Pentagon, DHS Divided On Military's Role at Border

washingtonpost.com:

A proposal to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to counter drug trafficking has triggered a bureaucratic standoff between the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security over the military's role in domestic affairs, according to officials in both departments.

Read the whole story: washingtonpost.com

Comments

[getoffmedz]

DHS is totally redundant and needs to go.

Huge savings potential here, folks.

[sviolette]

The government is addicted to the war on drugs. They need therapy to end the addiction.

[MisterHands]

The war on d.rugs, makes Iraq look like a success.

[dteg]

Decriminalize. The war is lost.

[wndrwrthg]

Allowing the National Guard to TRAIN along the border is fine and dandy. Their presence alone will be a detriment to some. There should be no police duties involved, but if they interdict someone they may hold them until Border Patrol may take custody of them. It should be a shared command, with duties and responsibilities detailed out.

[SinisterK9]

Posse Comitatus generally prohibits police duties by the military. Specifically Guard units as well, if they are called into federal service, and not performing duties on federally owned land (such as Departement of Defense installations). The Coast Guard is also exempt during peacetime operations.

[SmolderingRuin]

FTA:

..."President Obama has signaled that he is open to the idea, asking Congress for $250 million to deploy the National Guard while also saying he was "not interested in militarizing the border."

Well, which is it? You can't have it both ways. Oh, wait....

[fcsakes]

The war on drugs is a huge waste of time and the taxpayer's money, not to mention the danger to our troops. I've always wondered how many of our esteemed millionaires and billionaires get a share of that drug bonanza themselves, not to mention the politicians who have the power to change the law. Why else would the drug business still be a business instead of being legal, controlled, and TAXED?

Cut the cra* and stop being stooooooooooopid.

[SamKnause]

Has our government not heard, that we lost the war on drugs? Are our elected officials the only people in the universe that does not know the war on drugs has failed? I thought we had momentum to change a lot of things, but it doesn't seem to be fueling any good decisions our way. It seems to be business as usual, and I don't understand this. Why did I truly believe, that this time it would be different and better, for we the people?

[TJCole]

No more Lawyers as the Head of Homeland Security...!

It is not a job for a lawyer..never was..not Chertoff not this woman...!

[goldcoastsailor]

If the national guard can't be used to guard our borders then what if anything should they be guarding?

[goldcoastsailor]

After all we need to protect our domestic growers.

[Sepulchre]

When will they realize that the War on Drugs, A) Can't be won and B) is a huge waist of time and money? When you continue to do the same thing over and over again and get bad results, I think that is one of the definition of insanity isn't it?

[WorkingClass]

If Obama wasn't so stupid he would ask congress to decriminalize marijuana.

[LazarusLong]

A - Obama is not stupid - but you knew that.

B - Barney Franks has introduced legislation ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/barney-frank-introduces-m_b_219263.html ). You do understand how the process works, right ?

[zepfan81]

Is that Janet post-op or pre-op?

[StillAmused]

Maybe, Rush has some spare time...

[Jazzman323]

Janet Napolitano shouldn't run anything else. She is a failure at the DHS, so don't give her more things to screw up.

[TJCole]

Agreed her decision to choose Commerce over Public Safety in the H1N1 outbreak should disqualify her prima facially...