Trump's border

(To Paolo Palumbo)
10/04/18

For some time the White House has not been a quiet place to stay, perhaps it has never been, but with Trump as a tenant the situation has definitely worsened. The famous Situation Room from which the predecessor Barak Obama followed the killing of bin Laden minute by minute, is crowded by military commanders and geographical maps of Syria, North Korea, Russia and Mexico. Just the foreign policy towards the latter country is part of the main concerns of the president who, on blocking illegal immigration, has made a key point in his election campaign.

Borrowing the modus operandi of Israel, Trump has kicked off the famous project of the "partition wall" that should deter every possible attempt to infiltrate the Mexicans: both the illegal immigrants in search of work, and the criminals engaged in flourishing drug trafficking. Indeed, the problem of drug traffickers would justify the construction of any type of barrier, nevertheless they are not all sure that the company can really work.

Meanwhile, it is news these days that Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have approved the deployment of the National Guard to implement surveillance along the southern borders. The call to arms was born of a specific request from Washington that supported the need to send from 2000 to 4000 units to reinforce the defensive cord liming with Mexico. The only one to veto Trump's request was the governor of California, the Democrat Jerry Brown, who for political reasons (he is a heated protester of the president) and budget did not guarantee the participation of his volunteers. The costs of the mobilization of the National Guard have however convinced the member states to downsize the number of soldiers to be sent compared to Trump's claims: the governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, has deployed only 300 soldiers on the requested 1000, while the governor of New Mexico has commanded 80 on 250.

The military will have the task of assisting the police forces and the border guard - specified Trump - while waiting for the delegated companies to start working on the construction of the wall. The presidential provision has raised a lot of criticism, above all because a militarization of the borders is not a good signal for the local economy that, in the remote towns of the south, has never enjoyed good health.

Of course if America wants to imitate Israel it is also true that the Mexicans are not the Palestinians and that between the two nations - despite past wars - there is no such animosity as to justify the erection of a reinforced concrete bulwark. It is also worth pointing out that the House Armed Services Committee has recently asserted that the budget for the construction of the wall should not impose sacrifices on the most urgent needs of the Armed Forces to make improvements and changes to the structures and means in service.

In any case, we believe that Trump's pharaonic work will soon be included in the "to be postponed" list, since far from the hot Mexico, winds are very worrying.

(photo: US Air National Guard / US Army)