AZ - Natl. Guard presence at border to be reduced
The
Obama administration is planning to reduce the number of National Guard
troops deployed at the U.S. border with Mexico, the spokesman for a
Texas congressman said Tuesday.
The force will be reduced from 1,200 troops starting next year, said Mike Rosen, spokesman for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. The exact number of National Guard personnel that will stay on the border is unclear, Rosen said.
The remaining troops are expected to be in place until the end of 2012 and will focus on intelligence operations, Rosen said. McCaul's office said he was told about the change in strategy by an administration official.
Neither the Defense nor Homeland Security departments immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
President Barack Obama ordered the troops to the border last year to help Border Patrol agents watch for illegal crossers and drug and human smugglers. The first of the 1,200 troops arrived in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas in August 2010 and were expected to be in place for about a year. Earlier this year, Obama extended that deployment.
The Guard troops don't have arrest power and have spent much of their time monitoring the 2,000-mile border and alerting Border Patrol agents to suspicious activity. The deployment was to have ended at the end of the year.
The current deployment is the second such troop deployment on the southern border.
From 2006 to 2008, under the direction of President George W. Bush, thousands of troops worked along the Mexican border as part of "Operation Jumpstart." That deployment was designed to help free up Border Patrol agents to focus on border security while the agency hired thousands of new agents.
When Bush deployed the Guard troops, there were just over 11,000 agents along the southern border. There are now more than 18,500 agents in place.
It's unclear exactly why Obama has decided to extend the deployment but shrink the number of troops.
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The force will be reduced from 1,200 troops starting next year, said Mike Rosen, spokesman for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. The exact number of National Guard personnel that will stay on the border is unclear, Rosen said.
The remaining troops are expected to be in place until the end of 2012 and will focus on intelligence operations, Rosen said. McCaul's office said he was told about the change in strategy by an administration official.
Neither the Defense nor Homeland Security departments immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
President Barack Obama ordered the troops to the border last year to help Border Patrol agents watch for illegal crossers and drug and human smugglers. The first of the 1,200 troops arrived in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas in August 2010 and were expected to be in place for about a year. Earlier this year, Obama extended that deployment.
The Guard troops don't have arrest power and have spent much of their time monitoring the 2,000-mile border and alerting Border Patrol agents to suspicious activity. The deployment was to have ended at the end of the year.
The current deployment is the second such troop deployment on the southern border.
From 2006 to 2008, under the direction of President George W. Bush, thousands of troops worked along the Mexican border as part of "Operation Jumpstart." That deployment was designed to help free up Border Patrol agents to focus on border security while the agency hired thousands of new agents.
When Bush deployed the Guard troops, there were just over 11,000 agents along the southern border. There are now more than 18,500 agents in place.
It's unclear exactly why Obama has decided to extend the deployment but shrink the number of troops.
read more
Posted by Knucklz at December 31, 2011 1:09 PM 
Categories: Government, Conspiracy, Obama
Tags: Arizona border control
Categories: Government, Conspiracy, Obama
Tags: Arizona border control
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