I was intrigued to read this report on Alex Jones excellent INFOWARS site (www.infowars.com.
It speaks of the National Guard soon to be deployed to the US/Canadian border
(by end of March '02.) What makes this extremely relevant to the coming MARTIAL
LAW scenario is this:
When investigating MARTIAL LAW across the country, I heard from insiders and
watchdog groups that BORDER SECURITY WILL BE BEEFED UP intensely as martial law
comes down. Already, Canada has beefed up it's border patrol and security at
border crossings. It has already been anticipated by both governments that
Americans will seek to flee across the border into Canada to escape what is
coming down under martial law, and hence the need for increase in border
security. They will not allow the Americans to flee into Canada at that time.
I believe that this report may be a warning signal and perhaps an indication of
the time frame we may be looking at this year.
-Pam Schuffert reporting from across America
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Pentagon will try to speed assistance at border
By Ray Rivera
Seattle Times staff reporter
Paul Wolfowitz
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Graphic: Watching the borders
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz promised yesterday to try to speed up
the mobilization of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Canadian border, a move
that would ease traffic congestion and provide relief for inspectors who have
worked massive amounts of overtime since the September attacks.
But in response to questions from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during a
Senate Budget Committee hearing in Washington D.C., Wolfowitz made it clear that
the Pentagon is reluctant to deploy the Guard for an extended period.
"We're going to step up to our piece of it," Wolfowitz said, according
to a transcript of the hearing, "(but) when we look at the type of budget
demands on this department, it's very important that other agencies don't leave
us holding the bag indefinitely.
"I don't think we should start thinking of the men and women who volunteer
to serve their country in uniform as just being a readily available pool of
manpower," Wolfowitz added.
At Murray's urging, Wolfowitz agreed to investigate whether the training of
Guard troops for border duty could begin immediately and not wait for
interagency agreements to be drafted. Starting the monthlong training before the
memorandums are completed could shave seven to 10 days off the time to
deployment, Murray's office said later.
"I understand the legal and organizational challenges when we're
determining how best to deploy National Guard assets," Murray told
Wolfowitz, according to the transcript, "but I want you to know that every
day spent negotiating the fine print of a (memorandum of understanding) is
another day spent in gridlock and economic hardship for border communities
across our country, but particularly in Whatcom County in my home state."
The Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and Customs
Service each asked for Guard support within weeks of the September terrorist
attacks. And in December, U.S Attorney General John Ashcroft announced troops
were on the way. But two months later, the agencies still are waiting.
The delay has been caused largely by bureaucratic infighting over whether the
Guard should be deployed under federal or state control. Proponents of state
control, including Gov. Gary Locke, said it would have been more efficient and
less costly and would have given local leaders more flexibility in managing
troops. But in deciding on federal control, the Pentagon has made clear that it
wants to maintain uniformity across the states in how soldiers are used.
Federal control also would aid the Pentagon's desire to limit the Guard
deployment to six months — enough time for other agencies to recruit
and train people, Wolfowitz said.
The Guard troops are expected to arrive at the Canadian border by late next
month.
But Murray yesterday raised concerns that six months may not be sufficient.
Federal legislation passed in December will roughly double the number of agents
along the north border, and President Bush has called for record spending
increases to further improve border security. But Customs and INS officials have
said it will take at least a year to hire and train new agents.
"I hope we can work with you if we have to extend beyond (six
months)," she told Wolfowitz.
She also encouraged him to ask the president to request supplemental funds if
needed.
"I'll check into that," Wolfowitz replied.
Ray Rivera can be reached at 206-464-2926 or rayrivera@seattletimes.com.
