“Texas pleads for U.S. troops

Now, to hear Texas Gov. Rick Perry tell it, U.S. resources are being focused too much on Mexico and not enough on Americans on this side of the border.

Last month, Perry called on the Department of Homeland Security to send 1,000 troops to the U.S. side of the border. Complaining that the federal government had not done enough to protect Americans in the border region, Perry dismissed potential constitutional concerns about assigning active-duty U.S. personnel to military operations inside the United States, saying bluntly, ‘I really don’t care.’” 

And…

“I don’t care if they are military, National Guard or Customs agents,” Mr Perry said at a news conference at the border town of El Paso yesterday. “We’re very concerned that the federal Government is not funding border security adequately. We must be ready for any contingency.” 

    Thanks to Jeff for sending me this story.  I’m sorry, but when I hear the governor of a state screaming for troops, and we don’t answer the call, I have to say WTF? I mean the governor has the National Guard to draw from, but it sounds like Texas wants something more, in terms of money and commitment.   

    There is plenty of fire power to draw upon in the US, it’s just establishing the mechanism to get it done.  Law enforcement could deputize citizens and form a posse of volunteers.  The National Guard could send folks from some other state, if Texas can’t do it with their own NG.  The Border Patrol could up the recruitment tempo and infuse more folks into the program out there, and even draw upon ICE to throw more folks down there.  

    Or, the final solution is to contract it out.  Matter of fact, all of those groups I listed, could contract PSC’s to make this happen.  We did it during the Hurricane Katrina disasters, and private security companies like Blackwater, Steele Foundation, SOC or Armorgroup were able to respond very quickly and effectively. And to really emphasize this point of contractors on the border, we already use them for border duties in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I guess they are not good enough for the US border?  And during the Katrina disaster, PSC’s were deputized by the state of Louisiana.  It was an emergency, and establishing security in that disaster zone was the priority, no matter how they got it done.  I see no difference with the call for help in Texas, and in other border states.  

   Of course the Border Patrol and Local Law Enforcement should be the primary guardians of the border and those border cities and towns. But if they are overwhelmed and out gunned, and they lack the manpower or there is some legal stop sign about using US troops, then contract out the security.   

   Either way, I go back to leadership for this one.  There are plenty of ways to answer this call for security on the border, but it takes leadership and a plan to make it happen.  Texas and the border states are screaming for help, and we need to take care of our people. -Matt 

——————————————————————– 

 In Mexico’s drug wars, fears of a U.S. front

Violence that has killed thousands is beginning to cross border, officials say

By Alex Johnson

March. 9, 2009

With U.S. forces fighting two wars abroad, the nation’s top military officer made an important visit last week to forestall a third.

He went to Mexico.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the trip to confer with Mexican leaders about the Merida Initiative, a three-year plan signed into law last June to flood the U.S.-Mexican border region with $1.4 billion in U.S. assistance for law-enforcement training and equipment, as well as technical advice and training to bolster Mexico’s judicial system.

The assistance is intended to help Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa step up his war against drug cartels. The drug lords and their soldiers are blamed for having killed more than 6,300 people since January 2008, including more than 1,000 in the first two months of this year alone.

That’s about 100 people every week for the last 14 months. The cartels usually do not target civilians, but dozens, perhaps hundreds, have died in the crossfire.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: border, DHS, Mexico, security, Texas, war