devildog66
Member
Apparently from his press conference last evening. A photo caption deleted from the below text stated that over 7K Mexicans have died form the drug violence over the last year (I assume the writer meant 2008).
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...-border_25nat.ART.State.Edition1.4a5b1d8.html
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration promised Tuesday to help Mexico fight its drug war by cutting off the cartels' supply of guns and profits, while resisting the Texas governor's call for a troop surge at the border to ward off spillover violence.
The steps announced by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano – 450 federal agents shifted to border duty, supplied with dogs trained to detect both drugs and cash, and scanners to check vehicles and railcars heading into Mexico – amount to a subtle but important shift:
The blockade of contraband will now be a two-way effort. The fence begun under the Bush administration will be completed, to deter smugglers of drugs and workers. But the new emphasis will be on disrupting the southbound flow of profits and weapons that fuel the cartels.
At his televised news conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama said that for now, it's more important to disrupt the cartels' access to profits and weapons than to fortify the border with soldiers.
"That's what makes them so dangerous," he said. "The steps that we've taken are designed to make sure that the border communities in the United States are protected and you're not seeing a spillover of violence. ... If the steps that we've taken do not get the job done, then we will do more."
The plan is built on efforts under way for years rather than a show of force or a dramatic influx of resources. And it relies almost entirely on existing funds, even as it intensifies the focus on high-tech surveillance, inspections of trucks and railcars, and cooperation among federal, local and Mexican authorities.
"There's already a very, very heavy federal presence. We add to it, we target, we dedicate," Napolitano said at the White House as she laid out the plan ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's visit to Mexico today.
Tuesday's announcement was meant to mollify concerns in Mexico that it has borne the brunt of the bloody fight, even though the drug trade is fueled by the U.S. appetite for narcotics.
But it didn't satisfy Gov. Rick Perry, who reiterated his request Tuesday for "an immediate deployment of 1,000 additional National Guard troops to support civilian law enforcement and Border Patrol agents."
He'll meet with Napolitano on Thursday in Texas, and she'll ask him to make his case that violence in Mexico – especially in Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso – warrants more drastic measures. More than 7,000 Mexicans have died in the last 15 months.
"Why 1,000?" she said. "Where did that number come from? Where in Texas? Texas has a huge border with Mexico. And what does he anticipate the Guard doing?"
For now, the U.S. plans more incremental steps: extra Treasury Department efforts to track money laundering; 100 extra customs inspectors to screen vehicles heading into Mexico – a mission never undertaken before; 16 extra Drug Enforcement Administration agents at the border.
Over the next 45 days, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will shift 100 workers to the border to intercept guns heading south, and add four employees in Mexico City to help trace guns captured from drug gangs.
Perry welcomed the fresh attention but complained that Texas has long had to "fill in the gaps" left by an inadequate federal presence.
"While we appreciate the additional investigative resources, what we really need are more Border Patrol agents and officers at the bridges to conduct increased northbound and southbound inspections," he said.
Napolitano spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said "that's precisely what we announced today."
Security analysts agree that beating the cartels requires a multipronged approach: a public health campaign to curb demand, better intelligence-gathering to disrupt smugglers, and efforts to intercept drug profits.
"Politicians have gotten into the habit of saying: Just sent more troops or Border Patrol," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
On its face, the idea that 100 extra border agents can make a dent in a violent, $39 billion industry might seem farfetched.
But Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said the time has come for the sort of comprehensive approach unveiled Tuesday.
"When have we done a concerted effort like we're seeing right now?" Cuellar said, though he agreed with the governor that a Guard deployment would keep the violence from crossing the border in a big way.
Obama said two weeks ago that he doesn't want to "militarize the border" but takes security concerns seriously. He will visit Mexico City April 16 and 17.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, commended the moves as an "important first step" but not enough. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, noted that more people were killed in Mexico's drug war last year than in Afghanistan and Iraq. "I think we have reached the tipping point," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...-border_25nat.ART.State.Edition1.4a5b1d8.html
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration promised Tuesday to help Mexico fight its drug war by cutting off the cartels' supply of guns and profits, while resisting the Texas governor's call for a troop surge at the border to ward off spillover violence.
The steps announced by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano – 450 federal agents shifted to border duty, supplied with dogs trained to detect both drugs and cash, and scanners to check vehicles and railcars heading into Mexico – amount to a subtle but important shift:
The blockade of contraband will now be a two-way effort. The fence begun under the Bush administration will be completed, to deter smugglers of drugs and workers. But the new emphasis will be on disrupting the southbound flow of profits and weapons that fuel the cartels.
At his televised news conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama said that for now, it's more important to disrupt the cartels' access to profits and weapons than to fortify the border with soldiers.
"That's what makes them so dangerous," he said. "The steps that we've taken are designed to make sure that the border communities in the United States are protected and you're not seeing a spillover of violence. ... If the steps that we've taken do not get the job done, then we will do more."
The plan is built on efforts under way for years rather than a show of force or a dramatic influx of resources. And it relies almost entirely on existing funds, even as it intensifies the focus on high-tech surveillance, inspections of trucks and railcars, and cooperation among federal, local and Mexican authorities.
"There's already a very, very heavy federal presence. We add to it, we target, we dedicate," Napolitano said at the White House as she laid out the plan ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's visit to Mexico today.
Tuesday's announcement was meant to mollify concerns in Mexico that it has borne the brunt of the bloody fight, even though the drug trade is fueled by the U.S. appetite for narcotics.
But it didn't satisfy Gov. Rick Perry, who reiterated his request Tuesday for "an immediate deployment of 1,000 additional National Guard troops to support civilian law enforcement and Border Patrol agents."
He'll meet with Napolitano on Thursday in Texas, and she'll ask him to make his case that violence in Mexico – especially in Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso – warrants more drastic measures. More than 7,000 Mexicans have died in the last 15 months.
"Why 1,000?" she said. "Where did that number come from? Where in Texas? Texas has a huge border with Mexico. And what does he anticipate the Guard doing?"
For now, the U.S. plans more incremental steps: extra Treasury Department efforts to track money laundering; 100 extra customs inspectors to screen vehicles heading into Mexico – a mission never undertaken before; 16 extra Drug Enforcement Administration agents at the border.
Over the next 45 days, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will shift 100 workers to the border to intercept guns heading south, and add four employees in Mexico City to help trace guns captured from drug gangs.
Perry welcomed the fresh attention but complained that Texas has long had to "fill in the gaps" left by an inadequate federal presence.
"While we appreciate the additional investigative resources, what we really need are more Border Patrol agents and officers at the bridges to conduct increased northbound and southbound inspections," he said.
Napolitano spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said "that's precisely what we announced today."
Security analysts agree that beating the cartels requires a multipronged approach: a public health campaign to curb demand, better intelligence-gathering to disrupt smugglers, and efforts to intercept drug profits.
"Politicians have gotten into the habit of saying: Just sent more troops or Border Patrol," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
On its face, the idea that 100 extra border agents can make a dent in a violent, $39 billion industry might seem farfetched.
But Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said the time has come for the sort of comprehensive approach unveiled Tuesday.
"When have we done a concerted effort like we're seeing right now?" Cuellar said, though he agreed with the governor that a Guard deployment would keep the violence from crossing the border in a big way.
Obama said two weeks ago that he doesn't want to "militarize the border" but takes security concerns seriously. He will visit Mexico City April 16 and 17.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, commended the moves as an "important first step" but not enough. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, noted that more people were killed in Mexico's drug war last year than in Afghanistan and Iraq. "I think we have reached the tipping point," he said.
