Feds Scale Back Hartford Border Patrol Station

Isn't it typical, Border Patrol sets up a check point on the Northern border just like the ones that have been in existence along the Southern border for decades and what happens. People up North start to complain, Senator Pat Leahy and former speaker Newt Gingrich question the effectiveness of such a check point. Now just like magic the check point is scaled back. A few weeks ago, the former speaker stated, in general, that terrorists come from Canada, when chastised by Canadian officials because none of the 9/11 hijackers entered from Canada, he apologized. What about the Millenium Bomber, Ahmed Ressam caught in the act with explosives coming from CANADA in 1999. All this talk about securing the borders tends to be hogwash, what these folks want is to secure the Southern border, because they are in denial about the terrorist threat from the North. Hopefully, these learned gentlemen will come up with a plan to protect us from these threats from the South who want to pick produce, cut yards, and work construction..... lions and tiger and Mexicans, oh my!

BT

Who is the threat....

A few years back, El Paso was having a large crime problem. Illegal aliens were coming across and causing all kinds of problems for the local area. There was a Border Patrol Chief who figured out how to solve the problem, in short, he assigned Patrol Agents an X on a map in the problem areas and in a short time the crime rate in El Paso dropped significantly. Now this is an oversimplified and short version of the events, but they are accurate. (By the way, the Chief is now in Congress) If these are the kinds of problems the minutemen and all the others are trying to prevent by the sensationalist type of media coverage, I guess that is OK. In reality, if BP was given the resources and say if the Customs Patrol was brought out of mothballs, it could be done. BUT....

If the reason for all the fuss and muss is terrorism, stop looking at the "brown horde" (derogatory term for the masses of illegal aliens that come from Mexico that has been used for years) that seems to worry so many and go way north. The threat from Canada is much greater, anyone who has any knowledge of terrorism will concur. It is wrong to use the terrorist threat as an excuse to mask the real threat. If Congress wants to stop illegal immigration, all it has to do is give clear, strong direction and provide the resources. On the other hand, if they want to stop terrorists at the borders, they might have to ruffle some feathers from those coming from the north. Those who are much more likely to complain about long lines and questions before being allowed entry into the US and I don't mean the "brown horde".

BT

Observations from the Northland....

As we conclude our interdiction training on the longest unguarded border in the world, I have a few observations.

The Officers doing the job really want to do the best job they can.

The status quo keeps them from doing that.

By hosting and supporting the training, the managers are showing their desire
to change the status quo.

In order to make the changes, the Officers need to push the envelope a little to
break the routine and throw some curves to the bad guys.

The terrorist threat is much greater on the Northern border than on the Southern border(quantifiable) .


One final note, if the folks running the show would turn the troops loose and put them in a full enforcement mode, they would impress the hell out of everyone. It is the border, we are going to inspect you and we don't care if you are white, black or purple. We don't care what you are wearing or driving. We will conduct a threat assessment, make the call, do what we need to do to keep the country safe and by doing that we will keep you safe. Steely eyed vigilance is what I like to call it, let the travelers know they are crossing an international border and it is more than just crossing the street. Be professional and the public will understand that we are working for them.

BT out!

Strides....

Contrary to popular belief, there is some good things going on. One of them is bringing cargo interdiction training to the North East. It has been going on in the North West for a while now, with nice results. The fact that it has moved in this direction says quite a bit. Hopefully, a few fires have been lit in some of those doing the job, and as they show their enforcement results, more and more will jump on the band wagon. Respects to those hosting the training and my wishes that you reap that which you have sown.... as there is no turning back now!

If we can just get the burros to let the professionals develop the courses and do the training, we will come back to where we were a few years ago. Not to be negative, just an objective observation.

As for Esteban, best wishes in your new direction, thanks for always being a straight shooter and stay safe. It won't be the same without you, but nothing seems the same anymore.....

BT

The Frigid North....

Sorry for the delay between blogs, but I am on the Northern border providing some training to those protecting the borders. Maybe I will put one together up here.


BT