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| Napolitano says drug war drone is coming to Texas |
| 2010-04-28 |
| WASHINGTON — An unmanned aerial drone will soon fly over Texas skies as drug-cartel violence continues to escalate on the U.S.-Mexico border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a Senate hearing Tuesday. Texas is the last border state to receive a Predator drone, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that has hurt intelligence capabilities to federal, state and local law enforcement on the ground. “I'm concerned that some of the assets that could be deployed to help not only quell the violence but also keep our borders secure, are not being deployed because of unnecessary foot-dragging,' Cornyn said. Napolitano said Texas was the last Southwest border state to receive a drone because “Texas airspace is more crowded.' She said the timeline for placing a drone in Texas, which tentatively would be stored in Corpus Christi, remains a decision for the Federal Aviation Administration. “The FAA now has to go in and carve out, as I understand it, space for the Predator,' she said. The secretary said that over the past 15 months, federal law enforcement initiatives have made the border more secure than in any other time in history. Then her lips fell off ... She said the number of Border Patrol agents has doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 in just five years, and 653.3 miles of border fence have been built. What border fence? |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 I foresee just a few small problems with airspace safety under your plan, Rhodesiafever. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-04-28 21:15 |
| #11 Just program the damn thing to own the skies and go where wills, go rogue, with a name like Predator, that's what it should be doing; it's not armed, let the politicians play catch-up. That's not sedit!on, it's encouraging Private Enterprise. |
| Posted by: Rhodesiafever 2010-04-28 20:56 |
| #10 He shoots his own coyotes; 4-legged anyway; not 2-legged. Are you sure about that last, JohnQC? By his own admission the governor leaves the carcasses in the desert for nature to dispose of. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-04-28 19:10 |
| #9 "He shoots his own coyotes; 4-legged anyway; not 2-legged." Too bad. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-04-28 18:07 |
| #8 Napolitano said Texas was the last Southwest border state to receive a drone because "Texas airspace is more crowded......." .....and Arizona is now EVIL! And besides George Bush (the former Republican president who BO inherited everything bad from) is from Texas and Governor Rick Perry is a Republican. Besides Perry didn't need a drone. He shoots his own coyotes; 4-legged anyway; not 2-legged. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-04-28 16:47 |
| #7 Instapundit links to a HotAir post, in which AllahPundit writes that Arizona actually got four drones in 2006. Texas is the last state along the border to get drones, which are unarmed, for observation only. |
| Posted by: trailing wife at the Toyota shop 2010-04-28 15:18 |
| #6 the actual, real, fence constructed in theSan Diego sector has worked well - pushing illegals east to themountains/deserts. The latest is Panga boats loaded with 14-20 illegals motoring up the coast at night.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-04-28 15:00 |
| #5 Napolitano: Making the world safe for bad guys. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-04-28 14:25 |
| #4 "Napolitano said Texas was the last Southwest border state to receive a drone because "Texas airspace is more crowded (with illegal drug flights)" |
| Posted by: Shoting Unelet2578 2010-04-28 09:35 |
| #3 Napolitano said Texas was the last Southwest border state to receive a drone because "Texas airspace is more crowded......." .....and Arizona is now EVIL! One UAS right, flying perhaps what....3-4 hours per day, 5 days per week max? Nice political gesture. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-04-28 07:52 |
| #2 federal law enforcement initiatives have made the border more secure than in any other time in history Giggle. The system's working! |
| Posted by: lex 2010-04-28 01:27 |
| #1 What border fence? You know, that line thingy they would prefer "immigrants" to respectfully avoid crossing. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-04-28 01:09 |