Defense Contractors Militarize Mexican Border

[Ripley]

...Expensive drones now in regular use.

t r u t h o u t | Defense Contractor Money Fueling Push to Militarize the US-Mexico Border


After months of prodding from anti-immigration politicians, the entire US-Mexico border is now being watched by the Predator B unmanned surveillance aircraft commonly known as Predator drones. The news may comfort residents of border states where the details of Mexico's brutal drug war continue to make headlines, but here's some more comforting news: violent crime in US border states has decreased during the past decade, and some big border cities are the safest in the nation.


Here's some uncomfortable news: several of the politicians who pushed to bring more Predator drones to the border have received campaign contributions from military contractors that make drone aircraft and parts.


But, on the bright side, the downward trend of violent crime in border states coupled with the


..$600 million President Barack Obama recently approved in spending on security technology like Predator drones and the deployment of 1,200 additional National Guard troops to the border indicates that the region is secure, really, really secure.


Even Homeland Security Secretary Jane Napolitano said the border is safer than ever as she briefed the press on the new Predator drones and the arrival of National Guard troops, according to The New York Times.
"Numbers don't lie," Napolitano added.


Violent crime rates in border states dropped along with national rates during that past decade. Between 2002 and 2008, the violent crime rate in Arizona dropped 19 percent, the rate in New Mexico dropped 11.5 percent and the rate in Texas dropped 12.4 percent, according to the Department of Justice statistics bureau.
An Associate Press report published in June showed that the top four big cities with the lowest violent crime rates in the US are located in border states. The cities are Phoenix, San Diego, El Paso and Austin.


Even though the crime rate has dropped, Homeland Security is spending millions on unprecedented security. Homeland Security has reported that the new security measures have brought an "unprecedented" and "historic" level of security to the border region, according to a release.


But for Predator Drone fans like Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), it all may not be enough. Cornyn has received $48,250 in campaign contributions during his political career from aircraft maker Lockheed Martin, according to political watchdog OpenSecrets.org: Money in Politics -- See Who's Giving & Who's Getting. Lockheed Martin is military a contractor that develops drone aircraft technology and has competed for Predator drone contracts.
"Texans have had it with speeches and empty promises - we want immediate resources and attention to the growing security crisis along our southern border," Cornyn said Wednesday. "I will continue to press the Department of Homeland Security to devote additional Predators to cover the Texas border, and pursue additional ways to achieve real border security."
Earlier this year Cornyn teamed up with Sen. Kay Hutchinson (R-Texas) and put pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the use of Predator drones across the entire border.


In 2010, Hutchinson has received $15,000 in campaign contributions from a Political Action Committee (PAC) affiliated with Vaught Aircraft, a company that manufactures wings for the Global Hawk, a drone flown by the Air Force and Navy. In late May, she introduced legislation to give the border patrol $144 million to monitor all 2,000 miles of the border with drones seven days a week. Amendment co-sponsor Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) received $25,350 this year from a PAC and individuals in the Raytheon Co., a large military contractor that makes detection and ranging equipment for the Predator B drone.
"I am very pleased with today's decision to expand UAV patrols to the entire Texas-Mexico border, but we still have more progress to make," Hutchinson said on Wednesday.


A spokeswoman for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the main company that manufactures the Predator B drone, told Truthout that


..the price of a Predator varies per customer, but usually runs between $10 and $12 million.

When it comes to border security, numbers just don't lie.

[Norton]

price of a Predator varies per customer, but usually runs between $10 and $12 million.

Predator can be used for surveillance only or to deliver weapons. If gov only interested in surveillance many less expensive "drone" options in use worldwide.

"Illegals" beware.

[Ripley]

^
Good grief, is that wha happened to those 75 people recently found dead in an abandoned ruined warehouse, blamed it on the "Zeta Gang" drug cartel?

[Bettyboo]

Yeah, America is a really fuked up place...

When you are 'defending' your borders with army misile delivery and covert operations aircraft/technology, then you have a very serious problem. Not locally in those areas, but nationally with regard to government/regional governance, foreign policy and society in general. No need to address unemployment and social integration directly and solve the problems, just throw crazy amounts of money to our friends in high places, you know the ones who have been fukin up the country for the last few decades or so...

Brings to mind various images of Kurt Russell in NY, Orwellian ideas, general fuked up scifi shit from 30 years ago.

[Bettyboo]

Just to add: Obama has a tough job, I accept that. Nonetheless, although not as bad as Bush, he has been a serious letdown, for whatever reasons.

[Norton]

for whatever reasons.

Campaign from your base. Govern from the middle.

[Bettyboo]

^ Indeed. But, the middle government seems to be pretty far right...

[Jet Gorgon]

obama said he'd be in the centre and bridge the partisan gap. He has done anything but that and has moved far left, but not far enough to appease the commies and anti-war folks.
WTF is rip concerned about the border? Does she care about the drug cartel mules, the human trafficking, the drugs, the killings? Seems she's only concerned about the US using fekin drones and *sob* the "innocent* people are being killed. Fek; why don't these illegal female Mexicans have abortions? Oh ya, anchor babies get free benefits.
I don't understand rip. She hates government, she hates business, she hates people who make money (but she lives off lawsuit funds), she hates carnivores, she hates oil (remind me, how did you get to Thailand?), and she hates war, but she figures it's ok for her to kill her own babies. Bizarre.

AZ:
(Arizona) Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu: "Drug cartels control this area."
"Local law enforcement cannot handle and stop this on our own."
"We are outgunned, we are outmanned and we don't have the resources here locally for us to fight this."

The Truth About Illegal Immigration

Americans warned off their own country's land.

[Ripley]

Complaining about your inability to understand... well anything, is your defense of an out of control war industry now militarizing our borders at great profit to themselves?

As always, I am unconvinced.

[Ripley]

Yeah, America is a really fuked up place...

When you are 'defending' your borders with army misile delivery and covert operations aircraft/technology, then you have a very serious problem. Not locally in those areas, but nationally with regard to government/regional governance, foreign policy and society in general. No need to address unemployment and social integration directly and solve the problems, just throw crazy amounts of money to our friends in high places, you know the ones who have been fukin up the country for the last few decades or so...

Brings to mind various images of Kurt Russell in NY, Orwellian ideas, general fuked up scifi shit from 30 years ago.

Agree, a bonafide dystopia but it is spreading throughout UK and western EU too.

[Jet Gorgon]

The war profit machine. Yep, the US should send the troops out with toy guns and electric vehicles. Do the Mexican drug cartels have a war profit machine? The stupidity of the anti-protection peaceniks here is unfathomable. Is it OK for mexican druggies to cross the border illegally and terrorise and kill American citizens?

[superman]

Is it OK for mexican druggies to cross the border illegally and terrorise and kill American citizens?

Normal day for Afghan's then ? How come America ain't sending drones into Mexico ?

[ron2mutt]

I live in Texas and am happy the drones are flying the border now. We spent billions developing this technology and this is a perfect application at just the incremental cost of operations. Its a shame what is happening in Mexico and I don't want it to spread here. Already, some of it has but that can be reversed in those locations with beefed up law enforcement. Now if we could just get the user population in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and the rest of the US to understand what the drug money they are supplying is doing to our country and Mexico. I think we need some in your face advertising on MTV etc. to show them what they are funding.

[sabang]

AZ:
(Arizona) Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu: "Drug cartels control this area."
"Local law enforcement cannot handle and stop this on our own."
"We are outgunned, we are outmanned and we don't have the resources here locally for us to fight this."

Between 2002 and 2008, the violent crime rate in Arizona dropped 19 percent,

Someones telling porkies.

Anyway, using unmanned aircraft to monitor the border makes sense to me. Using them to bomb Mexican wedding parties doesnt.

Theres a violent drug war happening on the Mexican side- good thing it seems to be staying there.

[Jet Gorgon]

AZ:
(Arizona) Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu: "Drug cartels control this area."
"Local law enforcement cannot handle and stop this on our own."
"We are outgunned, we are outmanned and we don't have the resources here locally for us to fight this."

Between 2002 and 2008, the violent crime rate in Arizona dropped 19 percent,

Someones telling porkies.

Erm, this Sheriff's quote is very recent and last I checked, this is 2010. Oh, and wasn't that time frame of the crime rate drop when Bush was in office?

[Ripley]

Perhaps you would enjoy the thread in issues regarding falling crime rates linked with legalizing abortion.

https://teakdoor.com/issues/79019-leg...ime-rates.html

So with all the budget cutbacks , and with falling crime, are expensive gadgets being purchased for a border with an ally country?
Another war front, three going now.

[Jet Gorgon]

^ I wouldn't call Mexico an ally when it's not helping to contain its own borders and. along with obama and AG Holder, is suing Arizona for its II law. Seeing as how you seemingly have only contempt for Americans (altho one yourself, albeit a tax evader), I can understand why you would care more for illegal aliens rather than the safety and security of Americans in the border areas. Never mind the amount of $ spent on social services, education and jails for illegals.
Ya, I read your left-wing comment about abortions lowering the crime rate. I read Freakonomics years ago. Face it, most people who continue to churn out babies are the welfare folks coz they get more cash per kid. Also the muslims have lots of kiddies. Why not just sterilise these people? Cheaper and only gotta do it once.
Write to Al Sharpton and his ilk about why the family unit in black communities has disappeared (the mom can't get welfare with a husband around). Hey, there's a black in the WH; why don't these people go to work? If they worked on the farms, illegal immigration would drop. But, that's too much like work.
For someone who refuses to pay taxes because your govt is a "war-monger" and continues to harp on America's wars (guess nobody else is fighting), it's amusing to see your hypocritical avatar with the chick and the massive gun.

[Ripley]

The above is proof positive JG , you are Aryan.




My Av, Ripley knows when a good offense is needed. She's defending herself against those that would kill her, not trying to rape whole regions for oil.

[Norton]

She's defending herself against those that would kill her

Aliens innit.

[Jet Gorgon]

She's defending herself against those that would kill her

Aliens innit.

Dunno, she says she's on offense but she's using defense? Appears she is confused. Refresh my memory, didn't some humans bring in the aliens that chick is attacking or saving herself from? So, it's the same as rip killing off illegals trying to cross the border from Mexico? Good girl!

[Ripley]

She's defending herself against those that would kill her

Aliens innit.

Dunno, she says she's on offense but she's using defense? Appears she is confused. Refresh my memory, didn't some humans bring in the aliens that chick is attacking or saving herself from? So, it's the same as rip killing off illegals trying to cross the border from Mexico? Good girl!

I guess there may be some merit in discussing choice of avatar but really I wouldn't hinge a whole concept of another's personality or personal situation on it.

I'll explain my choice-Ripley is smart and strong, a survivor above all while not resorting to usage of her twat to get what she needs.

BTW I see you have changed your Avatar a few times of late, now two useless but button pushing symbolic beams of light shining into ... nothing.

How appropriate.

[Ripley]

I live in Texas and am happy the drones are flying the border now. We spent billions developing this technology and this is a perfect application at just the incremental cost of operations. Its a shame what is happening in Mexico and I don't want it to spread here. Already, some of it has but that can be reversed in those locations with beefed up law enforcement. Now if we could just get the user population in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and the rest of the US to understand what the drug money they are supplying is doing to our country and Mexico. I think we need some in your face advertising on MTV etc. to show them what they are funding.

Perhaps a different view on drug usage is needed, Mexico is considering de- criminalizing it.

t r u t h o u t | Weary of Drug War, Mexico Debates Legalization
Weary of Drug War, Mexico Debates Legalization

Wednesday 08 September 2010
by: Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers | Report

Mexico City - A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs — once a taboo suggestion — is percolating in Mexico, a nation exhausted by runaway violence and a deadly drug war.
The debate is only likely to grow more animated if Californians approve an initiative on Nov. 2 to legalize marijuana for recreational use in their state.
Mexicans are keeping a close eye on the vote, seeing it as a bellwether.
"If they vote 'yes' to approve the full legalization of marijuana, I think it will have a radical impact in Mexico," said Jorge Hernandez Tinajero, a political scientist at the National Autonomous University.


Discussion about legalization flew onto the agenda last month, the outcome of President Felipe Calderon's pressing need to win more public support for waging war against criminal organizations profiting hugely from drug trafficking.
As he held a series of open forums with politicians and civic leaders about faltering security, Calderon suddenly found himself amid a groundswell of suggestions that legalization — which he described as "absurd" — should be considered.


Among those throwing their weight behind legalization was former President Vicente Fox, a member of Calderon's own conservative National Action Party.
"We should consider legalizing the production, distribution and sale of drugs," Fox wrote on his blog during the series of forums. "Legalizing in this sense does not mean that drugs are good or don't hurt those who consume.


Rather, we have to see it as a strategy to strike and break the economic structure that allows the mafias to generate huge profits in their business."


Calderon immediately said Mexico couldn't act on its own to legalize.
"If drugs are not legalized in the world, or if drugs are not legalized at least in the United States, this is simply absurd, because the price of drugs is not determined in Mexico.



The price of drugs is determined by consumers in Los Angeles, or in New York, or in Chicago or Texas," he said.


Such public debate would have been largely unthinkable a few years ago. Since Calderon came to office in late 2006, however, a national gloom has descended on Mexico from unending cartel violence and a death toll topping 28,000. The grim mood has provided fertile ground for public figures who think that legalization would undercut the power of the drug cartels.


Among them are business tycoons such as billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who controls broadcaster TV Azteca, and retailer Grupo Elektra.
With his own pro-legalization statement, Fox aligned with another former president, Ernesto Zedillo, who suggested last year that prohibition isn't working.


Still, several analysts said debate about legalization — coming most strongly from the political left — was an attempt to needle Calderon as much as an exploration of whether legalization is feasible.


Edgardo Buscaglia, an expert on Mexico's criminal syndicates, said Mexico's government is too weak to legalize and regulate narcotics and marijuana.
"You need to have regulatory capacity in place," he said. "Mexico does not even have the capacity to regulate its pharmaceutical products."
Without a better framework, any move to take away penalties for narcotics would "amount to a subsidy to drug organizations," he said, as prices and demand remain buoyant for illegal narcotics in the U.S. and other countries.
Legislators in August 2009 quietly decriminalized the possession of less than 5 grams of marijuana, the equivalent of about four joints. Tiny amounts of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, LSD, and methamphetamine also are no longer subject to criminal penalties.