Arizona's war

"Think about it," writes Roger Hedgecock, "a part of America is off limits to U.S. citizens because it is now controlled by an army of foreigners." And where is that part of America he speaks of? In Arizona, where citizens are fighting to restore control of the state's borders. He then goes on to tell a hair-raising story about how law has degenerated, as the federal administration in Washington, DC, is set to raise hell with Arizona's elected government. Hedgecock writes:

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In a press conference ignored by the American national media, [Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County] described how his deputies were outmanned and outgunned by the cartel smugglers who increasingly operate using military tactics and weapons. The result, said Sheriff Babeu, was that a wide corridor of Arizona from the border North to the outskirts of Phoenix is effectively controlled by the cartels. "We do not have control of this area," the sheriff said.

At the same time as the sheriff's ignored press conference, the national media did cover assurances from the Obama Administration that crime was down at the border. ... The new reign of terror on the border in Arizona was airbrushed out of the picture. ...

Warning signs were posted this past month by the federal government 80 miles North of the border on the South side of I-8 between Casa Grande and Gila Bend urging U.S. citizens not to camp or hike in the "Active Drug and Human Smuggling Area" because "Visitors May Encounter Armed Criminals." ...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife staffers report that the 3,500 acre Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in this area is closed to U.S. citizens as well and is "adversely affected" by cartel operations. The border between the U.S. and Mexico is almost 2,000 miles long. According to DEA sources, nearly half of all the cocaine and illegal aliens are smuggled into the U.S. over the 365 mile long Arizona border with Mexico. There's a war going on in Arizona which puts into perspective that state's new immigration law. ...

The only reason the cartels have not taken over all of Mexico is that they frequently fight each other in bloody, largely unreported battles for control of valuable drug trafficking routes. Beheading of rival gang members and Mexican police are now routine. ...

Frequent cross border incursions into the U.S. by cartel soldiers in Mexican Army uniforms driving American-made Humvees and toting automatic weapons support an increasingly sophisticated web of smuggling routes. Patrolling sheriff deputies or lone Border Patrol officers are no match for this firepower and are ordered to fall back when confronted with the cartels' military might.

Read the rest of Hedgecock's account here.