Posted on 11/09/2004 7:48:43 PM PST by FITZ
You know, we put a man on the moon. Somehow, I have confidence in our ability to protect the border in war time.
hehehe... no worries...
I just have this knee-jerk to the "seal the borders" crowd--- with whom I fundamentally agree-- but also from whom I never seem to hear a realistic plan to *actually* pull it off.
We can't hamstring the ports too much, or we just cripple our own economy. There are miles and miles of shoreland with no practical way to watch every mile. There are tens of thousands of people that come and go (legally) across our borders and through our airports every day whose business is all an essential part of our economy.
We can't "seal" the country without crippling ourselves in the process. What we need is some realistic way of tracking the good guys versus the bad guys that want to come in... and I don't honestly know if that method yet exists.
Rant over. :-)
Uhmm... the "God-forsaken Eskimos..." They're already ours. The Aleuts, too.
What was that name again, "Abe Dullard"?
Yes, we did. And we've successfully defended the moon's borders ever since.
During WWII we had many of both Japanese and German infiltrators that successully got into the country. What was the point again?
I DO THINK that we should protect our borders. What I'm waiting for is the actual method for how to do it. Time's a wastin'.
Well, I figure if we put the kind of resources towards protecting our border as we did landing on the moon, it's a doable task.
I concur with the sentiment, but government agencies being what they are, we'd probably both be dismayed to find that the investment in border protection over the last decade has been probably more than it cost us to get to the moon, even adjusted for inflation.
Look... I don't mean to be such a knee-jerker over this. I really do agree that border protection is sigularly important. Having been a Coastie in a former life, with some day-to-day experience in "protecting borders" I also have some understanding of just how *big* the problem is, and how basically impossible the task is.
The U.S. Coast Guard, when I was there, had responsibility for protecting about 15,000 of the 22,000 miles of border. We did this with a total force smaller than the NYPD. In fact, even today, the NYPD outnumbers the USCG.
The US Border Patrol, some of whom are friends of mine, do an *outstanding* job with the resources they have. They are an extraordinarily committed bunch, and they are doing yeoman's work. Already, a handful of known terrorist cells have been disrupted by the capture of key members by the border patrol.
I'm just *sick and tired* of the people here-- on Free Republic of all places-- that endlessly belittle the very valuable contributions... and the extremely hard work done DAY AFTER FRIGGIN DAY by the US Border Patroll, Customs, and the U.S. Coast Guard. It really, really ticks me off.
/ end of rant
Be well. :-)
I'm sure that's not the intent. But that is the effect.
Imagine how the Marines taking Fallujah will feel after the battle there is over, the city calmed and controlled-- at great cost, and yet all the headlines will ever say is that "some terrorists escaped". It completely misses the point.
I'll admit to having a knee-jerk reaction to the "seal the borders" crowd, and I'll plead guilty to reacting sometimes a little over the top.
But just once, I would like to hear a realistic proposal to actually do it. I would love to hear it. But in reality, "sealing" the border is just about as possible as "sealing" the equator. The mileage is about the same.
Stopping illegal immigrants at the border would be great, but we all know that some of them, somehow, will always get through. Are you willing to submit to highway checkpoints and vehicle searches even well *inside* the borders in order to catch illegals? That is precisely what it would take. Every citizen would end up having to carry his/her citizenship papers in order to prove that they really belong here. Government agents would have to have the right to demand such papers from anyone, anywhere. Anybody else gets deported.
That would work. I don't happen to like it much.
No, we don't give up.
We figure out another way to deal with the people coming across-- mainly since most of them already have jobs waiting for them-- that actually are coming over to work.
I actually think there's something to be said for the guest worker concept. They come across with an ID card, with an employer listed as a sponsor. The employer picks up a role in identifying the people that are really here to work.
As it sits now, there's no tracking at all.
Well, gentlemen.... it's been a good and spirited discussion, but I must take my leave for the evening. Sorry if I got a little heated. For some reason this topic just pushes my buttons. I hope I got across something sensible.
Regards,
G'night. Sweet dreams ;-)
Ping
I'm glad he didn't join the US armed forces. He hates the US, and loves the idea of Islamic conquest. So conditions and US fighting superiority probably don't mean a think to him.
I agree!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.