First, there's this week's story of Arizona Senator John Kyl claiming that Obama is playing political games using border security as leverage. According to Kyl, Obama won't secure the border between Arizona and Mexico until Arizona lawmakers adopt comprehensive immigration reform.
From FoxNews:
Senator John McCain luckily is playing back-up to Kyl and his claims against the Obama Administration."The problem is, he said, if we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform," Kyl said, as the crowd in the room gasped loudly. "In other words, they're holding it hostage."
The White House denied the claim on Monday. Spokesman Bill Burton and Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer both said Kyl "knows" Obama did not make that comment to him in their meeting.
"The president didn't say that and Senator Kyl knows it," Pfeiffer said in a written statement. "There are more resources dedicated toward border security today than ever before, but, as the president has made clear, truly securing the border will require a comprehensive solution to our broken immigration system."
Still, Senator Kyl's sticking to his guns and Tuesday morning Arizona's senior senator came to his defense. Senator John McCain said, "I tried explaining to the president that we gave amnesty back in the 1980's. Somewhere around three million illegal immigrants were given amnesty, but the promise was that we'd secure the border. Obviously, we didn't secure the border. We now have 12 million people in this country as Senator Kyl mentioned some hundreds of thousands in the state of Arizona illegally. So, our point is that even if we went through comprehensive immigration reform, if we didn't have a secure border, then sometime from now we would have another group of illegal immigrants that we would have to address the issue." [source]To add to Kyl's claims, a 2004 recording of Obama speaking on Chicago Public Radio back in 2004. Does he, in his twisted phrasing, advocate a trade-off between border security and finding a path towards citizenship for illegal aliens? From POed Patriot via Breitbart TV:
"... the trade off is going to have to be improved security of our borders, at the same time, allowing those who are already here to reach out for that American dream."As this situation gets increasingly "ridiculouser" by the day, I became angrier reading yesterday's news: first, that there are drug gangs on the border with look-outs and that Mexican drug cartels had the cojones to issue a warning to Arizona cops who make drug busts while off-duty (confusing, isnt' it? ... as well as ballsy):
First, here's a bit from FoxNews' Adam Housley's report about the look-outs (emphasis added):
Adding fuel to this forest fire (emphasis added):Mexican Gangs Maintain Permanent Lookout Bases in Hills of Arizona
Mexican drug cartels have set up shop on American soil, maintaining lookout bases in strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona from which their scouts can monitor every move made by law enforcement officials, federal agents tell Fox News.
The scouts are supplied by drivers who bring them food, water, batteries for radios -- all the items they need to stay in the wilderness for a long time.
“To say that this area is out of control is an understatement," said an agent who patrols the area and asked not to be named. "We (federal border agents), as well as the Pima County Sheriff Office and the Bureau of Land Management, can attest to that.”
Much of the drug traffic originates in the Menagers Dam area, the Vekol Valley, Stanfield and around the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. It even follows a natural gas pipeline that runs from Mexico into Arizona.
In these areas, which are south and west of Tucson, sources said there are “cartel scouts galore” watching the movements of federal, state and local law enforcement, from the border all the way up to Interstate 8.
“Every night we’re getting beaten like a pinata at a birthday party by drug, alien smugglers," a second federal agent told Fox News by e-mail. "The danger is out there, with all the weapons being found coming northbound…. someone needs to know about this!”
The agents blame part of their plight on new policies from Washington, claiming it has put a majority of the U.S. agents on the border itself. One agent compared it to a short-yardage defense in football, explaining that once the smugglers and drug-runners break through the front line, they're home free.
“We are unable to work any traffic, because they have us forward deployed," the agent said. "We are unable to work the traffic coming out of the mountains. That traffic usually carries weapons and dope, too, again always using stolen vehicles.”
The Department of Homeland Security denies it has ordered any major change in operations or any sort of change in forward deployment.
Mexico drug gang threatens Arizona police
Nogales Police Chief Jeff Kirkham said the department received the threat through an informant after two off-duty policemen seized 400 pounds (182 kg) of marijuana while horseback riding outside the city in early June.
"The warning was ... that the officers, if they are off duty, are to look the other way and ignore any drug trafficking loads that are coming across the border, otherwise they will be targeted," Kirkham told Reuters.
Arizona straddles a major corridor for Mexican smugglers who haul illegal immigrants and drugs north to the United States in a illicit trade worth billions of dollars a year.
Cartel turf wars and attacks on police have killed more than 25,000 people across Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on drug gangs in late 2006. [Looks like Calderon has a lot of blood on his inept hands.]
In recent years, U.S. authorities have become increasingly concerned about drug violence spilling over the border and taking hold in the United States.
Kirkham said he took the threats against Nogales police "very seriously." He said he had asked the Border Patrol for additional support, and had ordered officers to carry communications equipment and guns at all times.
0 comments:
Post a Comment