- Isn't the drug trade the largest source of revenue for Mexico? Why would they want to do anything but get a better control on it? Militarization is clearly not the answer, especially since there's so much corruption and the worst violence is being perpetrated by Los Zetas, whose founders defected to the drug trade after having been trained by the US to fight the drug trade! In addition, the likely victims of the militarization are people who fight for positive change in Mexico, such as the indigenous people fighting for autonomy and access to the lands they lost to neoliberal projects.
The desperation caused by poverty is what really needs to be dealt with, and this will only be made worse by militarization, and more involvement by the US.
(Posted on April 12, 2009, 4:57 pm sally)
- This article is a propagandistic joke. Of the 1.4 billion dollars pledged, only one or two have actually been released ; it went into computer hardware & software such as eTrace. Is that a satisfactory "shared responsibility"?
(Posted on April 11, 2009, 8:08 am Bill)
- Is this a joke?
I was extremely surprised and disappointed to read the same alarmist, myopic, incorrect analysis and regurgitation of the government party lines about the so-called "drug war." There has been a drumbeat of propaganda from US government and military officials and pundits claiming that Mexico is at risk of being a failed state, on the verge of civil war, losing control of its territory and posing a threat to US national security. It is sad to see you parroting this false narrative.
What has been dubbed "drug-war doublespeak" aims not to win the war on drugs but to assure funding and public support for the military model of combating illegal drug trafficking, despite the losses and overwhelming evidence that current strategies are not working. Case in point, the Merida Initiative, launched just before Bush was out the door and based on the disastrous Plan Colombia. Also, most of the money hasn't even been allocated, due to opposition in DC, so even if you supported it, it could not be paying dividends, because it hasnt been spent. This is pure PR spin to try to keep getting more and more of our tax money.
Alarmist cries help clinch the passage this Plan Mexico to further militarize the southern border and obtain lucrative contracts for mercenaries like Blackwater/Xe.
The Bend would be better off drawing more attention to the US demand and harm reduction and for the need to cut off pork barrel contracts to military contractors. Also, open up the debate to all options include legalization. Three former presidents propose to do just that: Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brasil, César Gaviria of Colombia and Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico. In a recently released report, they pronounced the war on drugs a failure and call for a "paradigm shift."
The jingoistic repetition of State Department propaganda has no place in the Ben.
(Posted on April 10, 2009, 5:31 pm Jennifer)
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