War Coming to Tucson

Illegal aliens, politics, comments, rants, etc..

2007/5/31

@ 11:55 PM (11 months, 20 days ago)

You know, this does have the smell of hyperbole around it but I don't think it's really that far off from reality. The border is an extremely dangerous area in some places. I've read bits about local cops being told to stay away from it. I've read other bits about some small towns along the Rio Grande that are being ripped off on an every day basis by people coming across the border, stealing, then swimming back across. Consider that some of the drug and smuggling wars have already been spilling over and the effects have been felt all over the country.

Tucson

Lionel Waxman

War is coming to Tucson

You are not going to like what I have to say today. But it must be said, out loud. People are whispering about it now, but if we don’t face up to it, it will only get worse.

The violent incident in Cananea, Sonora, has hit the consciousness of Tucson squarely between the eyes. Northern Mexico is in a state of war. Who is fighting? That’s hard to say. Officially, it is the drug- and people-traffickers against each other and the government. But in Mexico, you can’t tell the players even with a program. You cannot assume the police or the Army are loyal to their commands. Many are working on their own.

In case you were out of town two weeks ago, about 50 armed men drove into Cananea and killed five policemen and two other residents. The men fled into the hills with police and soldiers in pursuit. In subsequent gunfights, 16 more were killed.

And here’s the part you don’t want to hear. Violence has spread across the border and has resulted in several deaths of Americans residents and visitors. Most such crimes are reported as isolated incidents. But the violence in northern Mexico is not stopping at the border. It’s headed this way and a lot of Tucsonans know it.

The federal government should put troops on the border to defend the United States and its citizens. The troops should be given orders to use as much force as necessary to accomplish that task. No soldiers should be detailed to do paperwork and forbidden to fire on violators. This is another war and if we don’t act like it, we will lose this one too.

This war isn’t on the other side of the world. This is for our homes, our homes, our homes.

But the feds do nothing. What is happening is according to their plan. Drop in on the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America’s website n spp.gov n and read the plans. Watch discussion of the so-called immigration reform bill, which contains legislation advancing the integration of North America. It’s happening whether you like it or not. And Tucson is on the front lines.

Now, contrast that story to this one: Damage Control

DOUGLAS — Community leaders from both sides of the Arizona-Sonora border gathered here Wednesday for a summit meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at which participants expressed concern for recent drug-related violence in Sonora, as well as a desire to maintain positive cross-border relationships.

Speaking to reporters outside the Douglas Visitor’s Center, the site of this first-of-its-kind gathering, Giffords said she wanted to explore ways that Mexican and U.S. officials could work together to address a recent wave of organized-crime-related violence in the area.

U.S. officials were also reluctant to talk about specifics of the assault, although Eric Odden, patrol agent in charge at the U.S. Border Patrol’s Douglas station, said he suspected that it had been an effort by the Gulf cartel, which controls drug trafficking routes through the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, to destabilize the cartel that controls Sonora’s routes.

“We all know that this is not the last time something like this will occur,” added Robert Gilbert, chief agent for the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector.

One of the responsibilities of public officials following an outbreak of border violence is to mitigate any overreaction by the public, said Bisbee Mayor Ron Oertle, who he had been over to Naco, Sonora, this week and heard that tourism from the U.S. had declined significantly since the incident in Cananea.

“We have to downplay that fear that sometimes takes over,” Oertle said. “If you’re not involved in the business of narco-trafficking, the sentiment (in Sonora) is that you have nothing to worry about.”

Douglas Mayor Ray Borane echoed the sentiment.

“People are just jockeying for position — they are settling scores,” he said of the drug violence. “And if you’re not involved in that and you want to travel into Mexico, I’m told that the security situation there is very good.”

Cha Flores, Naco Mayor Lorenzo Villegas and Agua Prieta Mayor Antonio Cuadras all said that their cities have returned to normal and encouraged visitors from the U.S. to return.

MY ASS!!! Remember that scene in Jaws where the candy-ass chicken-shit mayor tries to talk the sheriff and Matt Hooper into shutting up about a shark and keeping the beaches open? Same thing here.