Posted on 05/17/2005 1:29:41 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Take a moment to consider all of the pressing issues facing America today. There is a war we are waging, and rightfully so, to rid the threat of Islamo-Fascist terror. That might rightfully, be placed right at the very top of our national concerns.
After all tax-cuts, spending, education, and Social Security reform will take a back seat very quickly if terrorists were to strike here in America. So let us agree, for the purpose of this column, to assume the war on terror is the pre-eminent issue facing America.
Now let us examine how the Bush administration has handled this war so far. On the international front, the grade has to be at least an A-minus. Our troops have performed brilliantly, as American servicemen always do. The Bush team has been aggressive and pro-active. They have overturned two pro-terror regimes. Their action has taken the fight to the enemy.
The importance of this aggressive strategy cannot be overstated. This truly is a war where we either choose to fight here or there. As long as we press the enemy, their efforts to strike here will be damaged severely. Already we have killed or captured many terrorist fighters and their leaders. These monsters have never had to face the world’s mightiest military intent on their destruction before. Moreover, make no mistake they are losing this war. As long as our resolve holds, the outcome is assured.
Now that is the good news. There is, however, some bad news to temper the positive. The Bush administration, for all its wonderful actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, has, frankly failed rather miserably on border security. Now this assertion might stun some of you, after all, I have been very supportive of President Bush, and I still am.
That support, though, is not open-ended. The border with Mexico has not received the attention or focus it demands. The strength of a nation can be fairly measured by how it is able to control its borders and coasts. Sadly, America, right now, is lacking.
The President has done some things to increase Border Patrol strength. In 2004, America’s Border Patrol apprehended many more illegal aliens than in years past. The increase in manpower, though, is still sorely insufficient. The problem is simple math. There are not enough agents to secure our borders.
This presents a severe security risk. When we consider how tough it would be for a terrorist to make their way across our border and cause havoc here, we soon realize it is excessively easy. President Bush simply, must, do a better job of securing our borders. He has shown very clearly he is not afraid to spend money to fight terrorism overseas, and he should be applauded for that.
He must now show the same willingness to spend whatever it takes to increase the Border Patrol’s manpower. This is a no-brainer Mr. President. To reduce the number of illegal aliens we need to step up and increase our presence on the border.
This goal is not simply a matter of pouring more money into the Border Patrol either. Recently a group of patriotic Americans got together and formed a group called the Minutemen. These people took border security in their own hands. The Minutemen volunteered to stand guard at well-known border jumping spots on the Arizona border. They were effective. There is no doubt that fewer illegal aliens crossed into America. They helped; the border patrol agents welcomed their help.
They behaved admirably, with compassion for those they prevented from entering our nation illegally. This type of citizen action can help tremendously. It must be encouraged by the Bush administration however. The response President Bush gave to the Minutemen was hardly encouraging or supportive. He in fact managed to call them vigilantes. This was hardly an accurate way to describe their volunteer efforts to make America safer.
It is troubling that President Bush would take such a stance on these patriots. He should have been singing their praises and encouraging more Americans to lend a hand. The Minutemen were not taking the law into their own hands. They were, instead, acting in the same heroic manner the original Minutemen did. They stood up for what was right. If more of us did, likewise America would be safer and more secure.
There is another thing our president could do to affect positive change on border security. He needs to talk very clearly to the Mexican government, starting with Mexican President Vicente Fox. President Fox is in dire need of a dressing down and President Bush should give him one.
Recently President Fox has been very critical of our efforts to tighten our borders. This strikes me as strange. Why would the Mexican president not want to help keep his compatriots from leaving his country illegally? Yet President Fox is upset because America is considering a border wall and preventing illegal from obtaining drivers licenses. He has promised to lodge a diplomatic complaint and has threatened to take his case to multilateral bodies.
Exactly who does this man think he is? He uses his military to secure his Southern border, and then bashes us for attempting to secure ours? If I were, President Bush President Fox would receive a not so pleasant phone call. What President Bush should do is tell Fox to help us by securing his side of the border. Not ask, mind you, tell him! The Mexican leader is undermining our national security, this must not go unanswered.
Further organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, must be set straight. Recently this group announced it was going to be reviewing Border Patrol records from arrests last June. The ACLU claims it is watching out for immigrants’ rights. Excuse me do they not know what the word illegal means?
They are not concerned with national security or border security at the ACLU. They are looking for lawsuits to make their pockets fatter. That this group would undercut our nation’s interests to protect illegal, there is that word again, aliens is beyond any reasonable person. This type of effort severely undercuts the effectiveness and morale of our Border Patrol, and something must be done about it.
Therefore, President Bush, listen to one of your biggest supporters for a moment. Please look towards tighter borders. This is not the time for amnesty plans or guest worker programs. This is not the time to pay softball with foreign leaders who are working against our interests. This is certainly not the time to discourage Americans who care enough to get involved. Now is the time for our president to be as tough on the borders as he is on international terrorists.
"This is the single biggest disappointment of the Bush administration."
You got that right.
It was bad enough that nothing was being done to protect our borders, but when George Bush actually slandered these honorable Americans, calling them vigilantes because they dared to do the job he refused to do, many of us were outraged.
2006 is going to be pure-dee hell on Pubbies.
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