Border violence: State has to be prepared
El Paso Times Staff
Article Launched: 10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT


Drug violence in Mexico has to be a grave concern to U.S. officials because of the danger of that violence spilling across the border into the United States.

There's a very real possibility of that happening, according to a report released recently by Fred Burton, a member of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Border Security Council and a former counter-terrorism agent with the U.S. State Department. Burton is now vice president of counterterrorism and corporate security at Stratfor, an Austin-based firm.

Burton said in his report, "U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat the cartels, which are organized, wealthy, and unafraid of the authorities, suffer from poor coordination, corruption and lack of resources."

If the cartels are unafraid of the authorities -- and they have demonstrated that over and over in Mexico -- they're unlikely to be afraid of authorities on this side of the border. And that obviously could lead to mass violence on the U.S. side of the border.

That hasn't happened yet, and there are those who dispute that it could or will happen. Tony Payan, political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said that reports such as Burton's create unrealistic images of what's happening along the border. Payan said, "Most people along the border live their daily lives in peace and are worried about the same things as the rest of Mexico and the rest of America."

The point is well taken, because there's not constant, daily, drug-related violence in the United States along the southern border. But the possibility of that happening cannot and should not be discounted. Prevention is preferable to reacting after the fact.
Much of the concern about border security and the chance of violence spilling across the border is the common complaint about border matters ranging from bridge-crossing times to immigration to security against incursion and violence: The feds simply aren't doing enough. Federal failure to produce solutions dumps the problems squarely on border-state governments.

There's rhetoric aplenty coming from federal elected and appointed officials, but precious little in the form of substantive help. Therefore the state has to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the safety of its citizens.

If the drug cartels see the necessity or advantage of introducing increased levels of violence on this side of the border, there's no doubt they will do it without a second thought. There's already a flourishing binational trade in illegal drugs. It wouldn't be unexpected for violence to follow close behind.

State officials can't afford the luxury of sitting around waiting for the feds to do something. So this year legislators approved $110 million for increased law enforcement in border areas. By all rights that should be federal money and a federal response.

But until that happens, state officials have to be proactive rather than reactive, and proactive means being prepared.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_7215982