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US to Expand Drug War Along Northern Border

The Office of National Drug Control Policy today released its first National Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy . The full 80-page report is here. The report is required to be submitted to Congress under the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 (Act).

What's to come: More intelligence-gathering and sharing. [More...]

More resources to fusion centers:

Partner with State & Major Urban Area Fusion Centers along the Northern border. Fusion centers with Northern border counternarcotics responsibilities will be provided, based upon available resources, with personnel, secure communications, technical and analytic assistance, training, and other core services.

Enhanced participation in task forces and intelligence groups

More drug busts ("Increase the interdiction rates of narcotics and drug proceeds crossing the Northern border."

Turn the citizenry into the eyes and ears of cops:

Further integrate community members in border management in and around remote ports of entry. Because most of the Northern border is remote and sparsely populated, U.S. law enforcement will work to bring border residents into some aspects of the border security mission. Northern border residents can serve as law enforcement’s eyes and ears in remote areas. Through effective messaging and outreach, border residents learn the vital role they play and the vested interest they have in border security. The inclusion of border residents into a “border-wide community watch” leverages limited law enforcement resources.

Increase presence and effectiveness of traditional air and marine domain response capabilities

More spying:

Optimize detection capabilities. DHS has already deployed additional technology to the Northern border, including thermal camera systems, Mobile Surveillance Systems, two UASs and an accompanying Operations Center (UASOC), and Remote Video Surveillance Systems. These technologies integrated into the AMOC enable us to continue to improve our situational awareness in remote areas of the border, and will increase the ability of DHS and partner agencies to detect, deter, and intercept illegal cross-border activity.

Enlist Tribal Law Enforcement in the war

Develop and implement an expedited system for obtaining financial records and freezing and forfeiting assets.

Increased use of undercover operations in Canada, including confidential sources, controlled deliveries or controlled money pick-ups, monitoring phone calls into Canada from the United States and obtaining wiretaps in Canada.

More prosecutors assigned to the Northern Border districts

Coordinate with DEA’s Special Operations Division (SOD)

What's it costing? The budge takes up almost 40 pages. On the first page alone, in millions:

  • Intelligence and Sharing $ 1,205
  • Ports of Entry 224,605
  • Air and Marine 161,183
  • Investigations and Prosecutions 393,808

How ironic that this is the graphic currently on the home page of the Office of National Drug Control Strategy.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Are they running out of places (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Edger on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 08:54:42 PM EST
    to focus the GWOT now? Maybe they could title this the Wiretap The World strategery?

    Somebody must not have seen (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Towanda on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 09:04:44 PM EST
    Michael Moore's marvelous movie, Canadian Bacon.

    "There's a time to think, and a time to act.  This is no time to think. . . .

    "Surrender, pronto, or we'll level Toronto!"

    It all started when a president's approval rating was dropping, and he needed a war to get re-elected. . . .  Oh, how wonderful when life imitates art -- and the art is a Michael Moore movie.  You could not make up this stuff.

    ...And the invaders were stopped for (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by jeffinalabama on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 10:03:36 PM EST
    not having bilingual protest signs... sigh...

    Parent
    Ha! you also recall that scene (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by Towanda on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 05:22:44 AM EST
    when Candy and crew are stopped on the highway by the Canadian copper played by none other than Dan Aykroyd, in an bit part not even on the billing but just for fun.  His accent was perfect, of course.

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#16)
    by jbindc on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 01:03:04 PM EST
    Both Candy and Ackroyd ARE (was) Canadian, so I hope they have the accents down!

    Parent
    So many killer drones, (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by jeffinalabama on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 10:02:26 PM EST
    so few Al Qaida #2's. I can see the transcription from the political wing of the white house-- the re-election wing...

    "Hey, let's hit random Canadians! That country's too nice to complain anyway!"

    "Brilliant!"

    How disgusting. just drink the American Exceptionalism Kool Ade and anything is possible.

    I'm (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by lentinel on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 05:06:45 AM EST
    with you.

    Them Canadians are no good.
    They riled up our professional leftists. They won't be satisfied until we got the same healthcare system they got. Those pinkos got our leftists to badmouth what we got - buy insurance or else. What's wrong with that?

    I'm going to move up North along the border since there might be some jobs opening up for spying on the locals.

    Parent

    Reminds of something... (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by Romberry on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 10:26:29 AM EST
    And (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by lentinel on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 04:52:23 AM EST
    this is the administration that we are supposed to be jubilant about getting another term.

    As Anne said yesterday,

    I don't know, maybe it's time for me to  surrender to the inevitable, become one of the "really? There's an election?" kind of people...

    That's the way I feel. "Really? There's an election"?

    Ironic in light of Obama's (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by inclusiveheart on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 10:38:56 AM EST
    new tourism initiative which is supposed to make people feel more welcome to enter and visit the US.

    I don't feel that this really has anything to do (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by desertswine on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 12:55:14 PM EST
    with drugs. It seems that the drugs are just an excuse for an expansion of state control, again.

    War'R'USA (none / 0) (#3)
    by koshembos on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 09:56:42 PM EST
    A perfect description for a total war on something. Who cares if some drugs get in?

    Northern Strategy (none / 0) (#6)
    by womanwarrior on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 12:11:33 AM EST
    Does this mean we want to start mass killings in Canada like we got going in Mexico?  


    let's call them (none / 0) (#7)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 12:23:42 AM EST
    'extrajudicial renditions with extreme prejudice."

    Doesn't that make it taste better?

    Parent

    Shock and Awe (none / 0) (#9)
    by lentinel on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 04:53:12 AM EST
    for all.

    Parent
    So??? (none / 0) (#15)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Jan 22, 2012 at 09:16:39 AM EST
    We're declaring war on Canada??