishing economic zones within the United States, it’s difficult to imagine the motivation behind the move to further weaken U.S. air defenses on the southern border.
If September 11, 2001 was any indication of our air defense capabilities, and considering that any ground invasion of the United States would originate on our southern border, then wouldn’t we want as many early warning systems as possible to be actively protecting our country in these specific areas?
The U.S. government has chosen to shutdown this outward facing surveillance system, and has instead turned the surveillance inward, on the American people.
“If you know a lib who voted for him, shake his head.”
I prefer to throw feces at him/her.
Impeach the Traitor for treason and throw away the key.
Looks like House Rs plan on letting the automatic cuts go through in-spite of all their whining about it last year.
In fact Ryan was asked about it yesterday on MTP I think :”Last year you said that ‘we’ (congress) wont let those cuts go through”
Ryan answer “That was only if we (Mitt and him) won the election” LOL
to undermine the pillars of the city,
he infects the body politic so that it can
no longer resist ...."
--- Cicero ---
Gee, is this part of the proposed “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” bill, agreed to by the “bipartisan” group of Senators?
Will McConnell ask Kerry about this?
I have other rhetorical questions that will never get meaningful answers, as well.
“What if anything will replace the balloons?”
That is my question as well. The article is written in the perspective of the company, the employees etc. effected by the shutdown, but is there something replacing their system that hopefully is more effective than old fashioned balloons? Being that it’s Bizarro Barry’s World I would doubt it, but I don’t know.
Just remember, if you get none of the Hispanic vote here in Texas, you will never be governor in the first place. Addressing these groups, even if you don’t agree with them, gets a lot of “fence sitter” votes. And a lot of Hispanics here in Texas are conservative. Certainly not the majority, but you won’t be Governor without them.
“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.” ~ Ronald Reagan, from his first inaugural speech as governor of California, January 5, 1967
Well...apparently his thinking is....if leaving Americans unprotected in Benghazi worked...then it will work here.
Via a fist to the jaw?
It's why Texas is turning into one giant illegal alien anchor baby delivery center.
Look at Parkland Hospital in Dallas..Just one hospital over 1000 illegal alien anchor babies are being dumped into the tax payers laps....Every single month.
Good luck with that!
I suspect the rest of the story involves this company failing to make their "payment" to the Obama campaign.
I just called Sen Johanns’ DC office. Said I had read that Obama is shutting down our southern air defenses and asked if they knew if something else was going to replace it, or if we’re being left wide open to an EMP attack. She said she didn’t know but would have somebody find out and get back to me.
I should have asked her if they’d call me back BEFORE the mushroom cloud hits.
What? you ask——hope and change of course. That balloon system is very low cost protection. Without it tho Clintoon will have a lot less trouble getting cheap dope into Arkansas. Should pretty much make it unnecessary for the Colombians to build all those expensive subs they’ve been using to sneak down the coastline. Obamuzzie is just not getting his share of the dope money, obviously, so he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do to re-fund the demorats.
If September 11, 2001 was any indication of our air defense capabilities, and considering that any ground invasion of the United States would originate on our southern border, then wouldn’t we want as many early warning systems as possible to be actively protecting our country in these specific areas?
Black Hawks are doing 'practice' over the skies of Miami too... I doubt it's training to fight a Chinese invasion. Obama's only 'enemies' appear to be Americans citizens... Could that be it? Is this what it looks like?
Could it be that simple?
I'll bet this same type of musing happened among Jews leading up to WorldWarII.
At what point do we know it's for real?
That is true, but the blame for that lies squarely at the feet of the federal government. Texas has a LOT of mixed families, too, and a lot of Hispanic families whose roots go all the way back to Texas independence days.One of the few responsibilities that the federal govt.has, and about the only one we need them for here in Texas is securing our border. And they aren’t doing it. In fact, they are doing just the opposite.
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