Gunmen Attack National Guard Border Patrol Site in Arizona

[f5fstop]

When, will our legislators and President wake up and put an end to this ****. We arm the NG in Iraq, why can't we arm them in the USA to defend themselves on OUR border from Mexicans shooting at them.

I understand that the Posse Comitatus Act, prevents the the US Military and the National Guard, WHEN FEDERALIZED, from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the US borders. So, let's de-federalize them, let the States control them, and allow them to be armed. If this doesn't work, the President should use the Insurrection Act, which allows for the President to us Federal troops if a natural disaster, epidemic occur, a serious public health emergency, terrorist attack, or other condition, when the President determines that the authorities of the state are incapable of maintaining public order. Not sure about anyone else, but I consider this illegal **** from Mexico to be an epidemic of illegals which is the same as a terrorist attack.



http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,241783,00.html

Gunmen Attack National Guard Border Patrol Site in Arizona

Friday, January 05, 2007

E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
TUCSON, Ariz. ? National Guard troops working at an observatory post near the Mexican border were forced to flee after being approached by a group of armed individuals, authorities said.

The event occurred about 11 p.m. Wednesday at one of the National Guard entrance identification team posts near Sasabe, said National Guard Sgt. Edward Balaban.

He said the troops withdrew safely, no shots were fired and no one suffered injuries.

U.S. Border Patrol officials are investigating the incident and trying to determine who the armed people were, what they were doing and why they approached the post before retreating to Mexico.

The incident occurred in the west desert corridor between Nogales and Lukeville in the vicinity of Sasabe, Balaban said.

"We don't know exactly how many because obviously it took place in the dark," Balaban said. "Nobody was able to get an accurate count."

The Guard troops are not allowed to apprehend illegal entrants.

"We don't know if this was a matter of somebody coming up accidentally on the individuals, coming up intentionally on the individuals, or some sort of a diversion," said Rob Daniels, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector.

The west desert corridor has been the busiest in the Tucson Sector for marijuana seizures since last year.

Agents have seized 124,000 pounds of marijuana there since Oct. 1, Daniels said.

With more Border Patrol agents and National Guard troops patrolling the Arizona section of the U.S.-Mexican border, it has become more difficult to smuggle drugs and people across and "that heightened frustration may have been connected to what took place last night," Daniels said.

Officials will make a decision following the investigation about whether changes need to be made in regard to the entrance identification teams, Balaban said.

Since arriving in mid-June, the Guard has assisted the Border Patrol by manning control rooms, doing vehicle and helicopter maintenance, repairing roads and fences, constructing vehicle barriers and fences and spotting and reporting illegal entrants in entrance identification teams.

There are dozens of National Guard entrance identification teams along the Mexican border, including east and west of both Nogales and Sasabe and on the Tohono O'odham Nation.

The troops stand post on hilltops next to army-green tents and serve as extra eyes and ears for the Border Patrol.

[Arizona Hummerboy]

I would like to see the National Guard have the right to Kick Some Ass when this Sh!t Happends.

[K9sH3]

[quote=f5fstop]When, will our legislators and President wake up and put an end to this ****. We arm the NG in Iraq, why can't we arm them in the USA to defend themselves on OUR border from Mexicans shooting at them.


QUOTE]




Isn't the whole point of them being there is to protect??? or do they collect the cell phones to give back to the Mexican Gov't, so they can give to the next group of illegals.
F5 is right, so damn right! this is shiat

[RuggedH2]

Does anyone actually think the Mexicans would attack if they thought for one second that the Americans would return fire and counter attack?

They know we are so tangled in bureaucracy and political correctness that we are almost helpless. The "regulations" don't even allow us to defend ourselves. This is insane.

We are being invaded by a foreign country. The national mindset seems to be "whatever, they work cheap".

Doesn't look good for the future.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Agreed, if you're going to co-opt the NG into border security, they need to be able to do more than withdraw if there's a problem.

I'm confused about the article tho. The title says gunmen "attacked", but the article says "no shots were fired". So did the mexicans actually fire their weapons or just wave them in the air? I thought the NG could return fire if fired upon.

[DennisAJC]

Originally Posted by Wisha Haddan H3

I'm confused about the article tho. The title says gunmen "attacked", but the article says "no shots were fired". So did the mexicans actually fire their weapons or just wave them in the air? I thought the NG could return fire if fired upon.

Over imaginative, over reactive, paranoid kids there. Probably making up stories again to fuel their boring daily duties. Will they get Purple Hearts for their act of bravery?

I had Mexicans stand too close to my rig at an Idaho gas station one time, so I guess I was a victim of an attempted car jacking.

[f5fstop]

This was also on TV. The NG is unarmed at the border due to Posse Comitatus, so they are in an observation mode only. The armed Mexicans were drug runners who surged across the border, causing the NG to retreat since they had not way to defend themselves against armed invaders.
Do shots have to be fired to say that an invasion is armed? If there are a number of Mexicans running surging across the US Border, and they are armed, yes it is an armed invasion of people who are not entering this country legally.
Sad part is if I was on the border as a civilian, I could be legally armed. Some Minutemen are armed...legally. So why not the NG?

I say one way to help this influx of these people, is to arm the NG, and shoot when necessary.

[tanklizard]

The arizona central newspaper has an article about this that explains it alot better:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...nt0106USE.html

Guard soldiers back off from armed men out of Mexico


Matthew Benson
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 6, 2007 12:00 AM

A Border Patrol official says National Guard troops acted appropriately this week when they abandoned their post near the border southwest of Tucson as four gunmen approached from Mexico.

It is the nearest that Guard members have come to an armed conflict on the border since spring when President Bush pledged up to 6,000 soldiers to help slow illegal immigration along the nation's 1,950-mile southern border.

No shots were fired in the incident, and no one was injured. Border Patrol spokesman Mario Martinez stressed that "there was no attack." advertisementOAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')

But he added, "It's a serious situation. We're not trying to say it wasn't a serious situation. We've never had an incident where there were gunmen this close to a post."

It also raises questions in the eyes of critics who say the border mission has placed Guard troops in an awkward position. Guardsmen are strictly in a backup role along the border. That means performing administrative functions, building roads and fences, even conducting surveillance in some cases, such as with the team near Tucson.

But they're never to confront or attempt to apprehend border crossers.

"What are we paying our National Guard to do (along the border)? That is the question," said Don Goldwater, who led a failed campaign for governor last year on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration.

"We're putting the National Guard down in harm's way along the border with no intention to allow them to protect themselves."

Goldwater is the nephew of the late Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, a former presidential candidate.

The armed confrontation took place about 11 p.m. Wednesday near Sasabe about a quarter-mile north of the border. A team of four or five Guard members, armed with M-16s, were watching for border crossers at an observation post when they spotted four men carrying what appeared to be rifles, Martinez said.

As the men came closer, the soldiers left their post and called for the Border Patrol.

"In order to not be detected, they moved to a safer location," Martinez said. "That's exactly what we want them to do.

"They're armed for their protection. Once they are afraid for their lives, they can defend themselves.

"That was not the case."

Border Patrol agents responded within minutes and scoured the area by helicopter and on the ground, but the gunmen could not be located. Their tracks showed that they had arrived near the observation post after crossing into the United States from Mexico.

Armed individuals crossing remote areas of the border typically are smuggling drugs, Martinez said, though it is unknown who the gunmen were in this incident. It's also uncertain whether the men were scouting the observation post, testing National Guard response or merely stumbled upon the soldiers.

Martinez wouldn't say whether troops have since returned to the observation post, but he noted that "we're still monitoring the area; we'll probably be monitoring the area closely for a while."

Gov. Janet Napolitano's staff was briefed about the incident by the Arizona National Guard, but it deferred comment to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A spokesman from that office did not respond to a phone message left by The Arizona Republic.

Barrett Marson, spokesman for state House Speaker Jim Weiers, said "legislative leaders have not been briefed on the situation but would like some information."

State Sen. Chuck Gray, a Republican and retired Mesa police officer, was surprised that Guard members would run in the face of an armed threat, unless they were seeking protective cover.

"I can tell you, as a police officer of 10 years, there was never a policy to flee," he said. "If they're running for cover, that's different than running away."

Illegal immigration moved to the forefront of American politics in the past few years. Polls consistently have said it is one of the top issues in the minds of Arizonans, and Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson declared border emergencies for their respective states in August 2005.

Nearly one year ago to the day, Napolitano used her State of the State address to call for the federal government to pay for the deployment of the National Guard to the border. In the spring, she got her wish with Bush's announcement of Operation Jump Start, a plan to use thousands of Guard members to tighten the border until new Border Patrol agents could be hired and trained.

Roughly 5,700 Guard members are stationed along the border, more than a quarter of whom are in Arizona. It is hoped that they can be pulled back by 2008.

Initial reports indicate the program has reduced illegal crossings. Apprehensions were down 11.4 percent in Arizona from 2005 to 2006, and down 8.5 percent for the four border states.

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Sounds like the Guardsman did exactely what they were ordered to do. They're not the ones that make policy, they're just the ones that get stuck following it.

Also I kind of doubt the Guardsman said they were "attacked." Much more likely the news came up with that little piece of misinformation to sell more papers with.