"The initiative.... was tucked into a supplemental budget request sent to Congress this month.... funneled through an $83 billion war funding request"
That's CHANGE for you, Amurka!!!
"Plan would put troops on US-Mexico border; Pentagon initiative expands military role in drug war" by Mary Beth Sheridan and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post | April 25, 2009
This after they said they didn't want to and weren't going to do that. Hey, what's another lie from the executive's office, 'eh, 'murkn?
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon and Homeland Security Department are developing contingency plans to send National Guard troops to the US-Mexican border under a $350 million initiative that would expand the US military's role in the war on drugs, according to Obama administration officials....
And wouldn't you know it!!! Swine flu just happens to break out at the same time!!!! What a COINCIDENCE, huh?
Related: Drug War a Cover For North American Union
The proposal was designed to give President Obama additional flexibility to respond to the drug-related violence that has threatened to spill into the United States from Mexico and to curb southbound smuggling of cash and weapons.
The initiative, which was tucked into a supplemental budget request sent to Congress this month, has raised concerns over what some US officials perceive as an effort by the Pentagon to increase its counternarcotics profile through a large pot of money that comes with few visible requirements.
Translation: MORE WAR PROFITEERING going on!!!!
The broadly worded proposal does not mention troop deployments, stipulating only that the military is to receive up to $350 million "for counternarcotics and other activities on the United States' border with Mexico." If contingency plans go unactivated, the money will be retained by the Defense Department for general operations and maintenance uses after Sept. 2010, an administration official said.
Need I even comment?
The proposal is being closely monitored by the State Department, which administers the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative, a three-year aid package to fight drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America. The new funding would be nearly as much as the 2009 budget for Merida, and some observers said they fear that the military could use the money to set up a parallel counternarcotics program with little oversight.
Need I even comment?
House and Senate committees began receiving briefings from White House budget staff this past week. Some lawmakers and aides in both chambers said they were unaware that the funds would be allocated to deploy National Guard troops on the border, adding that the vague wording has sown doubts about how the money would be used and why it is being funneled through an $83 billion war funding request.
They never read a thing down there, do they? They just sign checks for their masters. WTF are we even paying them for?
"Frankly, I'm baffled that an additional $350 million has been requested under the defense appropriation," said Representative Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat and a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.
I'm not, Nita! If you don't know what is going on, shopuld you be "serving?"
Joy Olson, executive director of the Washington Office on Latin America, which promotes democracy and human rights in the region, said the request lacks the accountability provisions included in the Merida Initiative, which was passed after more than a year of debate in the United States and Mexico.
AmeriKa does nothing of the sort anymore -- if it ever did.
"They may say that this is for the National Guard, but the way it's written it is really a blank check for the Defense Department to do whatever it wants on counterdrug issues at the border - and it doesn't say which side of the border," Olson said. "When it came to Merida, Congress scrutinized every dollar. Now the administration is asking Congress to give DOD almost as much money for counterdrug activities without any explanation."
HELLO, NAU!!!!!!! Soon there won't even be that imaginary line, huh?
What a BUSH MOVE from the OBAMA administration!
The administration did not seek additional funding under Merida because the new assistance is targets only the US side of the border, said an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
--more--"
And don't worry, Amurka; Mexico is doing its part....
MEXICO CITY - A bill that would let Mexico declare temporary states of emergency and expand the army's power in a bloody fight against powerful drug gangs drew immediate fire yesterday from human rights activists who say soldiers should not be doing the job of police.
President Felipe Calderón's proposal, which centers on declaring drug trafficking hotspots "domestic security" zones, would give the army access to civilian court and police files.
The measure was submitted to Congress late Wednesday. "The expansion of organized crime poses new challenges for democratic societies," it reads....
Related: Drug War a Cover For North American Union
Yesterday morning, police found a man's decapitated body in the middle of a road in Tijuana, a gang-ridden city across the border from San Diego. The body was wrapped in a sheet, and the head had been placed on his chest inside a plastic bag....
The proposal would place troops at the head of anticrime efforts in some areas, formalizing the reality that in some places the military has effectively replaced weak or corrupt local forces.
--more--"
Ah, the future, American -- or shall I say North American Unioner?
