National Guardsmen were carrying loaded M-16s when they were approached by armed men near Sasabe Jan. 3, but they backed off because they were following the idiotic rules agreed upon by the border states and the federal government, the National Guard's top general in Arizona told the Tucson Citizen in a recent interview. They did not flee, said Maj. Gen. David P. Rataczak, commander of National Guard troops in Arizona. "They left because that's what they were taught to do," Rataczak said.
So the individual soldiers are brave enough, but their leadership is craven. Sounds like another country, n'est ce pas?
The guard has three main missions along the border: watching for people or vehicles, manning command posts so Border Patrol officers can work in the field and performing engineering jobs, such as building or repairing fences and roads, Rataczak said. He denied that the guardsmen fled, stating instead that the troops were following rules of engagement signed by governors of the border states, the Border Patrol and the Department of Defense. "Unless they feel personally threatened, they have to leave and walk away and not get into a confrontation with these people, and that's what they did," Rataczak said.
The three guardsmen were approached in the dark by four or five men who came close enough for the guardsmen to talk to them. A language barrier prevented communication, and the guardsmen left their position and called the Border Patrol, Rataczak said. "We do not handle people. We do not arrest people, and we do not detain people. Border patrol is there, we have radio communication with them and they will respond to these types of situations," he said.
The troops called Border Patrol agents, who responded within minutes on foot and in ground vehicles and helicopters. The men who approached the guardsmen were not aggressive and did not raise their weapons, Rataczak said. "The site was under control, our people were under control and, as I said, they were standing off to the side watching the site and watching these people," he said.
The people disappeared in the darkness and were not apprehended. The National Guard has 60-80 such observation posts along the border on any given day. The sites change daily based on intelligence and Border Patrol needs, Rataczak said.
The contact was expected, Rataczak said. "We anticipated this. We knew at some point in the future that someone would eventually approach these sites," he said.
And so you adopted a Run Away policy. |