Obama Administration Blasts Republican Request To Send 9,000 Troops To Border
May 25 2010 - 10:12PM
Dow Jones News
The Obama administration on Tuesday blasted a Republican request
for President Barack Obama to send 9,000 troops to secure the
border with Mexico, saying it hinders the president's role as
commander in chief.
Republican Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl of Arizona, which is
facing intense scrutiny over its tough stance on immigration, had
requested the National Guard troop increase to help secure the
border. Obama on Tuesday had said he would send 1,200 additional
troops to the border and seek an additional $500 million from
Congress for border security. McCain and Kyl said in a statement
Obama's proposal falls short and they wanted 9,000 troops sent
instead.
National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones and John Brennan, a
top White House counterterrorism official, said the request for
9,000 troops "represents an unwarranted interference with the
Commander-in-Chief's responsibilities to direct the employment of
our Armed Forces and thus infringes on the President's role..."
Their remarks came in the form of a letter signed to Sen. Carl
Levin (D., Mich.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.
McCain is the ranking Republican on the committee and introduced
his request as an amendment to legislation before the panel.
Jones and Brennan said a record number of Customers and Border
protection personnel are on the southwest border. They said earlier
requests from the administration to boost funding to protect and
secure the border are yielding results, though more needs to be
done. Border agents seized more weapons and cash in 2009 than in
the prior year, and violent crime in border states is down.
They said the government's current approach to securing the
border, along with working with Mexico, should continue "rather
than seeking to deploy an arbitrary number of National Guard
personnel."
-By Jared A. Favole, Dow Jones Newswires; 202.862.9256;
jared.favole@dowjones.com