The head of the U.S. Border Patrol told senators Tuesday that rules of engagement are too constraining and making it difficult to combat armed drug cartel spotters while atop U.S. mountains, the Washington Times reports.
Cartels traditionally send out spotters on U.S. territory to inspect border protection.
Border Patrol Chief Michael J. Fisher said his agents can’t shoot the spotters like U.S. troops could in Afghanistan, for instance. The rules of engagement are much stricter on U.S. soil, Fisher said.
“The rules of engagement, what we call our ‘use of force,’ applies to individuals on the street or whether they’re up on a mountaintop,” he told the Senate panel.
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This headline would make it appear as if the BP agent was whining about the use of force doctrine. He was not; his quote simply stated the obvious difference between deadly force in a war zone versus what is allowed under the law in the U.S.
The ignorant senator from Wisconsin is the one who asked why we can’t “take them [spotters] out?”