BUSH OFFICE DEFENDS TROOP USE AT BORDER

Guard's Anti-Drug Effort Not Militarizing, Aide Says

SAN ANTONIO - The use of Texas National Guard troops to search for drug
traffickers along the Rio Grande is consistent with Gov. George W. Bush's
previous statements against militarizing the border, his office says.

The patrols gather intelligence, including spying on smuggling routes at the
request of state and federal law enforcement agencies.

But critics point to the May 1997 incident in which a Marine corporal on an
anti-drug patrol fatally shot 18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez Jr. near the
West Texas town of Redford.

In the 10 years that such operations have been conducted, the National Guard
troops have never fired a shot, Bush spokeswoman Linda Edwards said.

"This isn't militarization of the border. This is part of a
drug-interdiction effort led by local law enforcement agencies," she told
the San Antonio Express-News.

Mr. Hernandez, who was carrying a .22-caliber rifle, was shot in the rib
cage by a Marine whose patrol was working with the Border Patrol.

The fatal shooting led to a national debate over the use of military
personnel along the border and triggered Defense Secretary William Cohen's
decision to cancel similar missions indefinitely.

Asked about the shooting during a 1997 trip to El Paso, Mr. Bush said the
Border Patrol "should be in charge of the border."

"The military shouldn't be enforcing the law on the border," he said.

Mr. Bush's approval of the patrols is consistent with his El Paso
statements, said Ms. Edwards.

"Governor Bush supports the effort involving the guard because the 30
guardsmen assigned to help law enforcement in the surveillance of drug
traffickers are highly trained for the task and extremely helpful," she said.

There have been as many as 30 reconnaissance missions this year, with two
occurring in the vicinity of the 1,500-mile Texas-Mexico border, said Col.
William Pettit, counter-drug coordinator for the guard.

"We aren't out there like a bunch of cowboys. We're there at the request of
law enforcement," he said. "Our safety record and training speaks for itself."

Aaron Reed, spokesman for the Texas adjutant general's office, which
oversees the National Guard, declined to discuss when and where guardsmen
carry weapons, citing security concerns.

"We've got these guys out there, and there are some things we can't say
because it would endanger them," he said.

While praising the guard's efforts at ports of entry, U.S. Rep. Silvestre
Reyes, D-El Paso, said he believes it's unwise to mix armed personnel with
civilian populations.

"I can see a prescription for disaster," said Mr. Reyes, who was chief of
the Border Patrol's El Paso Sector before being elected to Congress.