Thoughts On The Southern Wall -- April 5, 2018

Updates

Later, 8:57 p.m. Central Time: this is not surprising -- I never thought it was legal. The US military cannot take on "law enforcement" duties along the border. So, President Trump has already tackled that problem: he is deploying an "imaginary military force" to halt the "imaginary Honduran caravan." As it stands now, it sounds like the Honduran caravan is breaking up, currently more than a thousand miles south of Texas, and still south of Mexico City.

Original Post

Thoughts on the Southern Wall. $25 billion to build? I forget. I think that was the last number I heard.

Omnibus bill: peanuts for the Southern Wall. Let's look at the omnibus bill again:

• $1.3 trillion
• $700 billion for the military (Department of Defense)
• $65 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan
• biggest year-over-year increase in defense funding in 15 years -- a $61 billion increase over FY 2017
• and, yet, US military operations are winding down overseas
• now, the Southern Wall
• stationing the national guard along the frontier
• not the first time this has been done; Bush II did it; but like most things Bush II did, no real commitment, no real strategy, and mostly half-hearted
• estimated cost: $60 million to $120 million / year for military troops along the wall; and pretty good duty -- compared to being sent to Afghanistan
• $25 billion for the physical wall / $100 million (per year for the military) = 250 years
• Planned Parenthood gets $500 million / year -- $25 billion would pay for 250 years of troops at the southern frontier
• a lot of Texas ranchers who complained about the border during the Obama years now say they don't want a wall; Californians don't want a wall (except along their own state border with California, as long as it's called a "fence"); but Texas ranchers not wanting it -- that settled it for me -- I no longer care about a Southern Wall one way or the other
• I'm excited about the prospects of the national guard becoming the "Southern Wall" -- think of the infrastructure that will be needed
• for the military, every operation is "shovel ready" -- no permits needed; no contracts; -- I'm not saying there won't be permits and contracts -- I'm just saying they aren't needed
• expect to see "temporary" bases all along the southern border -- I've been part of many, many "temporary" operations and assigned to several "temporary" bases during my 30-year career; my two favorites: Incirlik AB (Turkey); Sidi Slimane (Morocco)
• in my experience, if the "temporary" base was in place longer than a year, it started to look permanent: the PX/BX moved in; Burger King moved in; bowling alleys moved in; Apple Computer kiosks moved in; the USPS and Amazon moved in
• should be fascinating to watch
• parades need themes; maybe the theme for the US military parade this November (2018) should be: the Southern Wall

Don't get me wrong with regard to the wall. Yesterday I wrote:

After much soul-searching, with the right safeguards put in place, and heavy penalties placed on Mexico,

• I would like to see dreamers (DACA) fast-tracked; and,
• I would like to see the "Honduran caravan" welcomed into the US

I still stand by that. A reader asked me about that. When I get caught up, I will answer him, but it will be an unsatisfactory answer for everyone. 

"Temporary" bases all along the southern border. Bob Dylan recorded a song that fits.

Regarding my comment that I no longer care about a Southern Wall one way or the other, there's a song for that, too (actually it's a theme song Trump probably hums in the shower):

You Don't Own Me, Lesley Gore