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OpEd: The real issue at the southern border
The photos were scandalous. Border Patrolmen on horseback near Del Rio, Texas rounded up Haitians on Sept. 20. It looked like a human rodeo.
Following the incident, the Biden administration quickly moved to suspend the horse patrol while an “independent” investigation would look into the story behind the photos. “To see people treated like they did? Horses running them over? People being strapped? It’s outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay,” President Biden said.
But the photographer who took the controversial photos, Paul Ratje, told NBC’s KTSM in El Paso that he and his colleagues never saw agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection whipping anyone. “Some of the Haitian men started running, trying to go around the horses,” Ratje said,“…I’ve never seen [agents] whip anyone,” he followed.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the images, “horrific,” and Vice President Kamala Harris said the photos were deeply troubling. No one should be whipped, beaten or run over by horses – but witnesses say that’s not what happened. Whipping or not, we’re focused on the wrong issue.
What those pictures really represent is business as usual. Those photographs, no matter how they’re interpreted, are one symptom of a much larger illness: U.S. foreign policy in many neighboring countries is directly creating migrant issues like the events documented in Del Rio.
Trump may run again and the nation's mood darkens: Here's what Biden must do.
Joe Biden has told us several times he's an eternal optimist.
Whether he's trying to salvage an infrastructure package, work on the debt ceiling, dealing with China, Afghanistan, or the pandemic that's killed more than 700,000 Americans, during his first nine months in the Oval Office Biden and his press secretary Jen Psaki have smiled at reporters and reiterated just how upbeat the president really is.
I've been able to personally ask him just three questions in nine months, and it's telling that in one of those three interactions he told me he was eternally optimistic. It's his go-to catchphrase, and you have to hope he's not like Chip Diller shouting, "Remain calm. All is well," in "Animal House" — only to be trampled by a panicked crowd later.
On Wednesday I again asked Psaki about this optimism at the end of her daily briefing. If Biden is so eternally optimistic, I asked, is he optimistic he can get any Republicans to flip and vote with the Democrats — since he can't seem to get Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema to do so?
"He's always an optimist, Brian. Always," Psaki said.
Remain calm. All is well.
Behind the scenes, high-ranking officials who feel comfortable enough to talk say there's often another side to Biden — the Biden I remember from the Senate. That Joe Biden is less optimistic, more pragmatic and can be tough and stubborn, traits he needs as he's trying to wield his influence and power against all odds to accomplish something few believe he can — getting Republicans and Democrats to work together for a common cause.
Episode 110: Dr. Stephen Hoffman- have we ever dealt with a pandemic the way we've dealt with COVID?
Listen to the latest podcast with vaccine scientist Dr. Stephen Hoffman. He joins us today to discuss the Covid 19 pandemic; the successes and the failures so far...
Check out all of Brian’s latest articles on Salon.com