Arizona Governor to Send Guard troops to the Border

The Governor of Arizona has issued an executive order to have National Guard troops work at the border. Though this sounds like she has decided to get busy with border security, it's really just more of the same dodging of the issue. The order makes no mention of specific numbers, only that the legislature appropriate the money to send them. It does give specifics of what they will do. They are listed below.

Napolitano's executive order spells out what duties the Guard can do at the border, including:

• Helping Arizona Department of Public Safety officers check cars going from Arizona to Mexico.

• Assisting with cargo and vehicles inspections at border crossing points.

• Helping out local law enforcement agencies in the border counties.

Two of the three are just not what the Guard should be doing. The Arizona State Government should hire more people if they have insufficient people to check cars and trucks crossing the border. Guard troops have jobs and shouldn't be used just to do other jobs at military pay. The problem is illegal crossings at points other than the main roads. She wants to sound tough but still wants to twiddle her thumbs waiting for the Feds.

The legislature has passed a law requiring the posting of 100 Guardsmen, but the Governor is miffed because it's her authority to command the National Guard. She is beginning to sound like Governor Blanco from Louisiana when Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans. She wrung her hands and begged for help when she should have been getting things done. Governor Napolitano needs to stop waiting for Washington to come to the rescue and get busy doing what needs to be done to protect her state. She can handle Washington's neglect later. She owes it to the citizens of the state.