THE BORDER REPORT

THE BORDER REPORT

The National Guard has been reporting incursions by the Mexican military into Arizona; something that isn't news to Arizona residents, except that the source of information is now a unit of the U.S. Armed Forces. This can turn interesting really quick, the marijuana harvest season is about to kick off into full glory and drug seizures will begin to skyrocket on the U.S. border as a result all the way up to December. Add some corrupt elements of the Mexican military and 6,000 National Guard soldiers, some with combat experience, and sooner or later, there's going to be a collision. U.S. Border Patrol agents and Tohono O'odham police officers rarely directly encounter the soldiers, sources tell me. Instead, an outgunned law enforcement officer will back off and - maybe - call in the report to avoid tangling with the armor-plated Humvees topped off with .50-caliber machine guns. I don't know what the National Guard's policy is going to be when the encounters begin to increase. The news was first reported last week by Local 2544, union for the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson sector. The National Guard, perhaps trying to avoid the political equivalent to an Arizona monsoon, has said nothing about these encounters. But the harvest season in southern Sonora is already beginning. The marijuana fields cultivated by the Adan Salazár syndicate in San Bernardo and Navojoa are being prepared and the trafficking will begin anew, peaking out past Thanksgiving then beyond. The Mexican Army's involvement with the narco-trafficking is - and I'm being optimistic here - scattered. There does not appear to be another Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo running the military's anti-drug task force. The general was arrested in February 1997 after he'd been hired by Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the Lord of the Skies, while he was in charge of the National Institute for the Combat of Drugs. His position added a lovely twist to the typical corruption in the country: the Mexican drug czar was working for Mexico's most powerful capo. If there's an official this high up the Fox's administration who's gone to the dark side, we haven't heard anything. But military soldiers have repeatedly been tracked coming into the United States, most famously last January in Hudspeth County, Texas, when U.S. sheriff's deputies came under fire. Mexico dismissed the short-lived combat as drug traffickers disguised as soldiers. The U.S. held hearings, members of Congress howled in outrage on Lou Dobbs and nothing was done. And that's where this thing is going to get interesting. Now we have Mexican military encountering U.S. soldiers. The U.S. soldiers are unarmed. Given a couple of potentially lethal encounters and that may soon change.

THE BORDER REPORT

Hats off to the Washington Times for being the first newspaper in the country to raise questions about Minuteman Project volunteers quitting in disgust after there was no accountability for the money raised for the border watch group. The normally conservative newspaper has written favorable stories about the Minuteman Project since 2005 when organizers Chris Simcox and Jim Gilchrist first announced their intent to form an armed group of civilians in an effort to shame the U.S. government into sealing the border with Mexico. At the time, the Times, like all most media, reported what they were spoon-fed, that thousands of people would join the Minuteman Project, that thousands more would join as the force grew. It was a cheap and easy story for the media, filled with stupidity, guns, the border, and a nicely twisted bent on the tale of Paul Revere. Even my former newspaper credited the group with bringing attention to the border, as if years of serious reporting by people better than me and articulated complaints by citizens and government officials deserved little merit. Myself, I always thought it was dangerous and stupid for the media to do give credit to a group whose prior border control efforts amounted to less than half a dozen men roaming around the San Pedro River. The Times is now reporting that top leaders in the movement have quit because there's been no proof that "thousands of dollars" collected were actually used on the project. Simcox, who normally slips into foul-mouthed ranting e-mails when questioned or criticized, released a letter on his group's Web site, saying that the people who complained about finances were "racialists" and "anti-Semites" who "have no actual knowledge of MCDC finances, regulatory compliance, filing deadlines, non-profit status, or other accountability matters." For all I know this is true. I don't know what a racialist is exactly, but disgruntled employees in any organization are a great way to get inside knowledge into murky goings-ons. Where did the money go? It's easy to attack the Times for "tabloid-style gossip" but where did the money go? If these allegations are true, and I've seen nothing to prove that they're not, it's a shameful rip-off against American citizens who wanted to do the right thing: control the border. The thousands of people Simcox always claimed were in the project never materialized, but for certain, hundreds joined and hundreds more donated money. The great majority were senior citizens. If the people who spoke to the Times are telling the truth, Simcox fed on their fears for money. Questions are definitely worth raising. The first bad smell to emanate is the Minuteman merchandise. For $17.99, you can buy a T-shirt that says "Secure Our Borders," a $7.99 Minuteman wristband - a la Live Strong, but red, white and blue - or for $8.99 a Minuteman Cloisinne pin. A portion of the proceeds goes to the project, the site says. How much would that be? A group called the Declaration Alliance, a 501(c)4 organization, is the money manager for the Minuteman Project. It's leader is a guy by the name of Alan Keyes. A 12-pack of Negro Modelo goes to the first person who can tell me what his vision is saying because all I can make out is that he's a "Declarationist," and "Constitutionalist" who is pro-guns, anti-abortion and wants us all to pay taxes. But I'm losing control of the writing again, slipping away from the point that needed to be raised so I'll stop writing and leave you with a question. Where did the money go?