[classicman]

Unarmed Predator drones flying along border
No not the Pakistani borders...

EL PASO -- Unarmed Predator drones are now flying along part of the Texas-Mexico border, an official confirmed Saturday.

A member of Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes' office said the flights began earlier last week.

The Federal Aviation Administration had authorized the flights to begin on June 1.

Predators, known for deadly strikes against insurgents in the mountains of Pakistan, can provide detailed images of ground targets from high altitude. Texas lawmakers have said they are convinced the drones will help secure the increasingly violent Southwest border.

The new permit authorizes drones to fly between Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Big Bend National Park. Lawmakers have asked the FAA to approve flights out of Corpus Christi that would cover the rest of the Texas border and the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, two weeks ago introduced a bill that would pay for at least six new drone systems and hire pilots to bolster coverage of the entire 2,000-mile Southwest border.

"We must employ state-of-the-art border monitoring and security techniques," Hutchison said in a statement.

Hutchison said that Customs and Border Protection officials told her only 700 miles of the border is under "effective control." The rest of the border becomes an open door for drug cartels, arms dealers, human traffickers and terrorists, she said.

Texas lawmakers have also asked that the FAA to create a faster way of processing applications for new flights.

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