Thread: NATIONAL GUARD RUNNING FROM ILLEGALS ON THE BORDER?

Officer: Guard’s border response ‘almost perfect’

By Jim Lamb
Saturday, January 13, 2007 8:04 PM MST

An Arizona National Guard officer said the response by troops when they were approached by armed men from Mexico at night near Sasabe recently was “almost perfect.”

Maj. Paul Aguirre said the four Guard troopers were armed and could have opened fire if they felt threatened.

“They showed the proper restraint,” he said in a telephone interview Friday. Aguirre is the Arizona Guard’s public affairs officer.

The Guard troops from Tennessee were staffing an observation post.

They withdrew so not to engage the border crossers.

And they summoned the Border Patrol as they were instructed to do he said. Border Patrol agents arrived within minutes.

In Phoenix Thursday Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and State Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Gilbert, criticized the guard troopers for withdrawing.

Thomas said the troop’s action was “a terrible precedent,” and Nichols asked “why do we have National Guard (troops) running from illegals on the border?”

Aguirre said the troop’s mission the night of Jan. 3, was to observe.

Wearing night vision goggles they saw a group of men with guns coming from the border.

Aguirre said practically every day people can be seen crossing the border or heading back.

The Border Patrol tries to arrest all those coming north.

Aguirre said the National Guard is not stationed here “to militarize the border. We’re not at war with Mexico. Mexico’s our friend.”

The National Guard troops are “not doing any law enforcement,” he said. That’s the Border Patrol’s job, Aguirre said.

“Our response to this very serious incident was almost perfect,” he said.

Last May President Bush ordered the National Guard to send troops to help watch the border.

They work as border observers, operate equipment and even repair Border Patrol vehicles.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749

http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2007/01/ ... news02.txt

Why did National Guard retreat on border?: Prosecutor, legislator want answers about incident

By Jim Lamb
Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:22 PM MST

ThomasCritics of America’s border policy are upset with how National Guard troops reacted when confronted recently by armed men in the dark near Sasabe.

On Jan. 3, four National Guard troops were staffing an observation post just north of the international border.

The troops, wearing night vision goggles, saw what appeared to be armed men about 100 yards south of them.

Rather than confront the intruders they fell back.

“This is a terrible precedent to set,” Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said.

Border Patrol agent Mario Martinez from Washington said “there were no shots fired, no attacks, no overrunning of the National Guardsmen.” State Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Gilbert. said he plans to ask David Rataczak, head of the National Guard in Arizona, “Why this should be allowed to happen.”

The Associated Press quoted him, “Why do we have National Guard running from illegals on the border? Are they (National Guard troops) armed? Do they have bullets in their guns. We need some answers to some of these questions.”

The local Border Patrol referred all questions about the incident to headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Subsequently, agent Todd Frazier referred those questions to the National Guard.
And Arizona National Guard spokesperson Paul Aguirre could not be immediately reached for comment.

Nichols said he plans to question state National Guard chief Maj. Gen. David Rataczak about the incident.

Nichols said he’ll ask the general for answers at an upcoming meeting of the House Homeland Security and Property Rights Committee.

Last summer, President Bush ordered National Guard troops to duty on the border, primarily in an assist role. They’re building fences, installing barriers, operating equipment, but they are not authorized to confront illegal immigrants they encounter.

In a letter to the editor, Chuck Townsend of Green Valley said the country’s top National Guard leaders “do not have the will to successfully seal and protect our borders from illegal crossers.”

He added that apparently the rules of engagement “are to retreat at the mere presence of armed border crossers,” which he said was a “gross misuse of our military forces.”

National Guard troops have been assigned to the four border states—Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749

http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2007/01/ ... news02.txt

it is a very sad day when American troops run from illegals... but we need to remember our government is thowing 2 border patrol agants in jail tomorrow for standing up to illegals....

Aguirre said the National Guard is not stationed here “to militarize the border. We’re not at war with Mexico. Mexico’s our friend

.”

Aguirre must not have had many friends growing up, because if he did, he would know the difference.

Originally Posted by Lone_Patriot

it is a very sad day when American troops run from illegals... but we need to remember our government is thowing 2 border patrol agants in jail tomorrow for standing up to illegals....

Exactly. The National Gaurd troops are just following orders. Not their fault. Again, it is our government. Their mission SHOULD be to militarize the border. It can be done. What the hell are we waiting for?

It appears that it is IMPORTANT to the government that the Border Patrol NOT be able to defend the border. The Border Patrol evidently has a whole different set of rules to go by than other law enforcement in our country, although I am sure their job is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous at times than regular law enforcement.

Border Patrol Agents deserve a metal just for agreeing to be out there under those conditions!!!!

IMPEACH!

What are we waiting for when the people and our elected official all know we have a traitor for a President!

Originally Posted by CCUSA

IMPEACH!

What are we waiting for when the people and our elected official all know we have a traitor for a President!

I am wondering if you know what impeachment entails. The way that the word is thrown around, some of you just sound like school yard bullies, who have nothing else to say but like to thrown out other people's quotes and phrases."Traitor" "Impeach"...words used by people who have no understanding of what is happening in our country, but want to feel powerful and be a part of something, even if they have no understanding of what that something is. Instead of the "phrases", please explain, in detail, in your own words what you mean by this ,how you think this will help our country, how long this task will take, what will it cost, and what the negative effects of this action will impose on our country. Until you answer those questions, you have no right spewing your hatred.

Impeaching the President won't get you any farther in your endeavor, it will just cost the American taxpayers more money and a greater lack of focus on issues that need to be taken care of.

Originally Posted by Neese

Originally Posted by CCUSA

IMPEACH!

What are we waiting for when the people and our elected official all know we have a traitor for a President!

I am wondering if you know what impeachment entails. The way that the word is thrown around, some of you just sound like school yard bullies, who have nothing else to say but like to thrown out other people's quotes and phrases."Traitor" "Impeach"...words used by people who have no understanding of what is happening in our country, but want to feel powerful and be a part of something, even if they have no understanding of what that something is. Instead of the "phrases", please explain, in detail, in your own words what you mean by this ,how you think this will help our country, how long this task will take, what will it cost, and what the negative effects of this action will impose on our country. Until you answer those questions, you have no right spewing your hatred.

Impeaching the President won't get you any farther in your endeavor, it will just cost the American taxpayers more money and a greater lack of focus on issues that need to be taken care of.

iagree. but even if we go through the extraordinary effort and jorge is impeached. then what? is there an election immediately? or does chaney just step in until 2008?
where does either of these choices put us in terms of the issues like homeland security and border protection?

iagree. but even if we go through the extraordinary effort and jorge is impeached. then what? is there an election immediately? or does chaney just step in until 2008?
where does either of these choices put us in terms of the issues like homeland security and border protection?

I am pretty sure that Cheney would step in until the next election. If something happened to Cheney, then Pelosi would take over. We have so much propganda in our country, I am surprised that people fall for it. Let's look at the facts: Bush was elected twice, and he didn't get in on his own, we elected him. He has done many good things for our country, including keeping our economy strong and unemployment low. This man has faced numerous obstacles during his Presidency, that we ourselves probably could not handle. The war in the middle east was a long time coming. It doesn't matter if there were no WMDs, the fact remains that we still have an entire culture of people who want to see us dead. It makes no difference if we started a war or not, they were still trying to kill us, and they will continue with that effort. Americans love a fall guy. We feel the need to place blame when things go wrong. Too bad, this is life, things go wrong. Stick together, make a new plan and get the job done. I have noticed that there has been a huge surge in women getting involved in politics lately. Some of them are brilliant, and some of them get their news off of the Oprah Winfrey Show and the View. This is dangerous because these are biased programs. Everybody loves a good cause, right? What better way then to jump on a bandwagon and start screaming and yelling and protesting and showing that nasty President of ours what a mess he has made of the world!! Everybody else is doing it, so it must be right, right? Wrong! First off, let's not bite the hand that feeds us, secondly, say what you want about the government or whatever, we still live in the best country on earth. Dividing our nation and protesting our President gives our enemies power by defeating the confidence of our allies. The terrorists, with the help of our biased media and unpatriotic citizens are taking down our nation. We can't win this on our own, we need help. The best way to do that is to zip our lips and be Pro-USA about everything....everything. Everyone likes a winning team right? We need to get those allies back. Impeachment will distract the President from the very things that he needs to be focusing on right now. In addition, I don't want my money spent on impeachment, I want the freaking fence built. We deserve answers. I want to know why our borders are left open. I guess my point is that impeachment will not get us any farther along than we already are. Things are a little disheveled right now. Do you really think that the President wants that? I don't. We have all made mistakes in our lives, we have all humiliated ourselves. This man is no different, except that he is under a magnifying glass 24 hours a day. How would you like same a-hole withh a megaphone announcing all of your mistakes all day long for four years. It just isn't a position, there is a man behind the suit. I would guess that he has had to make some very difficult choices, many of which we will not see. Things will get better, we just need to stick together...all of us.