An update on last week's Mexican attack on Guardsmen at the border:
It sounds like Iraq or some other foreign land, but it happened on U.S. soil last week. Outside Sasabe, Ariz., a band of armed assailants stormed a National Guard border post and forced the Guardsmen to retreat without a shot. It was a personal affront to the Guardsmen, who should never have been in the unnatural position of being incapable of defending themselves in the first place. But they were, thanks to the Bush administration's look-tough, act-weak immigration policy.
The observation post fell because most Guardsmen at the border are not even allowed to carry loaded weapons, much less defend themselves. The attackers, in this case probably drug or alien smugglers, quickly returned to Mexico after the assault. It's past time to rethink this policy of placing Guardsmen at the border but defanging them with overly restrictive rules of engagement, which now results in a humiliation for the Guard, and for the rest of us.
Soldiers with no magazines in their weapons? I feel so secure.
There's also an update at Hot Air with a link to a supposed scoop. Make of it what you will. At minimum I got a clue to the rationale behind putting troops with empty rifles on the border.
(Via FR)
Posted by floridacracker at January 9, 2007 01:38 PM.."Soldiers with no magazines in their weapons? I feel so secure."..
Fact of business, with the most powerful woman in the world in charge...I do too.
Posted by: csason at January 9, 2007 04:42 PMRight at the start, that whole story strikes me as a bit fishy, mainly for the lack of details.
I don't know if this relates, but a friend's brother is in the New Westminster police force. New Westminster is a city in British Columbia, near Vancouver, close enough to the border with Washington. I recall being told that they have working arrangements with the sheriff's dept. in that part of Washington State, and U.S. Customs and Immigration to enable them to carry "hot pursuits" across the border, with the cooperation of the local U.S. authorities, if the situation warrants.
This arrangement is reciprocal, but usually since there is a much greater population density on the Canadian side, it's not as common for American police to chase someone into Canada. Not to say that Candian police cruisers barelling through U.S. streets with lights and sirens going is all to common, either.
I'll make the disclaimer that this is my spotty recollection of what I was told in answer to my nosey questions, several years ago. Things may well have changed in the meantime in terms of border security. Dunno.
So, I have to wonder whether it's not altogether possible that local authorites along the Mexican/U.S. border might not have similar deals going? It would make good sense, wouldn't it? Could it be that the entire story is simply some fairly routine incident that got blown out of proportion?
Nah, I like the idea of colourful outlaw Mexican banditos better. No 'estinken batches!
Posted by: rg at January 10, 2007 02:03 AM