Border War: Counterinsurgency needed at US-Mexico border, says lawmaker

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano's recent visit to the U.S.-Mexican border was less than admirable, according to many law enforcement commanders. She accused them and others of exaggerating the danger and violence within border states such as Arizona, California and New Mexico.

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However, in light of the recent news that three teenagers were shot to death at the border, including two Americans, Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL) responded yesterday with outrage, calling for an all-encompassing strategy to provide for U.S. national security through what he termed "bold steps and bold solutions." In 1979, President Reagan proposed a North American Accord between the United States, Mexico and Canada, saying, "We live on a continent whose three countries possess the assets to make it the strongest, most prosperous and self sufficient area on earth." Mack believes that U.S. foreign policy has neglected this reality and must now must reestablish its authority of the United States over illegal organizations which threaten U.S. Security at the Mexican border. Mack stated yesterday, "A counterinsurgency strategy from our government that includes civil society, law enforcement, civil authorities and military personnel at the U.S. border is urgently needed. Repeated calls on the Administration have not gotten ahead of this plague and the lives of two more U.S. citizens have been taken in the meantime, adding to the tens of thousands of people who have been killed in a drug war, [while]expanding the influence of terrorists." A report unveiled yesterday by DHS agencies shows progress in seizures and apprehensions, but falls short in keeping America safe, Rep. Mack noted. Mack quickly responded to the DHS report with his own proposed strategy for securing the U.S. Mexico border while restoring U.S. sovereignty. Mack's strategy calls for:

• Doubling Border Patrol Agents from 20,000 to 40,000 - fully funding needed border protection equipment such as additional unmanned aerial vehicles and the completion of the double-layered security fencing in urban, hard to enforce areas of the border.
• Utilizing the full resources of the U.S. intelligence community aligned to the mission.
• Coordinate closely with Mexico to ensure swift justice on both sides of the border while collaborating on governance reform, economic development, community stabilization and essential services.

"Mack makes some excellent points and provides solutions such as having 40,000 border agents. In New York City [where I worked as a police officer] there are upwards of 50,000 police and law enforcement officers, the largest agency being the NYPD. That's for one city and that's great. But for two huge borders, we only have 20,000 agents? That doesn't sound like we give border security the attention it needs," said former police detective and military intelligence officer Mike Snopes. Snope also pointed out that 20,000 agents doesn't mean that's the number on duty. "When you begin to breakdown the numbers to reflect three shifts, days off, holidays, vacations, sick days, personal days -- you're lucky if you have 7,000 or 8,000 agents covering both borders at any one time," said Snopes. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Congressman Mack will hold hearings to both implement his new strategy and expose the truth behind the Administration's failures in the drug war