Operation Vigilant Sentry Under Way -- UPDATED

Today more than 50 different Local, State, and Federal agencies are taking part in a drill ominously called Operation Vigilant Sentry.

It is a drill not designed to keep the Muhamed Atta’s of this world from reaching our shores, but the Elian Gonzalezes.

This is not that the first time that we see taxpayer money squandered through misplaced priorities. Back in 2,000 while Atta and his terrorist cell were busy planning the 9/11 attacks, the number one priority of the then Attorney General and of the INS was not to protect America from dangerous enemies, but to ship Elian back to Castro’s totalitarian concentration camp.

From Today’s Washington Times’ online edition:

U.S. prepares for thousands to flee Cuba

Fearing a potential mass exodus of Cubans when Fidel Castro dies, dozens of federal, state and local agencies, along with the military, will participate in a massive two-day training exercise beginning today to hone migrant-interdiction skills.

The exercise will also test readiness to intercept vessels heading to Cuba. Some Cuban exile groups in South Florida have made clear their desire to set sail for Havana once they receive proof of Mr. Castro's demise.


Though Coast Guard officials would not specify just how many ships, aircraft and people would participate, they did acknowledge it as the most extensive preparation yet for such a mass-migration scenario.

"By interdicting people at sea, it's putting out the message that it's not safe to travel here that way," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson.

This or none of the articles that have been written about this operation have put a price tag on what the exercise is costing the American taxpayer.

Whatever the cost, it seems that it’s worth it . No price is seems to be too high to pay to prevent another Mariel and to keep Cubans from being free.

Then there’s is this:

This week's exercise comes weeks after Congress approved an $18 million Pentagon plan to prepare U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to accommodate migrants intercepted at sea

Call me a crazy Gusano, but this is all very silly.

There isn’t going to be a mass escape from the island prison unless Raul, the acting warden, allows it. The last two times that Cubans were allowed to take to the sea in mass quantities the Cuban regime allowed it by not machine gunning the escapees as is their usual practice.

All that needs to be done is to tell Raul that if he allows a mass migration ,which is what’s causing the Cubanophobic mass hysteria here in South Florida, that it will be considered an act of war and that instead of a mass migration towards US shores there will be a mass invasion of marines towards Cuban shores. Period. Raul will tuck his tail between his legs and go suck down a bottle or two of Absolut.

More Here

UPDATE:

From the Palm Beach Post (thanks to MsB):

Guard Rear Admiral David Kunkel, head of the Homeland Security Task Force
Southeast, said more than 300 government employees from some 50 agencies would participate in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties over two
days.

"This exercise focuses on a mass migration from Cuba," said Rear Admiral Kunkel. "It could be from somewhere else in the Caribbean..but we certainly recognize that Cuba is an area where we must be prepared."

By midmorning, authorities across South Florida had reported 155 people coming ashore and another 2,000 had been pulled off boats and crowded onto Coast Guard vessels, which reported a combined capacity of 12,150.

As with any good exercise, authorities were tormented by rumors; one had a refugee coming ashore in Marathon, infected with the deadly Ebola virus. All that was enough for Palm Beach County to declare a state of emergency.

Laugh some more Here

..........and Here