Why do we bother with a DoD?

It's nothing short of Orwellian that since the aptly named War and Navy Departments were merged into the Department of Defense in the late 1940s, this country hasn't fought a single defensive war. Aside from the nuclear standoff known as the Cold War, every fight since then has been elective, not existential.

And yet, we DON'T fight to defend fronts that need the attention. More and more, I'm seeing international news analysis refer to Mexico as a potential failed state. The government there is locked in an increasingly violent struggle against drug cartels, general smugglers and corruption. Obviously, failed states are a national interest of ours--it's allegedly why we still have occupying forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We keep hearing that unless we keep a lid on chaos there, it'll spill over in the region, harming our interests.

But I guess if Mexican chaos crosses our border right at home, it's no big deal, right?

Police reports show that three men arrested in a Phoenix home invasion and homicide Monday may have been active members of the Mexican Army. While on the J.D. Hayworth show, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer said that the men involved were hired by drug cartels to perform home invasions and assassinations. The Monday morning incident at 8329 W. Cypress St. resulted in the death of the homeowner. Between 50 and 100 rounds were fired at the house.Spencer said a police officer told him that one of the men captured said they were completely prepared to ambush Phoenix police, but ran out of ammunition. He added that all were all dressed in military tactical gear and were armed with AR-15 assault rifles. Three other men involved in the invasion escaped.

We used to take a much more serious view of rogue Mexican elements crossing our borders and expending ammunition. Then again, we used to take borders more seriously, period. Not that I'm advocating another Pershing expedition. Instead, I think it's about time we start defending our sovereign territory at least as well as we do that of Iraq and Afghanistan. THAT'S what a "Department of Defense" is for.

It makes no sense to send the bulk of your military halfway around the world, while allowing almost unchecked illegal entry into your own country, then claim you have to have extraordinary, unprecedented powers of domestic surveillance because you "never know who's in our backyard." At least, it doesn't make sense if you actually care about preserving a thriving Republic, as opposed to the banana kind.

UPDATE: Oh, joy...