Troops arrive on our Southern border

[Stinky The Clown]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3931517.html
June 5, 2006, 7:06AM
First wave of National Guard troops arrive along border

Associated Press

SAN LUIS, Ariz. -- More than 50 National Guard troops have arrived in Arizona to begin their new mission along the Mexican border, the first troops to deploy under President Bush's plan to crack down on illegal immigration.

The roughly 55 Utah National Guard members were expected today to begin extending fences, improving roads and working on border lighting near this city, located 25 miles south of Yuma, home of the nation's busiest U.S. Border Patrol station.

They will perform duties that will free up immigration agents, allowing them to focus on enforcement along the border. The Guard members are not expected to perform significant law enforcement duties.

The troops arrived in Yuma on Saturday and were briefed Sunday on their mission, the duties of the U.S. Border Patrol and given tips on staying hydrated in the triple-digit heat of the Arizona desert.

Under Bush's plan, up to 6,000 National Guard members are to be sent to the four southern border states. Officials say 300 Guard soldiers from Arizona are expected to begin arriving at the state's border in mid-June.

This is unAmerican.

This is disgusting.

This is xenophobic.

This is hateful.

This is political.

This is dangerous. No good - none - can come of this.

[Chipper Chat]

1. I feel very sorry for those National Guardsmen.

Maybe drinking lots of McCain-supplied Bush-flavored Kool-Aid will ward off reality and help with dehydration.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. I have a lot of questions the newz article fails to address

Will these guys be armed?

What are their rules of engagement?

Are they authorized to either make arrests or apprehend and detain people?

Why do we need National Gurad to just build a fence and string lights? Can't Halliburton do that kinda work?

[Maine-ah]

29. I wish I could remember the interview on CNN

but, if I recall correctly, they were not supposed to be doing any actual law enforcement.

I'll have to go google or something. Maybe someone else saw the same interview.


on edit:

the answer I think is right in the op's article.

"They will perform duties that will free up immigration agents, allowing them to focus on enforcement along the border. The Guard members are not expected to perform significant law enforcement duties."

another:
The soldiers would be armed but would not arrest illegal immigrants or alleged drug traffickers. They duties include helping detect unusual movements on the border, Aguilar said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060602/pl_afp/mexicousimmigration_060602213938

[Totally Committed]

2. You've said it all....

I couldn't agree more.

To add anything would be gilding the lily.

TC

[HereSince1628]

3. Unfortunately, this IS very American as America currently is.

and yes it's Republican politics which by definition make it likely that it is also disgusting, xenophobic, hateful.

[jonnyblitz]

4. I agree.

another good post from you. :thumbsup:

[babylonsister]

6. More than 50? That'll work.

:eyes: I worry about these folks keeping hydrated; it's hotter than hell there.
At least they aren't being sent to Iraq.
I second the 'disgusting' and the rest of your litany.

[blondeatlast]

8. Phoenix will be toeing 110 degrees today. In summer, the Sonoran

desert is about 5 degrees hotter.

And the crossers brave it because their lives are so gawdawful miserable at home. Over 1000 die every year in the desert.

Fuck Vicente Fox and Fuquad the horse they rode in on--this is their problem, but our way of dealing with it is to blame the victims and make dimwitted, ill-advised political gestures and postures.

Fuck Vicente Fox and Fuquad, fuck them, fuck them!

[babylonsister]

10. I prefer to save my wrath for dimson, who

is putting a band-aid on to appease someone (?) while actually doing nothing but making more lives miserable. He does have a gift in that respect.

[blondeatlast]

12. I've got enough wrath for both of them. This problem has NOT gotten

any worse than it was 6 years ago. To his credit, Fox offered to have talks with Fuquad over it, but Fuquad sent a low-level State Dept. guy instead--to talks with a BORDER state leader. I call that a diss. :mad:

Still, Fox is benefitting from what's become our issue to deal with--his country gets rid of it's most desperate citizens, but the elite of Mexico--believe me, they are just as contemptibly greedheaded as ours--never suffer a bit.

I think they both owe it to us to cross the Sonoran desert on foot--or to be smuggled by coyotes.

May they both rot in hell--but not in my beautiful Sonoran desert. that's too good for them.

Edit: notice I edited the post anove; I did feel it lacked something!

[RebelOne]

7. OK, please explain to me how securing our borders

is unAmerican, disgusting, xenophobic, hateful, political and dangerous.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. This solves nothing, it is a display of hate, not security,

it is politically motivated, it puts everyone concerned in greater danger.

Tell me, specifically and precisely, how 55 Utah National Guardsmen are going make our border safer.

Don't give a rant in the larger debate. Tell me - specifically and precisely and exactly - how **this single action** is going to matter one fucking whit in 'securing our borders'?

[blondeatlast]

20. And the hatred Mexican citizens have borne of this non-issue is going

to be directed at our military forces there, not the scumwads who matter: Bush and Fox.

Same thing happened with the Minutemen--Bush and Fox conveniently faded to the background while the entire Mexican nation were led to believe that the Minutemen represented all Americans.

The press on that side of the border are just as corrupt as ours is.

[Popol Vuh]

27. Think about this

The police can't even keep narcotics out of prison. What makes you think that a few guardsmen are going to keep out anything from crossing our borders?

Its all just a horse and pony show to play to the hate based and/or fear gullible people. Its despicable, a waste of money and an insult to our intelligence.

[Virginia Dare]

9. Oh goody, more new toys for Chimpy's war games...

isn't that sweet?

:cry:

[blondeatlast]

13. This is political posturing at its worst.

The problem is no worse, nor any better, than it was 6 years ago.

I live in Phoenix--believe me, I know this issue well.

If Fuquad wants to do something, perhaps he could actually PERSDONALLY show up to a meeting with Vicente Fox--like he DIDN'T do several years ago. He didn't even send Kandi StickyRice--he sent a low-level state Dept. official to a BORDER state to deal with the problem.

This is hideous, it's a waste of military resources, and it's pure politics.

It does nothing to force Mexico to deal with what should be their problem--and do you think that equally loutish Mr. Fox cares to solve it on his end?

As I say above, may they both rot in hell for the misery they've caused millions--in fact, let's just lock them in a 5x8 room until they can work it out.

[ulysses]

14. ?

The Guard members are not expected to perform significant law enforcement duties.

Emphasis added. Wasn't the original idea that they weren't going to perform *any* law enforcement duties? Mission creep, anyone?

We've militarized the border.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Precisely. n/t

[blondeatlast]

16. Kicking for this point alone. Repeat often. nt

[ulysses]

17. next we'll hear that National Guard troops

have had to perform "limited" law enforcement duties. Bet on it.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. Why is this picture continuing to flash through my head?

[ulysses]

21. oh, c'mon.

They were only securing the campus against people who were out of place.

(Don't think I need the sarcasm tag...)

[blondeatlast]

24. With all due respect, have you ever seen photos of the dehydrated dead in

the Sonoran desert?

Those crossers abandoned by scared coyotes?

Every year, hundreds die in the desert. It's an ugly sight in a strangely beautiful part of the Land of the Free.

If this has to be any kind of damn issuem it's a human rights issue--and Fox is dropping the ball on it just as badly as we are.

[windbreeze]

19. Well, I see he took troops from

Utah...So I imagine those R.troops are going with smiles on their faces to do the royal stupe's bidding....sorry no offense meant...just couldn't resist...

Now my question is...how legal is this??? Isn't the National Guard a state's only individual protection from foreign and domestic enemies? Isn't the NG...a unit that is supposed to be used for that particular state's protection ONLY???? How can he take a non federal troop and place them under federal acquisition, and in a federally mandated position along another state's border, IN ANOTHER STATE'S TERRITORY, and ON THEIR SOIL???? WHERE is the Arizona NG???? WHY aren't they being positioned on their OWN border??? Doesn't the UTAH governor have to give permission for HIS NG to be used in that manner?? and wouldn't the Arizona gov., have to agree to allow those forces to be used on his soil??? The individual governors are the ones who have or are supposed to have the say over how their troops are used, and what for...So what goes on here??? Just curious.....that idiot's been trying to federalize the NG since he became the dictator...is this how he's going to do it??? by using the NG from states other than those border states, and getting away with it...by doing so, he takes the people's only actual protection away from them...this really bothers me...I think we need to see this for what it is...using the NG in a way that was NEVER intended...and militarizing our borders at the same time....not a good thing...
windbreeze

[Stinky The Clown]

23. I **think** this is being done legally

stupidly, but legally.

The NG troops are being assigned to the AZ NG. Legally, that can be done. And supposedly they're acting as state agents, not fed agents.

[windbreeze]

22. Troops from

Utah...So I imagine those R.troops are going with smiles on their faces to do the royal stupe's bidding....sorry no offense meant...just couldn't resist...

Now my question is...how legal is this??? Isn't the National Guard a state's only individual protection from foreign and domestic enemies? Isn't the NG...a unit that is supposed to be used for that particular state's protection ONLY???? How can he take a non federal troop and place them under federal acquisition, and in a federally mandated position along another state's border, IN ANOTHER STATE'S TERRITORY, and ON THEIR SOIL???? WHERE is the Arizona NG???? WHY aren't they being positioned on their OWN border??? Doesn't the UTAH governor have to give permission for HIS NG to be used in that manner?? and wouldn't the Arizona gov., have to agree to allow those forces to be used on his soil??? The individual governors are the ones who have or are supposed to have the say over how their troops are used, and what for...So what goes on here??? Just curious.....that idiot's been trying to federalize the NG since he became the dictator...is this how he's going to do it??? by using the NG from states other than those border states, and getting away with it...by doing so, he takes the people's only actual protection away from them...this really bothers me...I think we need to see this for what it is...using the NG in a way that was NEVER intended...and militarizing our borders at the same time....not a good thing...
windbreeze

[windbreeze]

32. Sorry for this repeat post...anyone know how to delete it??? n/t

[blondeatlast]

25. Goody. Let's use the National Guard to solve a human rights

issue.

Fuck Mr. Bush and Mr. Fox and the horse they both rode in on.

[IA_Seth]

26. And if you disagree, you aren't "supporting the troops"

Bringing in the military is just their way of politicizing yet another issue. Now they can bring in the troops to do a policing task (something they are NOT trained for) and when opposition is voiced they will pull the patriotic card and say they are against the troops.

How long before a soldier trained for combat enters into combat on our border?

[blondeatlast]

28. Excellent point.

This has become a human right issue. Vicente Fox has thrown up huis hands by now.

As horrible as the hundreds of deaths from dehydration every year are, they make little impact. But one border crosser gets killed and all hell will break loose on both sides of the border.

I live in Arizona, I've seen how easily people cross at the checkpoints (one nearly squeezing thrtu the iron revolving gate once).

This is a human rights issue, IMHO--but it's going to explode. And I'm scared, I really am.

[TheCowsCameHome]

30. I guess there's no threat from the northern border. Well, almost none.

[blondeatlast]

31. Nah, of course not. Those guys that blew up the WTC the first time

entered sout of Sierra Vista, Arizona, they did. Traversed the deadly Sonoran for 200 miles until they arrived in Phoenix and hitchhiked their way to the Big Apple.

Yeah, that's the ticket...

:sarcasm: for those who can't recognize it...