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MEXIDATA . INFO
Column 080408 Brewer

Monday, August 4, 2008

The USA must have an Effective Defense along all Borders

By Jerry Brewer

It is imperative for a savvy democratic nation and generation to


understand that escalating international crime, violence, and
terrorist threats affect the nation as a whole. These threats, and
the necessary security to deter these attacks, are certainly no
less important than environmental concerns.

And such terrorist threats, as well as the illicit trafficking in arms,


narcotics and human beings, and the laundering of illegal
proceeds to sustain diabolical endeavors, demand solutions and
collective efforts to combat them.

The protection of the U.S. border against this scourge of


criminal insurgents plays a pivotal role in the overall
international crime-fighting strategy, as many democratic
nations look to the United States for its leadership and
compassion.

The United States requires and demands defense of its public


land, sea and air frontiers against all enemies, foreign and
domestic.

It is now becoming abundantly clear to many, who have buried


their heads in the sand over the word "terrorism," that this
menace has blossomed into established links with drug
trafficking organizations. Too, illicit and sophisticated killing
weapons are their tools of their trade, as well as a mechanism
for establishing their control, power, and reign of terror.

The drug trafficking link to terrorists, due to the astronomical


amounts of financial proceeds, was after all an expected
marriage of convenience that would unite disparate insurgents,
regardless of ethnicity, race, or religious ideologies. What better
plan or conspiracy than to provide your enemy with their drug of
choice for massive profits, as the unwitting customer contributes
monetarily to his own destruction as well as that of his
homeland? This certainly is a victory for the united terrorist
apparatus that professes to have the last laugh via jihad.

What do we call upon the U.S. government to do about our


plight? What do we do as a nation to unite in concern over
these issues of homeland security?

A concerned nation will unite to a cause that is real and demand


action. Safeguarding our nation's borders is our government's
fundamental and essential responsibility. Priorities must be
assigned, a strategic plan designed and established, and the
appropriate forces and resources marshaled and deployed to
action in a timely manner.

The United States, due to illegal immigration and the increased


violence on our southern border, may now be turning a blind
eye to the north. The U.S.-Canadian border is the "most open
free trade border in the world." The stark reality is that
homeland security on the northern border means protection and
interdiction that requires security along a total of 9,600 land and
sea miles (air space is not included in that assessment).

Homeland security is an awesome and complex set of


operational acts that requires an integrated management effort
of a myriad of necessary and integral components. This
necessity is to mitigate risk and effectively respond to the
infrastructure and needs of the states.

Terrorists require organization as their first act, and terrorism as


their second stage. They use strategic vision that includes an
incredible patience in their planning and in assessing security of
their target(s). They conduct exhaustive surveillance to monitor
and test the strengths, vulnerabilities, preparedness, response,
and will of their adversaries.

Terrorists will also attempt to seize, exploit, and control the role
of government and police by their reign of assassination,
violence, and terror. Mexico, by virtue of the drug cartel's links
to terrorism, is in the midst of this experience, with a figure of
over 50% of Mexico's cities described as "under the control of
organized crime" by UN consultant Edgardo Buscaglia.

The effectiveness of U.S. border security will not be properly


assessed by the numbers of illegal immigrants that cross.
Migration is historical and the numbers are massive. Cubans
have recently numbered around 11,500 entering the U.S. from
Mexico and other points south.

Proper security assessment requires the tracking of border


breaches that pose imminent threats to the lives of the public at
large and the infrastructure as a whole. The massive attention
to illegal immigrants on the southern border has ironically forced
the organized criminal insurgents/traffickers to vary their land,
sea and air routes and points of entry to safeguard their
contraband.
The U.S. military role and support in homeland security is
intently noted and needed. And immediate response to
actionable intelligence is necessary.

The sad truth is that the United States is vulnerable to disaster,


and its overall well-being faces vulnerabilities that are greater
than anything encountered in the past 200 years. The drug
traffickers are highly organized, well financed and trained,
heavily armed insurgents at this point – and they pose a critical
threat to the sovereignty and security of the United States of
America.

——————————
Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice
International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm
headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a guest columnist with
MexiData.info. jbrewer@cjiausa.org

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