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Pentagon considers sending troops to border
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| Fir3start3r |
Now things are starting to get interesting...
Good? Bad? What say you POTA? (Poo-taa? lol)
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Pentagon considers sending troops to border
Fri May 12, 2006 2:40 PM ET
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has begun drawing up plans to send troops and equipment to the U.S. border with Mexico, where hundreds of thousands of migrants enter the country illegally each year, a defense official said on Friday.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed border issues at the Pentagon with his Mexican counterpart, Defense Minister Gen. Gerardo Clemente Ricardo Vega. Mexico and the United States share a 2,000-mile border.
"The U.S. and Mexican governments continue to work together to control the border and collaborate on these important efforts," said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. J.D. Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.
"This cooperation includes limited U.S. assistance with training, equipping and funding Mexico security forces so that they can better meet our shared challenges in protecting the border," he said.
Immigration has emerged as one of the top political issues of 2006. President George W. Bush will address the nation on immigration reform on Monday as the Senate renews debate on a bill to tighten border security and give an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants a way to legalize their status.
A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the Defense Department is exploring options for possible use of troops or military assets to help with border security.
Citing what some members called "an invasion" of illegal immigrants across the southern U.S. border, the House of Representatives voted 252-171 on Thursday to permit the Pentagon to assign forces to help in border protections.
Gordon noted that while the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, under the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for securing the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada, the U.S. military performs a limited support role.
For example, military unmanned aerial vehicles have provided border surveillance.
He said any additional military role would be temporary until more civilian border agents could be recruited and trained.
Gordon noted that border security is a civilian law enforcement function. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, enacted during the post-Civil War reconstruction period, prohibits federal military personnel from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States.
However, National Guard troops come under the command of state governors, who can use them for purposes such as border security. The president also has the power to federalize these troops.
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| Arbiter |
| Distraction issue. |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Arbiter
Distraction issue. |
I'd hardly call very large political/voter issue a distraction?
Distracting from what? Iraq??
Unless you're somehow correlating goldfish memory with the U.S. general public, I can't see how they could forget Iraq... :conf: |
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| Spacey Orange |
| i totally agree. alex trebek and his kind are taking american jobs. |
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| Lepanto |
| I agree with this 100%. |
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| Arbiter |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
I'd hardly call very large political/voter issue a distraction? |
That's exactly why it's a good distraction. It's an emotionally charged issue which can be "debated" in terms of generalities ad nauseum without either side ever sitting down and hammering out a coherent philosophical position, and which can be conveniently shoved back under the rug after elections without any meaningful action being taken.
| quote: | Distracting from what? Iraq??
Unless you're somehow correlating goldfish memory with the U.S. general public, I can't see how they could forget Iraq... :conf: |
They needn't make anyone forget Iraq, they only need to distract some of the voters attention from it. They will use issues like immigration and probably a few more distractions to chip away at the influence of more immediately relevant issues in the minds of voters.
The idea is that, while some people will undoubtedly vote on the basis of their opinions about Iraq, others might be swayed by other issues of particular emotional significance to them which are conveniently getting a lot of press all of a sudden. |
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| josh4 |
Something like this I can't help but ask, why whats the point?
So the troops are sent to the border, then what? Is there something they're going to accomplish, like help finishing the wall? It seems like they're just being sent there to be sent. Then they can stand around with their thumbs up their ass when they're not shooting Mexicans. Its a gross waste of resources in a time when there aren't any resources left to waste. |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by josh4
Something like this I can't help but ask, why whats the point?
So the troops are sent to the border, then what? Is there something they're going to accomplish, like help finishing the wall? It seems like they're just being sent there to be sent. Then they can stand around with their thumbs up their ass when they're not shooting Mexicans. Its a gross waste of resources in a time when there aren't any resources left to waste. |
You guys have LOTS of resources... |
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| Lepanto |
| quote: | Originally posted by josh4
Something like this I can't help but ask, why whats the point?
So the troops are sent to the border, then what? Is there something they're going to accomplish, like help finishing the wall? It seems like they're just being sent there to be sent. Then they can stand around with their thumbs up their ass when they're not shooting Mexicans. Its a gross waste of resources in a time when there aren't any resources left to waste. |
what the is wrong with you? making sense out of things obviously isn't your strong suit.
let's see, we're trying to stop people from coming over...and then there are soldiers/troops there...gee i'm sure they're there to shoot mexicans too lol :rolleyes: |
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| josh4 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
You guys have LOTS of resources... |
yeah about $8 trillion |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by josh4
yeah about $8 trillion |
Should I ask WTF you're doing with your right-hand? :wtf: |
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| Spacey Orange |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lepanto
what the is wrong with you? making sense out of things obviously isn't your strong suit.
let's see, we're trying to stop people from coming over...and then there are soldiers/troops there...gee i'm sure they're there to shoot mexicans too lol :rolleyes: |
according to the national security advisor the guards will:
| quote: | "provide a bit of a stopgap as the Border Patrol build up their capacity to deal with this challenge.
"This is something that's actually already being done. It's not about militarization of the border," Hadley said on CNN's "Late Edition."
"It's about assisting the civilian Border Patrol in doing their job, providing intelligence, providing support, logistics support and training and these sorts of things," he said.
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what's no clear to me is what trhe specific effect the above tasks will have? will it free up man hours? |
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