A Fragile Obama Refuses to Defend the Southern Border. Why?

Southern border state governors are pleading for border control. Republicans are demanding that the President perform his constitutional duty and defend the southern border. Democrats are warning their President that he must control the border or face a "Katrina moment." Citizen groups are threatening to take the matter into their own hands and control the southern border themselves, vigilante style. And now, even the usually circumspect US military is speaking out about southern border control. ~~~~~ The United States' neglect of its southern border has created a threat that challenges the country's national security, says the General in charge of overseeing the region, and he is concerned that terrorists and others can exploit the vulnerabilities that have been created. Marine Corps General John Kelly, Commander of US Southern Command, told Defense One : "In comparison to other global threats, the near collapse of societies in the hemisphere with the associated drug and [undocumented immigrant] flow are frequently viewed to be of low importance. Many argue these threats are not existential and do not challenge our national security. I disagree." Kelly has asked Congress to allocate more money and equipment to help him and his Command fight the steady flow of drugs, weapons, and migrants from Central America, but the budget has already been cut when it comes to border security. More than 100,000 migrants have come from Central America to the US border, mostly children who have traveled thousands of miles from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. But not only children are coming north. Kelly said that last year, his task force was not able to act on almost 75% of illegal trafficking incidents : "Last year, we had to cancel more than 200 very effective engagement activities and numerous multilateral exercises," Kelly told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in March, his command's Defense One website has reported. "I simply sit and watch it go by. And because of service cuts, I don't expect to get any immediate relief, in terms of assets, to work with in this region of the world.” Kelly told Defense One that the area has turned into a "crime-terror convergence," that is becoming worse....hundreds of tons of drugs, people, terrorists, potentially weapons of mass destruction or children can travel, so long as they can pay the fare." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez pointed out in June that Kelly's SOUTHCOM forces are only sourced at '5% of the capacity' they need." This is a humanitarian and refugee crisis. It’s being caused in large measure by thousands in Central America who believe it is better to run for their lives and risk dying, than stay and die for sure,” Menendez said. "The bottom line is that we must attack this problem from a foreign policy perspective, a humanitarian perspective, a criminal perspective, immigration perspective, and a national security perspective.” Last Monday, President Obama said he plans to request $2 billion for additional border security personnel, immigration judges, and detention and processing resources. However, General Kelly said the poverty and violence pushing migration are creating the threat to national security, as Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have the first, fourth and fifth-highest homicide rates, respectively, in the world. Kelly said that the United States needs the military more now than ever to protect its border. Kelly said : "This region does not ask for much. Some of my counterparts perceive that the United States is disengaging from the region and from the world in general. We should remember that our friends and allies are not the only ones watching our actions closely, and in the meantime, drug traffickers, criminal networks, and other actors, unburdened by budget cuts, cancelled activities, and employee furloughs, will have the opportunity to exploit the partnership vacuum left by reduced US military engagement." ~~~~~ President Obama's inaction on border control didn't start with the current wave of unaccompanied children. In January 2012, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer confronted Obama on the tarmac in Phoenix shortly after he stepped off Air Force One. A heated exchange followed that included her pointing her finger at the President. The incident was captured by photographers and detailed by Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown in her pool report. Brown wrote that Brewer "reiterated an invitation that I've extended to [Obama] before with regards to coming to Arizona and going to the border with me." Today was the latest occurrence of a governor confronting Obama about border control. Texas Governor Rick Perry, a vocal critic of Obama's handling of the crisis along the US-Mexico border, declined an official White House invitation to meet the President when he lands in Austin, saying : "I would instead offer to meet with you at any time during your visit to Texas for a substantive meeting to discuss this critical issue. With the appropriate notice, I am willing to change my schedule to facilitate this request.” In response, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett invited Perry to a roundtable discussion on the border situation : “The President would welcome a meeting with you while he is in Texas." A spokesman for the Governor's office told ABC that Perry had accepted the offer and will meet with the President in Dallas on Wednesday. In an ABC interview Sunday, Perry said the Obama administration has ignored his repeated calls for help to resolve the border situation : "For over two years, we've drawn the attention of this issue to this administration. As a matter of fact, in May of 2012, we sent a letter, laid out what was happening with the unaccompanied minors that were showing up at the border. And we told them, we said, 'If you do not address this, here is what's going to happen.' And we're seeing that become reality today. This is a failure of diplomacy. It is a failure of leadership. Perry added : "I don't believe he particularly cares whether or not the border of the United States is secure." ~~~~~ Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, is one of a growing number of Democrats joining a bipartisan push for Obama to take a personal look at the "humanitarian crisis" on the border. But, Obama is in Texas for three fundraisers this week and is declining invitations from Governor Rick Perry and several Democrats to tour the border facilities where the illegal immigrants are being held in confined spaces with limited access to bathrooms. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked Monday about the bad impression created by Obama's raising political cash in the state while refusing to visit the border himself."We're not worried about those optics," Earnest replied, "and that's simply because the President is very aware of the situation that exists on the southwest border." Cuellar, who represents to border city of Laredo, said, "He should come down." Cuellar wrote Obama last month, suggesting courts and more security be set up near the border to hasten the process, but he told Fox News he has not heard back. Texas Democratic Representatives Ruben Hinojosa and Filemon Vela sent a letter to Obama last week requesting a border visit, The Hill reports. "To fully comprehend what is happening in our region, one must see this firsthand because one will certainly be impacted by the humanitarian side of this issue," Hinojosa said. ~~~~~ Dear readers, there aren't many instances in American history in which a President refuses the concerted requests of both parties to do something that they both consider important. These occasions are the sweet spots in a presidency - the rare times when a President can rise above partisan politics and appear...well - presidential. Why would Barack Obama refuse such an opportunity? Is he uncertain how to proceed to secure the US southern border? Is he so fearful of losing control of the Senate in November that he is willing to trade US border security for the possibility of votes from the immigrant advocacy community, and possibly some hispanic voters, demanding that he take in at least all unaccompanied children - a number that would overwhelm Texas and Arizona if he actually articulated such a policy. Is he hoping to exchange a promise to do something for the grant of the $2 billion he must ask the House for - with amnesty strings attached to the request. Or does he really not have any concern for how he is perceived by the American public and the world - do the "optics" really not bother him - does he, as Governior Perry suggests, simply not care "whether or not the border of the United States is secure." I don't have an answer -- unless it concerns SOUTHCOM. Is President Obama unwilling to bolster their resources so that they can defend the border because he fears the part of the US military active in the US could become a threat to him.