PDA

View Full Version : Troops to the Mexican border: Obama to send 1,200


Jeanfromfillmore
05-25-2010, 03:15 PM
Troops to the Mexican border: Obama to send 1,200
WASHINGTON — Under pressure to take action, President Barack Obama is ordering 1,200 National Guard troops to boost security along the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said Tuesday, pre-empting Republican efforts to force a congressional vote to send the troops.
Obama will also request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities, according to lawmakers and administration officials.
The president's action comes as chances for comprehensive immigration reform, Obama's long-stated goal, look increasingly dim in this election year. Obama has been all but compelled to do something since Arizona's passage of a tough illegal-immigration law thrust the border problem into the public spotlight.
The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training, and support efforts to block drug trafficking. They will temporarily supplement Border Patrol agents until Customs and Border Protection can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border, an administration official said.
In 2006, President George W. Bush sent thousands of troops to the border to perform support duties that tie up immigration agents. But that program has since ended, and politicians in border states have called for troops to be sent to curb human and drug smuggling and to deal with Mexico's drug violence that has been spilling over into the United States.
The administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement, disclosed the new White House plans shortly after Obama met at the Capitol with Republican senators who pressed him on immigration issues including the question of sending troops to the border.
Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl have been urging such a move, and Republicans planned to try to require it as an amendment to a pending war spending bill.
In a speech Tuesday on the Senate floor, McCain said the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border has "greatly deteriorated." He called for 6,000 National Guard troops to be sent, and he asked for $250 million more to pay for them.
"I appreciate the additional 1,200 being sent ... as well as an additional $500 million, but it's simply not enough," McCain said.
Democrats were considering countering McCain's amendment with a proposal of their own after disclosure of the administration plans. The White House wasn't expected to formally send its spending request to Capitol Hill until after the Memorial Day recess, said Kenneth Baer, spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
A military official said Tuesday that details were still being worked out on the troops' orders and destinations, adding that the timing of their deployment was not yet clear. Also undetermined was which units from which states would deploy.
The Defense Department, which has been jousting with the Homeland Security Department for the better part of a year over the possible deployment, had previously expressed concerns that the troops not be used for law enforcement duties. Pentagon officials are worried about perceptions that the U.S. was militarizing the border.
The administration's plans appear to use Guard troops only in a supporting role, according to the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details were still being worked out. Some of the troops will be armed, but others will not.
Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said the situation on the ground now is different from when Bush deployed the Guard. Arrests have fallen in the Arizona sector and there've been record drug seizures.
She said the border is more violent and law enforcement is outgunned. She and other lawmakers want the troops to be armed — they were not in the previous deployment.
She said the U.S. needs to "spend what it takes" to secure its border with Mexico.
The Mexican Embassy said Tuesday it hoped the National Guard troops would be used to fight drug cartels and not enforce immigration laws. Mexico has traditionally objected to the use of military forces to control undocumented migration, saying such measures would criminalize migrants and open the way for potential abuse.
Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, told a group of Spanish-language reporters Tuesday that the National Guard troops would not deal directly with migrants.
More than 20,000 Border Patrol agents are deployed now, mostly along the nation's southern border.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/troops-to-the-mexican-border-obama-to-send-708225.html

Rim05
05-25-2010, 08:14 PM
1,200 National Guard? It should be 12,000 fully armed and instructed to SECURE the border. Is he joking? We do not need any support the border, we need to contain the border.

Jeanfromfillmore
05-25-2010, 08:34 PM
The Defense Department, which has been jousting with the Homeland Security Department for the better part of a year over the possible deployment, had previously expressed concerns that the troops not be used for law enforcement duties. Pentagon officials are worried about perceptions that the U.S. was militarizing the border.
The administration's plans appear to use Guard troops only in a supporting role, according to the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details were still being worked out. Some of the troops will be armed, but others will not.Quote

Do you remember the last time they did this? The drug cartels were chasing the Guard troopers because the cartels had guns and the troopers didn't.

The lives of our citizens are far less important to Obama, than the perception that we would actually secure our border and offend Mexico.

Commander Bunny
05-25-2010, 09:04 PM
1,200 Troops, eh?

That's odd because the Pentagon sent 17,500 Troops to States affected by the current oil spill.

Let's see, an attack on "Mother Gaia", or an attack on Our Nation...let's guess which is more important to the Whitehouse...

http://www.katc.com/news/17500-national-guard-troops-to-help-states-with-oil-spill/

Kathy63
05-26-2010, 05:09 AM
Not enough to really do anything. It's a breadcrumb to throw "See what I did". Not to mention that the national guard troops won't be allowed to really do anything.

The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training, and support efforts to block drug trafficking. They will temporarily supplement Border Patrol agents until Customs and Border Protection can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border, according to a letter Tuesday from top administration security officials to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich.

Do you think they will even be armed? I don't.


Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said the situation on the ground now is different from when Bush deployed the Guard. Arrests have fallen in the Arizona sector and there've been record drug seizures.

She said the border is more violent and law enforcement is outgunned. She and other lawmakers want the troops to be armed - they were not in the previous deployment.

The ONLY reason why the Evil One took this action at all was because Republicans said they were going to bring it to a congressional vote. That would have put everyone who voted against border security on record and not looking good this November.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100526/D9FUFH2O0.html

Patriotic Army Mom
05-26-2010, 06:07 AM
They probably won't even be able to shoot if they are attacked, and probably will have to ask the invaders if they are bad guys or good guys. What a joke!

Twoller
05-26-2010, 08:26 AM
The Defense Department, which has been jousting with the Homeland Security Department for the better part of a year over the possible deployment, had previously expressed concerns that the troops not be used for law enforcement duties. Pentagon officials are worried about perceptions that the U.S. was militarizing the border.

....

....

That is some real bad behavior from the Pentagon. First, the basic duty of any military is to be able defend borders. And also, the border is already militarized, but on the other side. The last I heard the Mexican military is running customs on the Mexican side. And given how corrupt the Mexican military is, it is not hard to imagine that this is bound to undermine US efforts to control its own borders.

...

The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training, and support efforts to block drug trafficking. They will temporarily supplement Border Patrol agents until Customs and Border Protection can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border, according to a letter Tuesday from top administration security officials to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich.

....

"The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training ..."

Right. And Spanish language skills will be mandatory. Anchor babies only apply.