Reserves on the Border

There are news reports today that less than 1,000 reserve troops have been detailed to our border with Mexico to help the U.S. Border Patrol keep out or catch illegal aliens and smugglers who try to enter our country. The president promised to send 6,000 troops to help secure our border as the first step in solving the growing problem of illegals entering the United States.

How come so few have been sent? It seems that many of the states involved have refused to send enough soldiers and some are just asking for volunteers to go. Volunteers are hard to come by due to the fact that so many have been on active duty for so long with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and serving along the Gulf Coast due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

I’m confused.

True, I have always been against our costly (in money and lives) pre-emptive war in Iraq, but I don’t remember the president “asking” for volunteer reservists to serve in this conflict. He has the power to order reserve units into active duty and can federalize National Guard Units. So why isn’t he taking action to send 6,000 troops to secure our porous borders? Evidently he is worried about alienating voters in the midterm elections which will happen this fall. Once again, politics first.

Does that make this another “mission unaccomplished?”