Guard plan is the best plan for a difficult situation
Wednesday, May 17, 2006 12:14 PM PDT
Our Opinion
President George Bush's plan to deploy a modest force of National Guard troops along the Mexican-American border to help shore up the border patrol is a good idea.
While some questions linger - especially regarding availability of Guard resources - the move is the right one at the right time.
The Guard troops will be on hand to help while the Border Patrol makes adjustments to its own force to address the illegal immigration issue.
Some lawmakers, rightly, pointed out that the Guard, along with the active duty military, is already stretched thin because of commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
While that is true, to a point, it needlessly muddies the issue.
Guard commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan are one subject, finding a way to secure our border with Mexico is a separate issue. Plus, the Guard force will most likely number less than 9,000 troops, not exactly a massive mobilization.
We suggested on this page and in this space Sunday that a Guard presence on the border is the best method - in line with the Constitution - to address this issue.We still believe it to be so and we applaud President Bush for his decision.
