Yesterday, I was driving over to the McDonald's in Douglas, AZ (on the AZ/Mexico border) and I had one of those Catch 22 moments. I watched as 4 Border Patrolmen rode by on their bicycles patrolling Douglas. Huh? WTF?
As a medic in the Army, had some tours involving borders. Time as a cavalry medic in Korea walking foot patrols in the DMZ (demilitarized zone between North and South Korea). Some time assigned to JTF 6(joint task force 6: military support for border control) during the mid 90's. Just strikes me as some of the things we're doing are for show when it comes to Border security.
Now let me say that I am not a fan of putting armed US serviceman on that border. Bad things can happen. I remember in the 90's an 11 year old kid getting shot by a US marine accidentally in Texas. That was the end of JTF 6 (we were basically running Long Range Patrols(LRRP) along the border. Even in my mid 20's I always had the feeling back then wasn't a good idea for us to be running around with live ammo in civilian areas.
Fast forward to 2000, living on the border. We had a great economy, lot's of people wanted a chance to do better for themselves and their families. Yeah, they're were a lot of people going through my back yard. At most only leaving the back water on sometimes. Things are way different now. In addition to the Border Patrol, local law enforcement agencies are also provided federal funds to provide overtime for their officers to help with border security (Operation Stone Garden). Sooo, rather than Border Patrol bicycle patrols in border cities; how about having them out in the boonies and desert.
As for cartel violence here in the US, keep in mind we're the primero customer. I know not everyone agrees on drug legalization; but the number one money maker for Mexican cartels still is Marijuana. I've debated this in other diaries with other health care people, but as an ER nurse for 20 yrs still haven't seen a Marijuana OD. I would hope more Americans would appreciate we're the cause for the violence in Mexico. It's a war to gain access to American markets.