Department of Homeland Security Is Now Policing Afghanistan

I'll make this one short and to the point, since the absolute absurdity speaks for itself! First there was the outrageous and dangerous actions perpetrated by Homeland Security's very own Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Now the Washington Post reports that DHS head, Janet Napolitano is looking to expand her agency's efforts to include assisting with security in Afghanistan. That's right, there was no typo in the last sentence. We didn't vote on it (not that I've heard), and congress didn't vote on it (unless it was hidden within the healthcare or financial reform bills). Nonetheless, our HOMELAND Security Department will now be playing a role in providing security for the war torn country of Afghanistan. It would be better if I was making this up, but it's all too true! The Department of Homeland Security that was created with the intentions of strengthening domestic security, will now be taking on a presence in the Middle East. That is what Janet Napolitano confirmed to the Washington Post when she explained that her department will be supporting border control and training Afghan officials on anti-smuggling techniques. She also pointed out that these new responsibilities were intended to facilitate a smooth transition for Afghanistan's border security and customs personnel, as the U.S. Military withdraws from the unstable country, over the next several years.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Right off the bat, there are a couple of problems with this whole picture. First, The Homeland Security Department was created with the goal and purpose of enhancing the security of OUR HOMELAND here in the United States. How on Earth does sending DHS agents to Afghanistan make any logical sense? In full disclosure, it's my view that the DHS actually poses a threat to our own countries freedom and should probably be closed down. That's another discussion, but the fact that an agency created for and charged with domestic security, is now lending a helping hand in Afghanistan, is just unbelievable! The second flaw I see in the picture is that our government has been fairly consistent in communicating an eventual strategy of withdrawal in Afghanistan. This latest development with the DHS suggests to me that there is no real strategy for our country to withdraw. Instead the reality of our government's plans involve a simple shuffling of responsibilities between the military and agencies like DHS, but a true U.S. withdrawal is not yet scheduled.

How This Shows The Danger Government Expansion

This story about the DHS trekking over to Afghanistan, is just the latest example of an often overlooked danger that accompanies any government expansion. The danger I refer to is the fact that new government agencies and programs often evolve and morph into new roles that were never intended at the time they were created. This is exactly the case with what I have described in the article regarding the recent maneuvering of the Homeland Security Department. Sadly, the average person in the U.S. will probably remain unaware of this development for a long time. This is part of the destructive nature of out of control government growth. The bigger government gets the harder it is to keep track of what they are doing. This eventually leads to a government becoming consistently more costly, more intrusive, and more reckless! I think the unfortunate truth is that this is exactly what we are faced with here in the U.S.

Here are some of my other Hubs about issues relating to Government absurdity!

Watch Government and Have An Impact!

Congress Won't Allow Insider Trading, Unless They Are Making The Trades!

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FLATTENING GOVERNMENT

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