PLAN TO PUT U.S. TROOPS ON BORDER DRAWS FIRE

A congressional plan to put U.S. troops on the Southwest border to battle
drugs and illegal immigrants is drawing fire from Arizona Gov. Jane Hull
and other officials along both sides of the border.

The U.S. House plan would authorize the military to join with civilian law
enforcement agencies to prevent the entry of "terrorists,drug traffickers
and illegal aliens"into the United States.

The plan was attached by an Ohio congressman to a $270 billion defense
budget bill approved by the House last month.

In a recent letter to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Hull wrote that the
prospect of armed, uniformed soldiers patrolling the streets of border
towns "creates a terrifying image that threatens our very nature as a
peaceful nation."

Checked-by: Richard Lake