Guard's impact at border  President Bush calls for 6,000 troops
to halt the influx of illegal immigrants. But critics say it
won't make a big difference.  By , Staff writer of The Christian
Science Monitor  In the days before President Bush detailed his
plan to use the National Guard to beef up border security, the
nation wondered whether the commander in chief was again adding
to the burdens of an overstretched force.  In the weeks ahead,
however, the most pertinent questions might turn toward whether
those soldiers deployed on the border will make any significant
difference.  The scope of the deployment is so limited - no more
than 6,000 soldiers for about a year - that few analysts say it
will constrain the Guard's ability to fight the war on terror or
respond to domestic emergencies. Yet because of this modest
footprint, some wonder whether it can accomplish its goal of
sealing America's nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico.
Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test?  With the
Guard in support, M