Obama Considers Using Military At Border
Mar 12, 2009 Political
Barack Obama is considering using the military to secure the violent region known as the Texas-Mexico border. Obama is said to be looking at a tipping point for action. Americans have been killed down there as a result of the drug war going on. My question is, does not the murder of Americans constitute a tipping point?
I am also don’t think that Obama has much say in this because he is not talking about using active duty troops:
“We’re going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense,” Obama said during an interview with journalists for regional papers, including a McClatchy reporter.
“I don’t have a particular tipping point in mind,” he said. “I think it’s unacceptable if you’ve got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens.”
Unless Obama plans on calling the National Guard to active duty, he has no control over them. He is not the Commander in Chief of the National Guard unless they are called to federal service.
Until that time they belong to the governor of the state and he should be ignoring Obama’s “tipping point” and sending the troops down to squash the violence.
It would make no sense to federalize the Texas National Guard to perform a mission in Texas. The National Guard is capable of handling the unrest and it has the authority to detain Americans who might be breaking the law. The active duty is forbidden by law from performing police actions.
Governor Perry has called for 1000 troops to secure the border but Obama said it is a big border and he is not sure he wants to militarize it.
Perry should just call up his Guard and send them and their combat equipment to the border to protect his state. The border might be an issue that belongs to the feds but the state belongs to Perry and the citizens of Texas. They have every right to defend their state.
He needs to ensure they are safe while Obama twiddles his thumbs looking for the tipping point.
Source:
McClatchy
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: drug war, Mexico, Military, Obama, perry, texas, troops