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© Lucas Jackson / Reuters / Reuters, file
A sandstorm blows past an inflatable blimp inside Forward Operating Base Joyce in Afghanistan's Kunar Province in June.
Dozens of surveillance blimps now being used on the battlefield in Afghanistan and Iraq could be deployed on the border with Mexico under a new joint initiative by the American military and border patrol officials, the Wall Street Journal reported.
If tests overseen by the military over the next few weeks are successful, the Department of Homeland Security would deploy 72-foot-long, unmanned surveillance blimps to help trace drug traffickers and those trying to enter the United States illegally, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The helium-filled drones have drifted over military bases throughout Afghanistan and Iraq for years, the Wall Street Journal reported. Often floating some 2,000-feet above above ground, they are equipped with cameras, infrared sensors and other hardware to help keep an eye on militants, insurgents and troops in battle, according to the newspaper.
Border Patrol unveils first new strategy in 8 years
With bases in Afghanistan shutting down, the aircraft are part of an enormous trove of military equipment set to leave the country over the next two years, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Heavily armed boats from Texas are now patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border along the Rio Grande. NBC's Charles Hadlock reports.
Drug smuggling tunnels discovered between US and Mexico
If the tests go well, the military could give Homeland Security dozens of blimps and surplus equipment worth $27 million, the newspaper reported. Border officials are already using military hardware along the border with Mexico, such as unarmed Predator drones, the Wall Street Journal said.
The surveillance drones were being offered free of charge, Mark Borkowski, assistant commissioner at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition, told the paper.
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To H** with bringing the blimps from Afghanistan - just another DC gas bag! Bring the guys from Afgh, put them on the border with orders to shoot. THAT is the only thing that is going to stop this drug and illegal invasion. We are just bleeding men and money in Afg, they want our money but not our freedoms, bring our guys back, spend the money here in America. Then the guys can go home on a long weekend pass. Every body wins, except for the illegals.
We need to go to the sources as to why illegals come over here! THAT will nip it in the bud more so than beefing up the border! E-VERIFY all businesses, NO birthright citizenship unless both parents are legally here, deportation if you are an illegal and caught commiting a serious crime, death penalty to gang bangers who murder anyone!
Bush was then, Obama is now. Neither one has done enough to stop the influx of illegals. So, like someone else posted, I'll vote for someone different and keep voting differently until someone does something about the border security. I believe it's not just "illegal immigrants", or drug runners. I think the non-Latino terrorists come across on a daily basis as well.
ALL them Y'all.
It seems like at least 90 percent of Americans are 100 percent against illegal immigration and nothings being done about it,I have written my congressmen,and senators as i'm sure many others have. I do understand that there is an agreemrnt between Mexico and the US to allow this to happen,because everytime an event takes place like the Arizona Immigration reform the presidente of Mexico is on his way to Washington.
Wait-we're the government.What about we tell ourselves to drive ourselves down there where we can take turns,armed watching the border ourselves.We could tell ourselves we can give ourselves a stipend when we contribute our time.I bet the mexicans and others wouldn't come in if they knew we were waiting for them,good and pissed.---Unless the government isn't ours.....
Pained1; there have been several groups that have went to the border as to assist the Border Patrol. The feds and the media have run them off calling them racists,and don't need any help from groups like this.
All this will result in are a lot of 'dead' blimps. The drug cartels will shoot them down on sight. What we need on the border is a wall and border patrol agents who are allowed to shoot on sight. But most of all we need people in the federal government who care more about American citizens than they do about illegals.
Today is a dark day in America. 0bama's amnesty goes into effect today allowing an estimated 1.7 million illegals to remain in the country without fear of deportation while we struggle with an 8.3% unemployment rate!
This is such a great blog post! Appreciating the hard work you put into your site. It’s awesome blog.
Fox Just announced a NEW Executive order ? Illegals can now drive in the UNITED STATES without a Drivers License ?. Then what good will Blimps do. Next we will provide them with NEW Cadillacs. Wow I hope this is not true. No wonder the rest of the world is loosing respect for us. I guess if we all throw away our drivers licenses and develop a Non US accent we will be free to drive anywhere we want to. I wonder how many Billions of dollars this will cost each State. It all seems too silly to be true.
I am quite sure that an American citizen found illegally in Mexico is not going to get the red carpet treatment our leaders like to give to Mexicans. I think we should start treating their citizens the same way they treat ours.
Oh, but that is just SO racist! The Libs won't allow that!
It won't take the illegals and drug smugglers long to shoot one of them full of holes and down it comes. This idea is almost comical. Our government is run by morons.
I find it tough to believe that we can secure the border between North & South Korea, but we can't secure our own northern & southern borders. The reality is that there is simply no political will to do it. Our federal elected officials are guilty of dereliction of duty, and it has been that way for decades.
Do you really want to bury several million miles along our border? Does that sound rational to you? Is it safe?
Legalize the sh*t ....keep my tax dollars in MY POCKET....case closed ......next ?
Does anybody read the article?
#1 - It says the blimps are FREE OF CHARGE
#2 - They fly at 2000 feet. That is one hell of a shot with a rifle.
I say try anything that is free. But we do need to start with deporting the illegals, not giving them a way to stay here and work and go to school legally. That was a very bad move on Obamas part. But what do you expect from a puppet.
Some of you are epic, awe-inspiring fools. Shoot across the border? How many minutes do you think it'll take before the drug traffickers start hiding behind schools & hospitals?
Illegal immigration? Aside from the fact that only a Native American Indian has the right to put "illegal" in front of "immigrant", they won't stop coming until people stop hiring them. Do you feel equal to the task of shooting down billionaires? Yeah, I know, some of the "poor" employers only have hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, do you actually think you'll get away with shooting them?
Think!
Musician-devil
"Aside from the fact that only a native American Indian has the right to put illegal in front of immigrant"
We are going to stop hiring them. But the American Indian was not the 1st to inhabit this country. Caucasians have been coming here 17 centuries before Christ. GO to Petroglyph Park Canada and read up. Copper and tin trading merchants have been coming here and had colonies here 3800 years ago and probably before that.
WHY all this talk about the border. Its not about the border. Its about the 40 million illegal aliens that are already here!!! Talking about the border is like closing the barn door after all the livestock runs out. WE need to force our government to initiate a border to border ocean to ocean sweep of every house, building , storage shed, garage, apartment, church, commercial building, forest, cave, in this country and we need to do this NOW!!!
If there was a way we could make illegals self-deport, it would be wonderful!! THEN they can come back the RIGHT way! Instead of laughing while they cross the border with the thought in thier heads what suckers those Americans are!
Can they be equipped with smart bombs?
Is this just a bigger drone? lol @ HS Blanket. When did we become a nation of chickens? Which false flag attack did it? We don't need no stinkin' nannies!
No matter what equipment is put in place or what the Border Patrol is instructed, nothing will succeed as long as we have a Potus who ignores the law of the land and chooses by his executive decree to rule on what can or can't be done.
Bogus. We have had tethered Blimps on our borders for many years. We as a country started using them in the 80's people.
I know this because I am a retired helicopter pilot that worked in the Gulf of Mexico for the oil & gas industry for ten years('79 thru '89), and for 23 years as a medical helicopter pilot as well. The FAA publishes notices/warnings regarding the un-manned Blimps, and the NOAA puts their locations on navigation maps.
These media idiots are trying so hard to "create news", that I truly just have to laugh out loud sometimes at the extent of their stupidity.
In
1947 My Father had to sell my most prized possessions to pay for my mother and
I to come to this country on a freighter. It was a C2 and rolled like hell, BUT
it was LEGAL and I had a VISA and a BIRTH CERTIFICATE. In 1951 I was drafted, I
was told quite clearly serve or go back where you came from, I was glad to
serve, I called my Mother and told he I AM NOW A MARINE. Proud day #1. In 1958
I became a CITIZEN of the UNITED STATES; proud day #2. In 1959 I received an Honorable discharge from the MARINE CORPS, Proud day #3. If I could do it so can everyone else. I am sick and tired of this mamby pamby get it all for free
BS attitude of today. You want to come here from another Nation; Do it legally.
My sister came here in the late 40s and she did not like it here so I told her
to get out and go home, in fact I helped her get on the Queen Mary. I paid for
the TAXI. If we spent as much Effort, Money and Resources on Native Americans
as we do on Illegals this would truly be the greatest Nation in the World. Blimps will not do the job they are too easy to shoot down. Put men on the ground with armor and fully automatic weapons. THAT WILL do the JOB. Semper Fi'
Would hate to be the person driving the blimp that gets shot down by those missing Fast and Furious weapons. Just saying.
Yeah, its them new fangled blimps that see into the ground, can catch them tunnelers... They are UNDER the ground for the most part.... what good will a blimp do?
My family lived in the desert southwest during the late 80's til 1995. We lived between Yuma Proving Grounds and The Chocolate Mtns bombing range for 6 years. Split all of our shopping between Yuma stores and some stores in Los Algodones. We were aware of unmanned surveillance blimps that they were using along the border there at that time. It was a huge waste of money and time. They were looking for pot mules and illegals. The official report estimated that over a several year period it cost an average of $40,000 per pound of pot to maintain the blimps that were deployed. Is it now going to be cost effective, because it was not then.
Has anyone been down to Sierra Vista, AZ? Look in the sky. This is nothing new.