Mr. Chertoff said that he had advised Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to succeed him as homeland security secretary, that “I put helping Mexico get control of its borders and its organized crime problems” at the very top of the list of national security concerns.
Ms. Napolitano’s confirmation hearing begins next week. Her office denied requests for an interview.
In the wide-ranging interview with Mr. Chertoff, two weeks before he leaves office, he suggested that his controversial efforts to rapidly build a fence along nearly 700 miles of the Mexican border, as well as his bolstering the size of the Border Patrol, were part of the push to defend against drug violence, not just to control illegal immigration.
Wow. Really? How many of the 9/11 terrorists made their way into the US by way of our border with Mexico? None. Why? Because our government is more concerned with making sure migrant workers and pot smugglers don’t make their way over the border, than they are about those that truly intend to do us harm. This is what the US Patriot Act and the increased security at our airports is all about – the War On Drugs. It has nothing to do with “national security”. It has everything to do with bigotry, racisim and the drug (pharmaceuticals) industry.
I’ll be watching to see how President Obama approaches this.
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