Shouldn't our National Guard be armed at the border now? Isn't his an act of war?

Question

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/borderstory0104-CR.html

Our troops are not armed and are not authorized to persue illegal invaders. Shouldn't that authorization change to allow them to persue and shouldn't they be ARMED? Aren't USA citizens suppose to be "protected" from foreign INVASION according to our Constitution? How can they PROTECT us from ARMED invaders without WEAPONS (arms)?!!
This makes me IRATE!!

Dead Inside - I believe if someone who is ARMED is coming at you no matter WHO you are, you have every right as an AMERICAN citizen to shoot their sorry invader azzez. Those National Guard troops are also citizens, they still have their rights.

(if spelling words incorrectly bothers you so much, you need to get out of Y!A, deadhead. Typos are everywhere. It's a small thing, don't sweat the small stuff. ^URS

Dead Inside - I believe if someone who is ARMED is coming at you no matter WHO you are, you have every right as an AMERICAN citizen to shoot their sorry invader azzez. Those National Guard troops are also citizens, they still have their rights.

(if spelling words incorrectly bothers you so much, you need to get out of Y!A, deadhead. Typos are everywhere. It's a small thing, don't sweat the small stuff. ^URS

Dead Inside - I believe if someone who is ARMED is coming at you no matter WHO you are, you have every right as an AMERICAN citizen to shoot their sorry invader azzez. Those National Guard troops are also citizens, they still have their rights.

(if spelling words incorrectly bothers you so much, you need to get out of Y!A, deadhead. Typos are everywhere. It's a small thing, don't sweat the small stuff. ^URS

ROFLMFAO!! I honestly didn't mean to hit that button three times! lol!

Siervocal - GO BACK TO MEXICO!!

oh_hell_imagine_that - You've cornered the market on stupidity, I can't top YOU. LOL!!

Thanks for all the great answers.

Answer 1

You're right and I agree wholeheartedly with you on this issue, our Guardsmen are being restricted from such things as defense of the country defending the nation from armed incursion as has happened on numerous occasions. Two Border Patrol Agents were convicted of shooting a drug runner that attempted to cause them harm. Why are our guard dogs being muzzled? I cannot answer that question, but I can tell you there is no justifiable reason for this sort of restriction, our nation is being harmed by this open border. Drugs, terrorists, rapists, and murderers are coming through and our government, in their very finite wisdom has deemed the rights of cartel lords and cocaine mules to be more important then the safety of the American people.

Answer 2

Rumors have circulated that the Guardsmen were not armed, and thus unable to defend themselves - and that is not the case. Both Major Aguirre and Rob Daniels, a Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Arizona Border Patrol, state that all Guardsmen assigned to EITs are armed, specifically with M16s and sometimes a sidearm. As well, there have been some contradictory news reports that stated the gunmen came “within yards” of the Guardsmen, while other reports state that the gunmen were approximately 100 yards away. Mr. Daniels clarified that the gunmen came as close as 100 yards to the Guardsmen. He also stated that the Guardsmen did not “retreat” but tactically repositioned themselves to maintain surveillance of the group of armed men while simultaneously radioing for Border Patrol agents. He asserted that the Guardsmen had followed their protocols perfectly, and that their services were invaluable to the Border Patrol agents.

The Myth of Troops Bringing Law Enforcement to the Border

National Guard soldiers on the border are volunteers deployed by the federal government for Operation Jump Start. They are not mandated to perform law enforcement activities and, in fact, are prohibited from doing so under a misinterpretation of the Posse Comitatus Act while federally deployed. They are assigned to the border mission for the sole purpose of supporting the Border Patrol - mostly performing administrative, engineering, and maintenance duties that free up Border Patrol agents for border enforcement. They are not allowed to engage, but only observe.

I think if they are challenged by any one that has no right to be there they should be prepared to defend themselves.

Answer 3

I'm in the National Guard and we dont even have enough people to defend a city block in our unit. Last Saturday we had 11 people in 1st platoon and 8 people in 2nd platoon. Out of that number, 8 more will retire within the year. Nobody wants to reenlist only to get blown up in Iraq. People in the National Guard have families and cant afford to spend 18 months away from their sons and daughters. I'm sorry but the Army is honestly a job that Americans no longer want.

Answer 4

They can always throw rocks, or threaten to call the border patrol. That will make the armed incursions stop, if the criminals know they will be reported to a REAL governmental agency, or have rocks thrown at them. What a farce.

Answer 5

FIne by me if we go to war with Mexico... Just kidding but I think if we ever get this border problem fixed the rest will come a lot smoother.

Answer 6

I agree with you. I would NOT want to be an unarmed BP person. These people are not on an even playing field with those they are coming face-to-face with, such as armed drug smugglers, often accompanied by armed Mexican police or Mexican BP, or the armed coyotes. I think our BP should absolutely be armed and with the backing of our government to use those arms in order to protect our border from the invaders. Mexico arms their borders, yet they think they have a right to tell us how to handle our own borders. Give me a break!

Answer 7

ITA.

the thing i really can't get over though, is how the media says nothing about anything like this. i hunted forever and couldn't find crap about this anywhere. that is what makes me even madder.

EDIT: i saw a poster at HotAir saying that they knew some guardsmen at the border, and that they have weapons, but are not allowed bullets. if true, that's even stupider than no weapons at all.

Answer 8

It's an act of war if it was the Mexican Armed forces that did it. I think the matter should be referred to the Mexican government to be dealt with.

Answer 9

I think it's insane that they don't arm these people. Trust me....they're armed on the other side. It seems like it's a set-up to fail and it makes me mad.

Answer 10

I agree with you. This is our borders, not a political game.