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Review of last week's AZ NG Cut'n'run operation
Six to eight men wearing body armor and carrying automatic weapons crossed the border and four of them approached an observation point manned by four Tennessee guardsmen. The gunmen, in military dress, split in two to surround the post, with one coming within 20 yards. The guardsmen, armed with loaded M-16s, slowly backed away to avoid a confrontation.They then got into their Humvee and drove about 200 yards away while alerting the Border Patrol, which arrived within minutes. By that time, the gunmen had fled back across the border. Neither group pointed their weapons at each other. No shots were fired. On any given day, there are up to 2,400 guard troops on Arizona's border, there to play a support role to the Border Patrol until new agents can be trained and put into place. Major Paul Aguirre, a spokesman for the Arizona Guard, told me the guardsmen acted appropriately and would have been authorized to shoot, had they felt threatened. "We don't apprehend, we don't arrest, we don't detain," he said. "We're in support of the Border Patrol. Our primary job at these EIT (Entry Identification Team) sites is to call the Border Patrol and they respond." Aguirre told me it's not unusual for armed men to cross the border. "That happens on a daily basis," he said. What is unusual, according to both Aguirre and Mario Martinez, spokesman for the Border Patrol, is for them to come so close to our guys. "If their purpose is to run, then let's re-evaluate and ask ourselves why they're even there," said [AZ state Rep. Warde] Nichols, who has asked the commander of the Arizona Guard to appear before his Homeland Security and Property Rights Committee. Jeanine L'Ecuyer, spokeswoman for Gov. Janet Napolitano, dismisses Nichols' comments as politics. She said Nichols et al have long known the Guard was there in a backup role. They're not trained to enforce immigration laws, she said, and can't legally act as law enforcement agents. "This sudden 'Oh my God' on the part of legislators is pretty disingenuous," she said. I don't know. I have a bit of an 'Oh my God' reaction as well. I understand that the Guard is not there to enforce the law, given the mission agreed to by the feds and border governors. I understand concerns about militarizing the border. As Aguirre said, "We are not at war with Mexico. They're our friends." That's true. But it seems some of our friends are armed with automatic weapons and coming into Arizona, apparently on a daily basis. Does it seem odd that we would send in the National Guard with orders not to stop them? Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-01-13 |
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