The American Spectator

Streetcar Line

Guarding the Homeland

By Quin Hillyer on 6.28.06 @ 12:08AM

A "get tough" approach at the Mexican border leads to more violence, at least in the short run, not less.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) performs better, not worse, when it is integrated within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -- and the experience from Hurricane Katrina helps prove it.

DHS actually is ahead of schedule in testing at ports for nuclear devices.

And sometimes it is the "mopes" -- the culturally disaffected slackers -- rather than the brilliant villains, who are the most dangerous enemies.

Such were some of the provocative assertions by DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff in a 40-minute private interview on Monday. And as is evident by the scope of subjects covered, Chertoff's wide portfolio does make him privy to a plentitude of provocative information.

Take the incidence of violence at the border. Chertoff acknowledged that it is a problem. And he confirmed reports (discussed extensively in the June American Spectator article by Judd Slivka) that a fair amount of violence is carried out by Mexicans wearing police or military uniforms who have crossed into U.S. territory. But he asserted that "nobody in the Mexican government is deliberately deciding to violate our sovereignty." Instead, he said, "There are armed criminals ... who sometimes wear pieces of a uniform or a paramilitary uniform." Or else they are police chasing bad guys who inadvertently cross the border in pursuit. Moreover, he said the violence, whether by those in uniform or not, has been increasing in the past year or two.

Departmental statistics bear that out. In Fiscal Year 2004, there were 374 assaults against Border Patrol Agents. In FY 2005, the number skyrocketed to 778. This year it has leveled off a bit: Through May of FY'06, the number was at 527, on a pace toward 790.

But he said that's not necessarily something to worry about long-term:

"At a border that was not controlled for 20 years, habits have grown up... that we're in the process of breaking. South of the border, they've arrested some of leaders of the cartels. North of the border, as we have increased the intensity of our patrols... we have forced illegals [and drug runners] into less hospitable territory."

Their habits threatened, the Mexican criminals push back, according to Chertoff. Sometimes it is with guns; other times just with rock throwing at American agents. But the good news, he said, is that "I do not think we've seen widespread violence against innocent civilians." Furthermore, as the U.S. makes greater use of "more high-tech stuff" -- aerial surveillance, sensors, even satellite imagery -- "we optimize where we intersect [the infiltrators]" and the effectiveness of interdiction is likely to improve.

One certainly hopes so.

MOVING TO WHAT IS LIKELY a sore spot for Chertoff, the botched response to Hurricane Katrina, an observer might wish that his responses were not quite so bloodless, and that they were more open to mea culpas for any mistakes of omission at his end and more expressive of human sympathy and less... well, less clinical. That said, his logic and explanations seemed unassailable.

Referring to then-FEMA Director Michael Brown's decision to bypass DHS and work directly through the White House, Chertoff said: "In the first several days after Katrina, FEMA tried to operate independently of the department. The result was unnecessary delay and heartbreak. But when Admiral Allen [of the Coast Guard] went in, he did integrate with the rest of the department, and there was a dramatic improvement."

To repeat: "The go-it-alone model -- where the FEMA Director tried to do it all himself -- failed. Whereas Admiral Allen was a success." Brown "was going to act more or less as a lone ranger; as a result, he did not pick up a lot of the tools that were available to use. In fact, I became frustrated that I was not getting a response."

Furthermore, "if you pulled FEMA out of DHS, you would have a small, relatively weak agency that could respond to ordinary, run-of-the-mill hurricanes but that would not be able to deal with a catastrophe."

Letter to the Editor

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