Column Of The Americas

MILITARY DISTRACTIONS AND BORDER MILITARIZATION ESCALATE

LAREDO, TEXAS -- Thousands of trucks line up daily on the highway leading
into Mexico, causing an eyesore, unbearable noise, fumes and even fatal
accidents.

There's little money to alleviate the NAFTA-related congestion, but there's
plenty for the "Joint Task Force Six" project, which calls for the
construction of 240 miles of roadway, 12 helicopter launch pads and 50
high-tech lights nearby. Its purpose is to create a greater presence for
the U.S. Border Patrol and to involve the U.S. military in combating the
drug war. This truly looks like occupied territory.

And at the Las Cruces, N.M., border checkpoint, the U.S. Border Patrol
tallies "alien removals," narcotics and their monetary "value". Their
slogan, "America's Front line: Fighting the War on Drugs," apparently
targets hard- working migrants in that war.

To wage a genuine drug war, perhaps the U.S. government should commence it
by patrolling the nation's largest financial institutions, which often
serve as conduits for drug money.

There's seemingly no money in these God-forsaken borderlands, but mention
the Border Patrol or a military conflict and there's suddenly plenty for
these costly endeavors. And much like a border threat, there is also
nothing like a military conflict (Iraq, this time) to bolster our country's
military spending.

Sadly, the militarization of the border is nothing new. Forts and bases
have been here since the Mexican-American War. What's happening now is
simply a technological upgrade.

As a result of the joint project, the Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund in San Antonio has filed a lawsuit to stop its
construction, pending a full environmental study. MALDEF believes that the
project could threaten several endangered species, the environment and
several archeological sites, and that it could also lead to an increased
violation of the rights (illegal search and seizure) of area Mexican
Americans.

Meanwhile, Republicans want to dismantle the inept Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Standing in the way is the Clinton administration,
which has pumped so much money into this agency that there are now more
border patrol officers than FBI agents nationally. And there are more on
the way for this nonproductive sector of big government.

Without commies to pick on, illegal aliens make for good scapegoates,
because, contrary to what former Calif. Congressman Bob Dornan continues to
insist upon (in defiance of the GOP), they don't vote. And if those
scapegoats aren't enough, Sadaam Hussein or Arab terrorists will suffice.

Recently, an abortion clinic was bombed in Alabama, a crime the government
rightfully denounced. Yet, the bombers seem to be emulating our
government's example. Have a problem? Bomb the hell out of them! That's
what gang members tell the two of us. They simply settle their differences
the way governments settle theirs: through force.

Weak leaders use force to show "strength." They overcompensate. Ronald
Reagan, the tough guy on the silver screen, thought strength was
overrunning tiny nations such as Grenada. And now, enter a beleaguered
Clinton and we have ourselves another Iraq "crisis."

Weak leaders, at best, send mixed messages. Violence is wrong, our leaders
tells us, yet most remained silent as Karla Faye Tucker of Texas was
executed. At the same time, Clinton argued his case for using the United
Nations -- a body that was created as an instrument of peace -- as a cover
to unilaterally bomb Iraq.

Diversions always work nicely, especially when an inquisitor -- without a
proper job description -- is shadowing Clinton's every move. The lessons we
learn from all this are that morality and redemption are no longer part of
our vocabulary. The real problem in this country is the brown hordes, and
everything can be solved through the erection of walls, or through
violence. And through all this, we all point fingers at each other because
while there's money for more $2 billion B-2 bombers, there is not enough
money to educate us all.

Meanwhile, the fumes on the border are nauseating.

Copyright 1998 Universal Press Syndicate

* Both writers are authors of Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored (ISBN
0-918520-22-3 UC Berkeley, Ethnic Studies Library, Publications Unit.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 Bilingual Review Press) and the
antibook, The X in La Raza II. They can be reached at PO BOX 7905, Albq NM
87194-7904, 505-247-3888 or XColumn@aol.com