Pentagon Update

By Wendy Wang
National Guards at the Southern Border

Senior Pentagon official will not comment ahead of the President’s speech this evening on his plans to call for 5,000 National Guards to guard the US/ Mexican border. Pentagon will participate in a Department of Homeland Security sponsored event to response to the President’s speech, tomorrow at 10:30 am in the Ronald Reagan Building in Downtown Washington D.C.

Asked about the general strain on the National Guard, the official stated that the Pentagon will not discuss what the President hasn’t talked about yet. However, the plan will not affect current rotation to the Iraq and Afghanistan.

The official strongly dissuaded reporters from questions pertaining to the Guard training and capability to act in support of border security, saying that the picture such a question paints is misleading. The National Guards would be playing a supportive role to the Department of Homeland Security.

TRNS asked if last Friday’s visit by the Mexican Defense official with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld touched on the discussion of National Guards at the border. Pentagon official replied that the two discussed security in broad terms but did not specifically speak to this issue.

TRNS asked what more could be said of the Army Corps of Engineer’s current work on the levies in the Gulf Coast, as recent reports state that the June 1st deadline, set by the President will not be met. Pentagon official says there were lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina in, however there is not more information on the levies from his department. TRNS followed that question by asking if the levies are not repaired and rebuilt in time for the hurricane season, would the National Guard be called upon once again to respond to a potential natural disaster. If they are, would that not spread the National Guard too thin by asking them to also patrol the 2,000 mile southern border? Pentagon official responded by saying that question was just another way of asking him to comment ahead of the President’s speech, which he will not do.

The official did confirm the Guard’s role as being supportive of DHS efforts in the areas of mobile communications, intelligence analysis, logistics, and training of boarder patrol officers. The National Guard’s presence at the border is not expected to be long-term, but there is a future role for the Guards in assisting DHS.

Guantanamo Bay Detainee list
Following the release of 558 detainee names by the DOD, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the AP, the Pentagon will release more names, bringing the total to 750 names.

The list will include interment security number, citizenship, and place of birth and date of birth of each detainee.

Asked if this will be the last time the Pentagon responds to the AP’s FOIA lawsuit, senior Pentagon official says that it will not.