Trump tweeted he will "Address the Nation

[spence]

Originally Posted by Cool Beans

Well, I have completed 3 (6 month) counter narcotics deployments along both sides of South America and there is an enormous amount of cocaine that crosses our southern border. We can pursue and hopefully intercept the drug boats, before they reach Mexican national waters, where we are called off to "allow" Mexico's navy to apprehend them. We could see the boat reach Mexico's shore, while the Mexican navy ship watches them and then about an hour or so later, the navy ship actually dispatches their small boat to "arrest" the smugglers, who are long gone before they reach them.

In one deployment we captured over 12.5 tons of cocaine in a single bust on a "fishing vessel". During the typical 6 month tour a US navy ship (with a small Coast Guard Detachment onboard) will bring in anywhere from 400 to 800 bales of paste cocaine (20 kilo bales). We are able intercept less than 1/5th of the drug boats coming up the coast, and it all goes right to Mexico and crosses our southern border. The amount of drugs that cross that border is staggering.

That doesn't invalidate his point though, that smuggling drugs across unsecured areas of the Mexican border isn't the primary entry point. A wall isn't going to do much to prevent drug deaths in the US.

[detbuch]

Originally Posted by spence

That doesn't invalidate his point though, that smuggling drugs across unsecured areas of the Mexican border isn't the primary entry point. A wall isn't going to do much to prevent drug deaths in the US.

If Cool Beans actually is officially involved in counter narcotics and he says " We are able intercept less than 1/5th of the drug boats coming up the coast, and it all goes right to Mexico and crosses our southern border. The amount of drugs that cross that border is staggering" I think there is more credibility to his assertion than yours.

And how do you get from drugs crossing unsecured areas of the border not being the primary entry point to assuming that not much drugs cross those unsecured points? If there are mega tons of drugs entering the US from south of the border, why does that fact that not all come at a supposed "primary" entry point mean that a great deal do not come across at non-primary points?

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by detbuch

If Cool Beans actually is officially involved in counter narcotics and he says " We are able intercept less than 1/5th of the drug boats coming up the coast, and it all goes right to Mexico and crosses our southern border. The amount of drugs that cross that border is staggering" I think there is more credibility to his assertion than yours.

And how do you get from drugs crossing unsecured areas of the border not being the primary entry point to assuming that not much drugs cross those unsecured points? If there are mega tons of drugs entering the US from south of the border, why does that fact that not all come at a supposed "primary" entry point mean that a great deal do not come across at non-primary points?

Perhaps because the DEA has said so
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/08/wi...rug-smuggling/
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[detbuch]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

Perhaps because the DEA has said so
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/08/wi...rug-smuggling/
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

"beginning with the simple fact that much of the drug trade comes through legal ports of entry." doesn't mean that much doesn't. The Fact Check (has it looked into other viewpoints or just those that minimize drug entry across non official border entry points?) article is loaded with undefinitive assertions qualified by words such as "unlikely, much, cannot predict, we believe, mostly or most, common way, skeptical . . ."

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by detbuch

"beginning with the simple fact that much of the drug trade comes through legal ports of entry." doesn't mean that much doesn't. The Fact Check (has it looked into other viewpoints or just those that minimize drug entry across non official border entry points?) article is loaded with undefinitive assertions qualified by words such as "unlikely, much, cannot predict, we believe, mostly or most, common way, skeptical . . ."

National Drug Threat Assessment Summary, October 2015: Mexican TCOs transport the bulk of their drugs over the Southwest Border through ports of entry (POEs) using passenger vehicles or tractor trailers.

[spence]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

National Drug Threat Assessment Summary, October 2015: Mexican TCOs transport the bulk of their drugs over the Southwest Border through ports of entry (POEs) using passenger vehicles or tractor trailers.

So what you're saying is that the drug threat isn't real, the terror threat isn't real, the crime threat isn't real, undocumented workers don't take American's jobs and pay more in taxes than they consume.

But...

We have a crisis and need a wall.