Jerry Seper of The Washington Times reports today that there has been an "unprecedented surge" of violence along the US - Mexico border, much of it carried out by gangs armed with modern military weapons and gear. Seper says that the arms largely come from the US, however, it says later in the article that Mexican authorities have not yet determined the origin of the weapons, only that one of the trucks transporting the gear was registered in Texas.
Nevertheless, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in the Southwest US continue to sound the alarm that such weaponry far outclasses anything the Border Patrol could muster to guard our southern border. Among the arms seized:
- M-16 assault rifles, one equipped with an M-203 40mm grenade launcher
- M-4 carbines
- Handguns of various calibers
- Hundreds of magazines for different weapons
- Nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition
- Assault vests
- Two completed improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and materials for making 33 more
- Hand grenades
This level of sophistication may be surprising to many Americans, but it is only the latest example of how militarized the border area has become, and is something I wrote about last year. Since the demise of the Eastern Bloc and the end of the Cold War, the communists' global proxy warriors had to find gainful employment from bosses that had equally deep pockets and a need for their deadly skills. It was a natural fit for drug traffickers and illegal alien smugglers to ally with the East's former special operators. Since the early 90s, we have known that these agents, ... were experts at infiltrating across international borders, and most importantly, they were experienced in corrupting and destabilizing local governments and law enforcement agencies. This component of their operation was to have decisive consequences for years to come in our ability to stop illegal immigrants and drug smuggling.
And that,
...the narco-terrorist force had capabilities matching those of modern infantry units: assault rifles, crew-served machine guns, anti tank weapons systems, and man portable anti-aircraft missiles of both Western and Warsaw Pact manufacture. The enemy had also dug tunnels, established hidden staging areas, weapons and food caches, and most importantly, had infiltrated operatives on our territory to gather intelligence and undertake direct action missions in border towns. Expecting the Border Patrol and the DEA to deal with these guys with side arms and arrest warrants was and still is laughable.
There are those civil libertarians who view this problem as one that can be solved by legalizing drugs, thereby removing the huge profits to be gained which, in their view, would dissolve this entire logistics infrastructure and para-military organization. This ignores the clear operational intent of this foreign army that uses drugs and human trafficking as but a few of many tactical measures to deliberately weaken our national resolve and sovereignty.
Conducting political destabilizing operations in Hometown, USA in the entire southwest border region has far more important implications beyond the so-called war on drugs. Yet, successive administrations have done the "ostrich drill" when it comes to recognizing the threat to our national security. Earlier this year, the lack of a serious defense on the border was on display in grand fashion when the mostly unarmed National Guard units stationed on the border were overrun by a few armed men. The response? The National Guard ended up being protected by volunteers of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The deteriorating situation along our border has been evident for decades. But if people in charge of protecting our nation acknowledge the truth, then action is required to remedy the problem. So, don't expect an "official finding" to be forthcoming from the defense establishment, the Congress, or the President, because they might actually have to do something about it.
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