Hourly Update

National Guard general says soldiers on border acted correctly

PHOENIX - The head of the Arizona National Guard on Tuesday told lawmakers that four soldiers who backed away from their post earlier this month, rather than confront gun-toting border crossers, did the right thing. "Our guardsmen follow the procedures they were told to do," Maj. Gen. David Rataczak told members of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Property Rights. "They followed the SOP (standard operating procedures) to the letter of the law." But Rataczak's explanation of the Jan. 3 incident provided little comfort to several legislators who questioned the general for several hours - and said those rules actually put American soldiers in harm's way. "It appears to me they are at risk and their hands are tied," complained Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Chandler. "They basically have to be fired upon before returning fire." Rataczak said that's not true. He said the four soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard had their weapons loaded but pointed down. Rataczak said had any of the interlopers raised their weapons, then the soldiers, each of whom had 90 rounds of ammunition, would have been free to order the men to put down their guns - and, if they believed it to be necessary, shoot to kill. "He would not have survived," Rataczak said. The general's explanation provided little comfort to several legislators who said nearly 2,200 Guard soldiers now in Southern Arizona should be free to apprehend those who are in this country illegally. "I believe the National Guard are there basically as a window dressing," Nichols said. "They're not able to do anything." But the rules of engagement set out by the U.S. Department of Defense prohibit soldiers from chasing or apprehending border crossers. Those rules are part of Operation Jump Start, last year's plan by President Bush to send Guard units to the border as a short-term stopgap while more Border Patrol officers are hired. Those rules, crafted by the U.S. Department of Defense, were signed by all four border governors. "The governor did not have to sign off on them," Nichols responded. He acknowledged that would have meant no federal funds for the Guard soldiers, most of whom come from other states. But Nichols said lawmakers voted last year to spend $10 million to put Arizona Guard troops along the border in a more active role - a bill Napolitano vetoed as an infringement on her right as the state Guard's commander in chief. Nichols conceded Bush and his administration share in the blame. "They've failed us in this area, too," he said. While the hearing cannot change the rules of engagement for Operation Jumpstart, Nichols said they may help renew efforts to have Arizona Guard soliders along the border in a more active role. Rataczak said that would militarize the border. "We are not at war with Mexico," he said. "They are our friends." Nichols disagreed. He said the soldiers already are there and they're already armed. "It's just their rules of engagement say they can't do anything," he said. Rataczak told lawmakers the four soldiers were correct in withdrawing rather than pursuing the men they saw that night. He said the soldiers did not actually abandon their post, saying they kept the site - and the equipment there - under scrutiny. And the general said the four to six men who were spotted never overran the site. In fact, Rataczak told the legislators that the whole incident has been overblown, calling it "a chance encounter." He said the men, who were coming from the north, likely were drug runners who had delivered their cargo and were headed back into Mexico with their cash. Rataczak said they tripped across the Guard site but were not anxious to confront them, if for no other reason than being apprehended - and then having to explain to the drug lords on Mexico what happened to the money.