http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37759.html
President Barack Obama is preparing to send as many as 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, amid growing concern about cross-border criminal activity and a simmering debate over illegal immigration.
Obama plans to submit a request to Congress for $500 million in supplemental funding to secure the border and enforce federal laws, according to an administration official.
The troops will “provide intelligence; surveillance and reconnaissance support; intelligence analysis; immediate support to counternarcotics enforcement; and training capacity until Customs and Border Patrol can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border,” the official said. The move comes in wake of Arizona’s passage of a harsh immigration law, which ignited a national conversation about illegal immigration.
Hmm... I look at this and think one thing. Isn't securing the border part and parcel of the mission of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? So why do they need an EXTRA $500 million to perform a part of their job that appears in their mission statement?
I know, in the big scheme of Congressional funding, that $500 million isn't all THAT much, but to the rest of us it's more money than we'll see in a lifetime. That makes it a lot.
This is, of course, face-saving time for PresBo. He is taking huge beatings in the polls, and is looking for any way to increase his popularity. Seeing the vast amount of support that Arizona got for their new law, he's no doubt seeking to cash in on all that good will.
Will it work? Only time will tell... but I doubt it. Let's see how things pan out, though.
What ISR means....is high cost surveillance vehicles flying 20,000 to 40,000 feet above the surface. Unmanned of course. So the vehicle takes off and this team (could just be five guys sitting in lawn chairs or easy chairs)...do the mission flight and start to view various imagery feeds.
ReplyDeleteLets just say that its awful clear...even from 20,000 feet. Here's the best part....the vehicle is effective day or night.
The way this would work...if the border patrol was smart...they stand off at a central point five miles away (day or night). The bird flies up and down a 20-mile path and you've got around four or five of these border patrol guys just sitting there.
Cam picks up body movement...the ISR crew calls up their border patrol guy and gives him the coordinates....he plugs into the GPS and gets to the point in fifteen minutes...with back-up vehicles to encircle the guys arriving. They arrest and deport.
The real cost here? You have to pay for the ISR vehicle, it's maintenance, its fuel, spare parts, food, water and hotels for the Guard guys. Thats where this adds up.
Impact? I think the Border patrol guys will be utterly shocked at their stats in six months after the Guard arrives. Vast areas are going to be shut down and no one will cross, period. It'll be noticed after six months....almost no one crossing the border.
The question left....do you remove the ISR guys in a year or two....when no one is being reported as crossing the border? I don't think you can. At that point....you need full-time ISR forever...just to make everyone worry about the issue.
Oh, and the last great thing for the Guard guys? Well...they don't even need to be along the border. They can actually sit back at Tucson and run all the ISR craft from there...and go enjoy the local accommodations.
Feeble effort.....too little and too late. see this 2 part investigative report.
ReplyDeleteThe link to Part 1:
http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438021/?taf=atl
The link to Part 2:
http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438712/?taf=atl
Well, how else can a President show he's serious about a problem other than by pouring case on it?
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, wonder how many new Border Patrol/ICE folks will get hired, how much for beans, bullets and gas for the NG and how much just disappears.