US may seek Guard help for border
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WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is developing plans to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to intensify the military’s counterdrug efforts along the Mexican border, senior administration officials said yesterday.
The plan is a stopgap measure being worked out between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department, and it comes despite Pentagon concerns about committing more troops to the border - a move some officials worry will be seen as militarizing the region.
Senior administration officials said the Guard program would last no longer than a year and would build on an existing operation. They said the program, which would largely be federally funded, would draw on Guard volunteers from the four border states. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been finalized.
Officials said the program would mainly seek out Guard members for surveillance, intelligence analysis, and aviation support. Guard units would also supply ground troops who could assist at border crossings and with land and air transportation.
President Obama this spring promised his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, that the United States would help with the escalating drug war, which has killed as many as 11,000 people since December 2006.
