30-06-2009, 02:20 PM
US-Border-Troops, AP; Guard to seek volunteers for border: (xxxx source Task Force 7N
June 30 09:
"... WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is developing plans
to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to step up the
military's counter-drug efforts along the Mexican border, senior
administration officials said Monday.
The plan is a stopgap measure being worked out between the
Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department, and comes
despite Pentagon concerns about committing more troops to the
border - a move some officials worry will be seen as militarizing
the region.
Senior administration officials said the Guard program will last
no longer than a year and would build on an existing counter-drug
operation. They said the program, which would largely be federally
funded, would draw on National Guard volunteers from the four
border states. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity
because the details have not been finalized.
Officials said the program would mainly seek out guard members
for surveillance, intelligence analysis and aviation support. Guard
units would also supply ground troops who could assist at border
crossings and with land and air transportation.
A senior White House official said Monday that President Barack
Obama is concerned about the situation at the border and wants to
work with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano on the question of additional resources.
The official said Obama appreciates the level of discussion
between the two agencies, and since the issue is still being
debated, he has not yet made any decisions. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss internal policy debate.
Earlier this spring Obama promised his Mexican counterpart,
Felipe Calderon, that the United States would help with the
escalating drug war, which has killed as many as 11,000 people
since December 2006.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Napolitano announced a 2009
counternarcotics strategy several weeks ago, saying the U.S. would
devote more resources to fighting the Mexican drug cartels,
including the cash and weapons that flow across the border from the
U.S. into Mexico.
But officials say Gates has expressed concern that tapping the
military for border control posts is a slippery slope and must not
be overused.
Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland
defense, said Monday that options for the new program have been
drafted, but the plan still must be reviewed and acted on by key
cabinet members as well as the president.
"We have been working very closely to build a set of options
that would have the Department of Defense in a very limited way,
for a limited period of time, serve in direct support for CBP,"
said Stockton, referring to Customs and Border Protection.
The administration does not want to announce or begin the effort
until after the Mexican elections this week, officials said.
Rand Beers, undersecretary for national protection at the
Homeland Security Department, declined to say how long the program
would last, only that it would not be lengthy.
Beers said the additional Guard members would stay as long as
needed for the border patrol agents to be trained and given "some
period of time" on the border to gain experience on the job.
The administration has proposed spending $250 million on the
program, but the precise cost will not be known until the details
are worked out, he said.
Officials came to the decision that it is simply not enough for
the United States to provide funding in support of the Mexican
government's counter-drug efforts, said Beers.
The Guard's volunteer mission, Beers and Stockton both stressed,
would not involve law enforcement activities.
The current National Guard counter-drug operation along the
border, which has been in effect for many years, involves about 575
Guard members, who applied for the job through their state program
coordinator.
The additional volunteers, officials said, would largely be
drawn from the more than 50,000 Army and Air National Guard members
in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. There are no plans to
seek Guard members from other states, although that has not been
ruled out.
There is already federal funding in place to hire more than
1,500 border patrol agents.
A previous program - Operation Jump Start - used National Guard
troops to help bolster border patrols for three years. Over that
time, the federal government added border patrol agents, but the
escalating drug war has stretched those forces as they try to
increase surveillance of possible cash and arms traffic.
--- ...".
June 30 09:
"... WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is developing plans
to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to step up the
military's counter-drug efforts along the Mexican border, senior
administration officials said Monday.
The plan is a stopgap measure being worked out between the
Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department, and comes
despite Pentagon concerns about committing more troops to the
border - a move some officials worry will be seen as militarizing
the region.
Senior administration officials said the Guard program will last
no longer than a year and would build on an existing counter-drug
operation. They said the program, which would largely be federally
funded, would draw on National Guard volunteers from the four
border states. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity
because the details have not been finalized.
Officials said the program would mainly seek out guard members
for surveillance, intelligence analysis and aviation support. Guard
units would also supply ground troops who could assist at border
crossings and with land and air transportation.
A senior White House official said Monday that President Barack
Obama is concerned about the situation at the border and wants to
work with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano on the question of additional resources.
The official said Obama appreciates the level of discussion
between the two agencies, and since the issue is still being
debated, he has not yet made any decisions. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss internal policy debate.
Earlier this spring Obama promised his Mexican counterpart,
Felipe Calderon, that the United States would help with the
escalating drug war, which has killed as many as 11,000 people
since December 2006.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Napolitano announced a 2009
counternarcotics strategy several weeks ago, saying the U.S. would
devote more resources to fighting the Mexican drug cartels,
including the cash and weapons that flow across the border from the
U.S. into Mexico.
But officials say Gates has expressed concern that tapping the
military for border control posts is a slippery slope and must not
be overused.
Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland
defense, said Monday that options for the new program have been
drafted, but the plan still must be reviewed and acted on by key
cabinet members as well as the president.
"We have been working very closely to build a set of options
that would have the Department of Defense in a very limited way,
for a limited period of time, serve in direct support for CBP,"
said Stockton, referring to Customs and Border Protection.
The administration does not want to announce or begin the effort
until after the Mexican elections this week, officials said.
Rand Beers, undersecretary for national protection at the
Homeland Security Department, declined to say how long the program
would last, only that it would not be lengthy.
Beers said the additional Guard members would stay as long as
needed for the border patrol agents to be trained and given "some
period of time" on the border to gain experience on the job.
The administration has proposed spending $250 million on the
program, but the precise cost will not be known until the details
are worked out, he said.
Officials came to the decision that it is simply not enough for
the United States to provide funding in support of the Mexican
government's counter-drug efforts, said Beers.
The Guard's volunteer mission, Beers and Stockton both stressed,
would not involve law enforcement activities.
The current National Guard counter-drug operation along the
border, which has been in effect for many years, involves about 575
Guard members, who applied for the job through their state program
coordinator.
The additional volunteers, officials said, would largely be
drawn from the more than 50,000 Army and Air National Guard members
in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. There are no plans to
seek Guard members from other states, although that has not been
ruled out.
There is already federal funding in place to hire more than
1,500 border patrol agents.
A previous program - Operation Jump Start - used National Guard
troops to help bolster border patrols for three years. Over that
time, the federal government added border patrol agents, but the
escalating drug war has stretched those forces as they try to
increase surveillance of possible cash and arms traffic.
--- ...".