Fair warning from our Southern Commander, about our southern border and the existential threat being enacted upon America via rogue political policies and sheer civilian ignorance.

Marine Corps, four star  Gen. John Kelly,  is commander of the U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, charged with responsibility for the Caribbean Sea and all lands south of Mexico including Central and South America. 

The general believes that the open border policy of this Administration,  is much more than a “humanitarian crisis.”  The policy threatens our very existence as a nation.  Of course,  he is not talking about something that is going to happen in the next or two or ten years,  but there could be a time,  when we look back to this very point in time,  and say,  “This (2014 under Obama)  is when it actually happened.” 

What follows is a collection of quotes from the General’s Senate and House testimony.  The statements stand on their own,  and are being ignored by an Administration that has absolutely no experience in business management,  military theory,  or the command of a nation.   Kelly was promoted to the Southern Command in July of 2012.  As a result,  his testimony mirrors fresh insights and predictions,  not Establishment,  status quo,  "I want desperately to get along with my Commander,"  type testimony.  

Here are the words of the General.  Make use of them as you will.  They spell out a clear and present danger being manufactured by the current Administration with no thought or concern for “tomorrow.” 

 The Global Threat of an Open Border

“In comparison to other global threats, the near collapse of societies in [this] hemisphere with the associated drug and [illegal immigrant] flow are frequently viewed to be of low importance.   Many argue these threats are not existential and do not challenge our national security. I disagree.”

 Many Southern Nation's Want our Help 

(but no one is listening)  

“Most nations in this part of the world want our partnership. They want our friendship. They want our support. They want to work with us. They want our engagement to address shared challenges and transnational threats,”

  Budget cuts have hurt our efforts for secure nation

“Last year, we had to cancel more than 200 very effective engagement activities and numerous multilateral exercises.   I simply sit and watch it go by.  And because of service cuts, I don’t expect to get any immediate relief, in terms of assets, to work with in this region of the world.”

The Terror Threat into our country is massive and the 

direct result of the military vacuum we are creating.  

“Clearly, criminal networks can move just about anything on these smuggling pipelines  . . .  Terrorist organizations could seek to leverage those same smuggling routes to move operatives with intent to cause grave harm to our citizens or even quite easily bring weapons of mass destruction into the United States

 “Supporters and sympathizers of Lebanese Hezbollah are involved in both licit and illicit activities in the region.  Members, supporters, and adherents of Islamic extremist groups are present in Latin America. Islamic extremists visit the region to proselytize, recruit, establish business venues to generate funds, and expand their radical networks. Some Muslim communities in the Caribbean and South America are exhibiting increasingly extremist ideology and activities, mostly as a result from ideologues’ activities and external influence from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Mr. Chairman, we take all these activities seriously.”

“Although there are a number of other countries I work with in Latin America and the Caribbean that are going in the same direction.  The so-called Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) is far and away the worst off.”

“Chairman, gone are the days of the ‘cocaine cowboys.   Instead, we and our partners are confronted with cocaine corporations that have franchises all over the world, including 1,200 American cities, as well as criminal enterprises like the violent transnational gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, that specialize in extortion and human trafficking.”

“The FBI has warned that MS-13 has a significant presence in California, North Carolina, New York, and northern Virginia, and is expanding into new areas of the United States, including Indian reservations in South Dakota,”

“Some of my counterparts perceive that the United States is disengaging from the region and from the world in general.   We should remember that our friends and allies are not the only ones watching our actions closely. … And in the meantime, drug traffickers, criminal networks, and other actors, unburdened by budget cuts, cancelled activities, and employee furloughs, will have the opportunity to exploit the partnership vacuum left by reduced U.S. military engagement.”

____________________________

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March

And,  testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in February.