SAN LUIS, Arizona (CNN) -- The Yuma desert is below: San Luis, Arizona, to one side and San Luis, Mexico, to the other. On this clear day, the Colorado River is glistening, birds playfully circling over what any map defines as the U.S.-Mexico border in this area.
But from a helicopter above, the border is a steel barrier that stands out along the riverbank and against the desert sands, and is the dividing line that gets the most attention from those crying to cross illegally and those who believe recent efforts to bolster U.S. border security have been riddled with wrong choices.
Just this past week, eight Democrats in Congress wrote President Obama urging him to halt any further construction of the fence, one of the many border- and immigration-related political debates that have carried over from the Bush administration.
Source: Border fence is a dividing line in immigration debate - CNN.com
So there are 8 Democrats in Congress that feel bad about putting up a fence to keep people from entering our Nation illegally.
Perhaps these members of Congress would like to go chat with some of the Sheriffs on the border, or some of the residents?
Maybe they could speak to some of the residents along the border that have been kidnapped and held for ransom by gangs that come into the US, grab someone, take them back to Mexico, call the family and demand money?
Have you talked to any of them Congressman?
The answer would be no, they haven’t, just like they don’t read the bills that they sign.
Maybe the All Knowing, All Seeing Congress would like to talk to Fred Burton or the folks at Austin InfraGuard, the news from the south is not good, actually scary, it’s so bad that the US Joint Forces Command has taken notice.
These unhappy developments have drawn the attention of the US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), a military organization charged with forecasting joint service needs and developing cross-service capabilities. In a recently released document titled Joint Operating Environment 2008, JFCOM claims:
“In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico. …
The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police, and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone.”
First, the fact that Mexico is even mentioned in the same breath as Pakistan should make all Texans choke on their migas. But more sobering is the potential security and humanitarian crisis if the Mexican government falls to internal subversion.
Source: The Scariest Unread Document in Texas State Government
Calderon's offensive was initially widely popular among Mexicans hopeful for an end to relentless shootings, kidnappings and killings. But drug violence has only surged and become more violent since he took office, with drug gangs beheading rivals and attacking police nearly every day. More than 6,000 people were killed in drug violence last year.
It was the largest display of discontent against the army's role in an anti-drug crackdown since President Felipe Calderon began deploying soldiers across the country two years ago to fight cartels. About 45,000 soldiers are now spread out across Mexico.
Government and army officials claimed that drug cartels organized similar protests in Monterrey earlier this month to undermine the crackdown. Federal officials had no immediate comment on Tuesday's protests.
Human rights activists say there are legitimate complaints about abuses by soldiers, including cases in which patrols opened fire on civilians at military checkpoints. But they say it is unclear who has been behind the demonstrations.
Border towns have been transformed by the crackdown, with soldiers in ski masks regularly rumbling down the streets in large convoys.
About 30 people, mostly women and children, blocked the Paso del Norte bridge leading from Ciudad Juarez to downtown El Paso. They shouted "soldiers, get out!" as they stood in front of about 20 troops in green army pickup trucks. One person held a sign reading, "Get out of Juarez, thieving abusive soldiers."
Source: Hundreds of Mexicans Block Bridges to U.S. to Protest Alleged Army Raids, Arrests
45,000 soldiers, drug gangs attacking the police daily, 6000 people killed last year? We don't need a fence, we need a mine field.
Read each of the articles in their entirety and know that at least you then have more information about the border and the problems there than your representatives in Congress do. After all they have already proven themselves to be only capable of reading by assmosis. (Please hold the Barney Frank jokes.)
