Connie Mack Focuses on Border Security

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, who is a possible candidate to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, focused on border security on Thursday in light of increased violence, including the recent murders of two American teenagers.

A counterinsurgency strategy from our government that includes civil society, law enforcement, civil authorities and military personnel at the U.S. border is urgently needed, said Mack, who won some attention due to his opposition to Arizona-style immigration measures. Repeated calls on the administration have not gotten ahead of this plague and the lives of two more U.S. citizens have been taken in the meantime, adding to the tens of thousands of people who have been killed in a drug war, expanding the influence of terrorists.

Mack, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, called for doubling the current number of border patrol agents to 40,000; using U.S. intelligence agencies to help secure the borders; and working closely with Mexico. Mack will be pushing these matters in the subcommittee he chairs.

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