Wet Powder And Stale Promises
By David Tatosian (07/04/08)
In May 2006 Bush promised a ‘virtual fence’ that was sure to be "the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history."
Part of that ‘virtual fence’, Boeing/SBInet’s ‘Project 28’, boasted nine mobile towers, radar, cameras, vehicles with laptops and satellite phones all linked in (near) real time, all intent on stopping illicit crossings.
In February 2008, the Bush administration announced the delay of Project 28 for at least three years. The cost of Project 28? 1.15 billion taxpayer dollars. (GAO-08-739R Secure Border Initiative pg15)
Undeterred by it’s billion dollar failure, Boeing/SBInet launched the next phase of its security initiative; the “Tucson West’ project. This masterpiece consists of 57 towers.
(Given Boeing/SBInet’s inability to produce 9 functioning towers at 1.15 billion dollars one can only imagine the cost of their inability to produce 57 of them.)
On June 10th Chertoff referred to the increasing violence along the border as a “good sign” indicating that the tightened security on our southern border is working. If tightened security is working, how did three members of the Mexican military manage to kill a rival drug cartel member in Phoenix? Is this tightening security slowing the flood of illegals into this country? Unlikely. And in view of the increasing violence, how soon before some administration or State Department hack starts granting these newly arrived illegals refugee status? And given the fact that the flow of illegal aliens has remained constant, need we accept the 12-million-illegal-aliens-in-America number that Bush gave us two years ago? Are we to believe that the number of illegals traveling south is equal to the number entering the United States?
Violence along our southern border increases and the National Guard is removed. We are assured the border will be totally secured two or three years from now but meanwhile useless towers and an outnumbered and outgunned Border Patrol will protect us. The same Border Patrol whose members have been attacked, shot at and killed by border criminals and prosecuted for doing their jobs by our own government?
A war on terror was declared years ago. One of the most salient features of terrorism as a tactic is the exploitation of political, geographical, cultural and military vulnerabilities. Certainly an uncontrolled and open border that invites millions of unknown persons into these United States is a glaring vulnerability. Yet nothing is ever done to eliminate that vulnerability.
The inability or refusal of a sovereign nation to control its borders is a sign of a failed state. No more no less.
As we are now witnessing, this lack of control has transformed our border region into a murderous free fire zone where the smuggling of weapons, humans and drugs reign supreme. Nor do these activities confine themselves to the border region. We can see the evidence of this by observing the explosive growth of international gangs engaging in criminal activity wherever illegal alien enclaves exist within the United States.
And if we can see this, despite the Media’s desperate attempts to blame all manner of anti social criminal behavior on xenophobia and white racism, why can’t our elected officials see it?
Well they can, but here too our elected officials are exhibiting another signpost of the failed state wherein democratic norms once perceived as benefiting all citizens are subverted to benefit the few, corruption is the coin of the realm and security, the most important political good, slowly vanishes behind a noxious cloud of false victimization, minority grievance and politically correct indoctrination.
I don’t say we are a failed state. But it’s not from lack of effort on the part of our elected officials. Nor is there a lack of effort on the part of those who support the perverse results of programs begun by that other back slapping buffoon, Lyndon Johnson.
The American Society, distinct and separate from the US Government, is failing. It has become an object of derision and ridicule by those not bright enough to understand it or honorable enough to live by its imperatives. And like all not too bright and dishonorable thugs, they attacked us where we were weakest: our children.
As the Sumerians must have sadly viewed the passing along of their knowledge, technological advances and wisdom to an ill adept culture; so are we today.
We would do well to take a minute this Independence Day and offer our thanks to the Democrats and their liberals and the Republicans and their conservatives for what they have wrought.
David Tatosian
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