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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Obama Could Send 1,500 National Guard Troops To Mexican Border If enacted, the plan would more than double the force at the border in an effort to staunch drug violence that has killed at least 11,000 in Mexico since 2006. By David Montero July 01, 2009 at 8:17 am EST With Mexico sliding deeper into violence, President Obama could be preparing to send 1,500 National Guard soldiers to shore up the border. Senior administration officials say the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security are hashing out the plan, according to the Associated Press. If enacted, it would more than double the current National Guard operation at the border, which consists of 575 Guard members. The program would ask for National Guard volunteers to go to the border, and would not last longer than a year. There is little doubt that Washington has to take a tough stance on Mexico. Since 2006, nearly 11,000 people have died in Mexico in drug-related violence, the latest 12 people killed in a shootout this week. The violence is creeping northward, prompting the governors of four states – Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico – to ask for help. But many are questioning the wisdom of the sending the National Guard, saying it risks further involving the military in domestic security, stretching the military too thin, and inflaming an already caustic national debate on immigration. Al Tompkins, a columnist at the Poynter Institute in Florida, writes on his blog Al's Morning Meeting: President Barack Obama has asked Congress for a quarter of a billion dollars to send troops to the border but also said he does not want to set a military zone between the US and Mexico, according to The Washington Post. And there is a question about who would control the forces – Homeland Security or the Defense Department. But there are other issues. If we need that much additional security on the borders, shouldn't border agencies be given the manpower they need without relying on the already overstretched military? The call for the National Guard has sparked a debate about the role of military in domestic security, reports The Washington Post. The debate goes to the heart of the military's role, which has expanded since the 2001 terrorist attacks, with an increasing commitment of troops and resources to homeland defense, particularly to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear attack or other domestic catastrophe. Deploying new troops to the border would represent a mission the military has not traditionally embraced. "What we're seeing here is a move toward reframing where defense begins and ends," said Bert B. Tussing, director of homeland defense and security issues at the US Army War College's Center for Strategic Leadership. "Traditionally the military looks outward, but looking outward has begun a lot closer to home, and it may involve looking just across the border." Alberto Vargas, a blogger in San Diego for Examiner.com, wonders how the National Guard proposal will affect discussions on immigration. Obviously, many in the border communities, including San Diego, will see this reported action as a hostile act. This has been one of the hotly debated issues in such regions. Some may interpret this as an attempt at slowing illegal immigration, again, a fiery issue, especially here in California. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Brian S (#0)
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I see this as an excuse to push the gun treaty through Congress. Clinton signed it and Obama wants the Senate to ratify it. It is a back door to outlawing guns.
Real countries, with real borders, don't deal with all this crap. If you try to enter them illegally, you have every good reason to know that your sorry ass may be shot on sight. That said, I'd like to see a mass media campaign, of sixty days or so, both here and in Mexico announcing our new illegal alien policy: If you are here illegally we will pay you one thousand dollars to leave immediately. And yes, this does include buckwheat. If you are found here after the sixty days or so, there will be a one thousand dollar bounty placed on your head, dead or alive. Our country is circling the toilet as it is, and we need to stop jerking around with these criminal illegal aliens.
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