US Border Patrol's newest tool: a drone

Posted on: Dec. 7th, 2005 || Source: csmonitor.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

US Border Patrol's newest tool: a drone

HOUSTON – As President Bush was bumping along the banks of the Rio Grande last week with the United States Border Patrol, an American unmanned aircraft was apparently tracking a top Al Qaeda member to an abandoned house in remote Pakistan.

While details are emerging as to whether the terrorist network's operation manager was killed in a drone attack, Mr. Bush is increasingly convinced that the military technology should be used more widely within the US as well - to spot illegal border-crossers.

So far, the US Border Patrol has one unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, and it is equipped solely with a camera for surveillance. But the president says he wants to outfit the border with several more.

"Slowly but surely, technology is being employed up and down the border, and that's a key part of our strategy," Bush said from El Paso, Texas, last week.

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