Border Collies
Borderline …
feels like I'm goin' to lose my mind
You just keep on pushin' my love
over the borderline
--Borderline, Madonna
500 miles, 500 miles
500 miles, 500 miles
Lord I'm 500 miles
From my home
--500 Miles, Peter, Paul & Mary
________________
Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have ridden the Reserve Forces (including the National Guard) hard, treating these part-time soldiers like they are part of the active force structure.
Not only do the reserve forces fight wars that the active military can't handle, but now they are being sent down to the Mexican-American border. This is not exactly the situation which faced Black Jack Pershing in 1916-17. Back then, the Army was sent to conduct actual combat operations against Mexican border-raiding bandits and revolutionaries. Sending in today's N.G. is not equivalent.
What happened to the Federal legal concept of Posse Comitatus? The U.S. military is not allowed to enforce civilian law unless authorized by the President or Congress. The exception is obviously being authorized, but why wasn't it publicly discussed prior to sending in the troops?
The active military and the reserve forces are not designed, equipped or trained to be border police. Our military personnel are not authorized to arrest or detain anyone outside the force structure. The military is not a police, and waving a magic wand over these forces will not alter the fact.
It is a dangerous precedent to use the military as an enforcement agency. When will this militarization of our society end? When a supposed liberal president leans toward domestic military control of our borders, it is time to wonder where this is going and where it will end.
If the U.S. lacks the resources to control its borders, it is a fault of leadership; sticking the N.G.'s finger into the dike will not resolve the problem. We are creeping towards a future that is diametrically in opposition to the values that were historically viewed as liberal and democratic.
There are operational questions, too. Do the military commo systems interface with the Border Patrol systems? Does the Border Patrol have command and control capabilities to even coordinate the N.G. activities?
Whatever happened to the laws that mandate the use of the N.G./Reserve forces for use in National or State emergencies?
There is no state of emergency authorizing this call to activate the N.G. The Reserve force structure is not a plaything to be used at the political whimsy of the president.
Labels: national guard. border patrol
posted by rangeragainstwar at 4:52 PM
9 Comments:
You covered this very well. These points and questions have been tumbling around in my head but no-one (tv news) is talking about this as far as I know.
Jay in N.C.
"Liberal" president?
Oh surely you jest.
bb
Yes and not word from any one about the abuse of this but then speaking out has be a crime for some time now here in Amerika.
jo6pac
The answer to Ranger's question about US forces enforcing the law is that supposedly the NG will act solely as support troops and won't arrest anybody or be in the line of fire.
I seem to recall that Vietnam started in a similar fashion with the US troops advising the South Vietnamese. We all recall how that one turned out.
Surprised he didn't send Blackwater(or whatever they're calling themselves now) down there. That's probably next. Off topic a bit but if you want a good read, I recommend Blackwater, The Rise of the Worlds Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill. Scary, all the things happening to our military structure since Rummy designed his mean lean fighting machine. National Guard fighting in foreign wars, mercenary armies, and now NG on the borders. And it all goes unnoticed by the general public.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security, will deserve neither and lose both."
-Benjamin Franklin (attributed)
tw:
I recommend Blackwater, The Rise of the Worlds Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill.
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnVbulr2Pvw
bb
To all,
I have a ANG memberr , and friend that just returned from his 3rd deployment since 9-11.
He said that Bagram AF is 80% reserve forces.
I cannot prove or disprove this sentence, but i trust what he says.
BB,
I said supposed as a qualifier.
Jay,
I used to be in large MOB exercises and did a little MOB planning, and everything we used in the 80's seems to be OBE, even tho the laws are the same to the best of my knowledge.
The stuff we did presupposed a transition to war, and now it's all phony reasons. IE what's the emergency on the border? It's the same as it's been for the last 20 years or so.
Pluto,
Has anyone exactly defined what these support activities will look like??
Yah, i got it - thery're gonna do PREDATOR FLIGHTS.WOW MOM WOW.
This is just another boondoggle that you can add to all the NG's called up for the oil spill.
How many/ what % of the reserve forces are on AD right now? That figure is NEVER bandied about, for some obscure reason.
This is no slap at the NG, but what can they really achieve sitting down on the border?
jim
just what we need. more fucking guns on the border.
i spend a lot of time wishing the world wasn't sick and fucking insane.
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