Kabuki dance, part dos

The administration leaps to the defense of Arizona, calling up 1,200 National Guard:

“The White House is doing the right thing,” said U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who called for the Guard’s deployment. “Arizonans know that more boots on the ground means a safer and more secure border. Washington heard our message.”

“The fulfillment of my request is a clear sign that this administration is beginning to take border security seriously,” said Giffords.

And what will all these mobilized troops be doing?

The enhanced border protection and law enforcement will, “provide intelligence; surveillance and reconnaissance support; intelligence analysis; immediate support to counternarcotics enforcement; and training capacity until Customs and Border Patrol can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border,” an administration official says.

What a brilliant idea! Why, getting the Border Patrol up to strength couldn't possibly take more than, say, three years and counting...

Prediction: just as they were under Bush, the troops will only be in Arizona until something else pushes America's short attention span away from the border. Again. Must be nice to have a whole army available to perform public relations when you're determined not to actually DO what the people clearly want.