Send Troops to the Border, Now

Putting a substantial number of U.S. troops on the border is long overdue. During the past decade on scores of occasions Mexican troops and police have crossed our border without permission. These armed violations of our sovereignty are properly a military concern.

And now with the spiraling violence south of the border, with the Mexican government pitted against well-armed drug cartels, the time is more ripe than ever to deploy troops to secure the border. In February, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called for the deployment of 1,000 troops or enforcement personnel. Said Perry, "I don't care if they are military, National Guard or customs agents. We're very concerned that the federal government is not funding border security adequately. We must be ready for any contingency."

Following Perry’s statement, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer requested the deployment of several hundred National Guard troops. She stated, “Arizona communities and citizens are negatively affected by the impacts of the illegal drug trade and related border violence, and enforcement agencies in all jurisdictions are stretched as they attempt to address the enormity of the problems.”

The Obama administration is aware of the situation on the border, but it is not certain how quickly and effectively it will act. Less than encouraging was Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s statement downplaying the extent of violence spilling over into the U.S. Contrary to what she suggested, the cartels have crossed the border and committed crimes. And if they do not see a sufficient deterrent, they will take that as green light to keep on committing crimes here, and more often.

Now is the time to act. Sending a sufficient force of troops, National Guard or regulars, will effectively send a message to all factions in Mexico. It will inform them that we are no longer accepting the status quo of a border out of control, leaving us wide open to illegal immigration, drug traffic, violence and armed incursions.

Sending troops in significant numbers, rather than just relying on civilian enforcement, coveys a level of seriousness that heretofore we have not sent. Rather than sit passively and allow chaos in Mexico to overtake us, we should act proactively to keep the situation under control. The cartels are well-armed with military equipment. We need soldiers on the border to make sure the criminals don’t have an edge in firepower.

President Obama recently affirmed his commitment to the war in Afghanistan. What’s happening south our border should claim at least his equal attention.