Violence Spreading Further 'al Norte' in US. Where's Our National Guard?

Excerpt LA Times report "Border violence pushes north ":

...with the Mexican government's newly pledged war on the cartels, and an explosion of violence among rival networks, a new crime dynamic is emerging: The violence that has hit Mexican border towns is spreading deeper into the United States.

...

...law enforcement officials are wary of how this new burst in violence will play out, especially because the enemy is better armed and more sophisticated than ever. Among their concerns are budget cutbacks in some agencies -- including a hiring freeze in the Drug Enforcement Administration -- and community opposition to the surveillance towers.

Johnny Sutton, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said he would need at least 20,000 new Border Patrol agents in El Paso alone to hold back the tide. But that is the total number of agents that Washington hopes to have along the whole border by the end of 2009.

...

Raul Benitez, an international relations professor in Mexico City who also taught at American University in Washington, blames both countries for the crime wave. As long as Americans crave drugs and the cartels want money, Benitez said, "security in both directions is jeopardized."

I suppose that last guy might be right, as long as our National Guard is using it's main strength taking over other people's nations so major Republican campaign contributors can get colonial style access to their resources we will be deeply in trouble here at home. But what if we deployed the main strength of the Guard here?

Defending US soil is what the National Guard is supposed to be about. 

tags: mexico  california  texas  arizona  immigration  drug cartels  border patrol  

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