GOOD vs EVIL: Hillary Clinton-We Share Responsibility. Our Drug Use Fuels Mexican Border Violence! Pat Buchanan-So What! Put Snipers on the Border!

Hillary Clinton said: "U.S. Drug habits fuel Border Violence!" Hillary agrees with what I have been long reporting. The U.S. is the number 1 user/abuser of illegal drugs in the World and shares responsibility with Mexico for their War on Drugs!

MSNBC Reports:

Hillary Clinton said the United States shares responsibility with Mexico for dealing with violence now spilling across the border and promised cooperation to improve security on both sides.

Hillary on Drugs:

"We do have a co-responsibility for what's happening in Mexico. It is drug demand in the U.S. that drives drugs north across our shared border. If not for this high demand, it would not be profitable. There would be no drug gangs fighting for territory because they make so much money selling drugs to Americans."

Hillary on Assault Weapons:

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians. I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility."

Republicans and Pundits are already attacking Hillary's response. On Hardball yesterday, Chris Matthews discussed the subject with blathering wildman Pat Buchanan.

On Drugs: Matthews and Buchanan both agree the U.S. is the number 1 drug user in the world, but so what. We have to live with it.

On Guns: Matthews, Buchanan and Republican Sen. John Cornyn all say we do supply guns to the Mexican Drug Cartels, but so what. We are not going to change the 2nd amendment and it is Mexico's problem. Buchanan said if he were Ambassador he would not only ensure a fortified fence was built, he would not use the National Guard. He would use snipers on the border. What a madman! Yikes!!
Hardball Conquering Mexicos Drug Wars: (click on link to see video)

Matthews: The problem in saying we are responsible for Drug Use, and it is a fact, is, what are we going to do about it. Nobody has a plan for getting rid of the drug market in the U.S. This is a free country. We have tough laws.We put dealers in jail for 20 years. But it doesn’t work. People make their own decisions and they can make the bad ones. And you have to live with it.
Is the secretary saying as long as people in this country use cocaine, crack or powder, then we have people cutting their heads off down there and it’s our fault??
Buchanan:That’s where she is wrong. There’s no doubt there is a drug market in the U.S. of billions and billions of dollars and it is what people are fighting over. But we are not responsible for the fact they are killing each other over it.
We have 2 ways to fight this.
1. Legalize Drugs. Managed Market in U.S.
2. Kill drug dealers. Kill the users.
But we aren’t going to do either. We have millions of drug users. Friends. Colleagues. Families. Candidates for President who use dope. We are not going to do either solution. We got what we got.
Matthews: What about taking a ban on assault weapons. John Cornyn says he is not going to restrict the 2nd amendment to help the Mexican government stop the flow of weapons going south. Mexico has to step up and provide additional resources to protect their own border. The 2nd amendment is the most sensitive after the 1st amendment
Buchanan: We can’t stop guns going south, we can’t stop people from coming in. Bush said he caught 6M. We got 12 – 20M people, gangs, El Salvador….
Matthews: Even if we put your wall up Pat, drugs can still be flown in or come in through the Gulf of Mexico. What would you do if you were the Ambassador.
Buchanan: We need the wall. We need the security fence. We need to stop the trucks from coming in. They have escorts, Zetas, trained by Americans, who have gone rogue from the Mexican Army. If I were the Ambassador. We don’t need the National Guard. We need Special Forces. We need to go down there and use American Snipers.
Matthews: Take the lives of the people who come here to work?
Buchanan: No. Just the coyotes. They are raping them, human trafficking...
Matthews: But you can’t…
Buchanan: In the next 30 years, we don’t need to worry whether sunni or shea, are running things in Baghdad. This is about the future of our country. We are going to have 135M Hispanic folks in the U.S. because of mass migration. We will have as many Mexicans here as in Mexico. The border will not exist. How do you have a country...
Matthews: Don’t people assimilate.
Buchanan: No, not with 135M. When you have small groups, they become Americans. The fastest growing radio stations are Hispanic. That's too many. We have too many at one time coming in.
Matthews changing the subject to Hillary Clinton to quit Buchanan from blathering and slobbering:
Matthews: Hillary Clinton sees her ability and her sway to be much larger than simply taking orders from the president. It’s to go out there and think originally about the messages she should be sending. I also think the Clintons are coalition partners with Obama, very much like the Israeli cabinet. The Clintons are coalition partners. Domestically and foreign-policy wise. I think it’s going to be interesting to watch this thing develop. Hillary Clinton is not an employee of the president. Nor should she be, by anybody’s lights.

Buchanan: Right.

Napolitano to increase number of U.S. Agents on Border to Check Flow of Illegal Guns & Drugs into Mexico

Janet Napolitano, Director of Homeland Security, has announced the U.S. will soon send a large contingent of federal agents to its southern border to help stem recent violence in northern Mexico. The new initiative will mobilize more border-enforcement teams, multiply the number of intelligence analysts working on the border, step up searches of vehicles going into Mexico from the U.S. and stem the flow of illegal guns and drugs going into Mexico. Napolitano said the increase in agents is in response to violence by drug cartels, including murders of police, kidnappings and beheadings in Mexican border towns in the past year.

As the number 1 user of illegal drugs in the world and the largest provider of illegal weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels, the U.S. has culpability in these Drug Wars. Law-enforcement officials say gun dealers in Arizona and other southern border states provide three-quarters (MSNBC reports 95%) of the black-market firearms to Mexico, a nation that strictly controls gun ownership. Phoenix is considered a hub for illegal exportation of AK-47s, SKS rifles, .50-caliber rifles and other weapons favored by narcotics gangsters.

Democratic House members pressed officials about whether Congress should strengthen U.S. gun laws to try to make it more difficult for the cartels to arm themselves. "My personal opinion is we could tighten up our gun laws," said retired Vice Adm. Roger T. Rufe Jr., director of Homeland Security's Office of Operations Coordination. "We shouldn't be selling assault weapons on the streets."

"We take this extremely seriously and intend to make some significant movements to the southwest border," Napolitano said. "Every American has a stake in this. Violence on the border can easily seep into our communities. It also creates a fear in border communities that the rule of law doesn't apply anymore, and that's just unacceptable."

Reference:

Napolitano: U.S. agents to increase on border

U.S./Mex Drug Cartels Reign; Mexico/U.S Presidents Partner to Fight; Mexican Residents say, "We Need Gringitos Back!"

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has staked his reputation on a nationwide army-led crackdown against Drug Cartels. More than 3,000 Mexican troops arrived this weekend in Juárez as part of what authorities have described as a frontal assault on crime. The new soldiers, which are in addition to the 2,000 already assigned to Joint Operation Chihuahua, were deployed after a meeting last week among high-level Mexican government officials in Juárez. More troops, including intelligence units, are expected to arrive in the next few days.
President Barack Obama and head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, strongly support President Calderon's War on Drugs. Afterall, the U.S. continues to be the Number 1 user of illegal drugs in the World. Attorney General Eric Holder mounted one of the biggest assaults against powerful drug cartels recently. More than 750 people were arrested across the U.S. with tons of cocaine and marijuana seized and the distribution of drugs disrupted through a series of raids and arrests.
The rising tide of Mexican drug cartel-related violence along American's southern border and beyond is, considered by some, a state of war. The U.S. drug cartels are partnering with Mexican Cartels. The U.S. cartels continue to send 2,000 illegal weapons to the Mexican Cartels a day! Mexico's gun laws are relatively strict. Civilians can't own military-style rifles or high-powered pistols and need an O.K. from the military to buy weapons of any kind. U.S. laws, in contrast, are porous. And with almost 7,000 licensed gun dealers along the border, including many operating from homes, trailers or tiny shops in out-of-the-way towns and remote strip malls, tracking sales of guns destined for Mexican gangs is a needle-in-a-haystack sort of problem.
It is commendable that the government of Mexico and President Calderon have taken up the fight against the cartels with a vigor and courage foreign to his predecessors, who were content to exploit the American appetite for drugs and look the other way at their own military and political corruption. But it is obvious Calderon cannot do it alone. He needs a full court crackdown, with the support of the American Government who will arrest the don't-give-a-damn gun-dealers on the U.S. side of the border who are arming Mexican drug terrorists now threatening U.S. communities.
It is clear we ALL should support both President Calderon and President Obama in their charge to stop the Drug Cartels on both sides of the border.
Mexican Economy: "We Need Gringitos Back"
Meanwhile, the local Mexican residents, innocent in all that has been happening, are feeling the pain of the lost tourist revenue. "We need the gringitos to come back," said Maria Guadalupe Santiago Gutierrez. "The violence is not aimed at them, and if you are not involved in the drug business, nothing will happen to you. Please put that in the paper." Santiago used to sell her handmade arts and crafts at the Juárez mercado. Since the tourist trade faded, she has set up shop on the sidewalk within feet of the Paso del Norte Bridge, closer to where visitors might venture. On a good day, she sells five bracelets and charms at $1 each. "People in El Paso don't understand that if they don't come buy things from us, we don't eat," Santiago said.
References:
Mexico troops move in to retake warring border city
U.S. Moves Against Top Mexican Drug Cartel
Recent editorials from New Jersey newspapers
Mexico's military influx leaves a city on edge

Violence Continues to Escalate Along the Border. How Does the USA Help Mexico Resolve the Crisis?

As I previously reported, the violence is increasing along the US/Mexico borders. President Calderone has escalated their fight against the drug cartels and the army has been deployed across border cities to thwart the cartels. Last week the violence escalated in Juarez as Cartel supporters blocked the Mexico/US border stations in protest of the army presence. Meanwhile, the Juarez vigilante group voiced support for the army and the Juarez police.

The border is in an uproar as violence escalates and some local officials/police resign in lieu of threats against themselves and their families. Our USA has a certain degree of responsibility and accountability for this Drug Crisis since we are the number 1 Drug Abusing Country in the World and many reports indicate the USA is shipping some 2000 illegal weapons into the Mexican Cartels a Day.

What does America do to help Mexico defeat the Drug Cartels?

The El Paso Times reports:

EL PASO - The El Paso Police Department is investigating alleged threats against Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, who reportedly moved his family to El Paso for safety reasons, Det. Carlos Carrillo said Monday.
"We received information that the Juárez mayor lives in El Paso, and that possibly they were going to come to El Paso to get him," Carrillo said. "He has not asked us for our help, but it's our duty to protect any resident of our city who may be under threat." Juárez police said written threats against Reyes Ferriz and his family were left in different parts of Juárez after ex-police chief Roberto Orduña Cruz resigned Friday. The threats were written on banners the Juárez drug cartel has used to send messages to the police and others. In light of the threats, Juárez city spokesman Sergio Belmonte said the mayor has increased security for himself and other city officials. Chihuahua state officials said they are going to call a news conference later Monday to provide more details about Sunday's shooting attack that killed one of Chihuahua Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas' bodyguards. The bodyguard who was killed while defending another state official was identified as Alejandro Chaparro Coronel. Officials said one of the armed men who allegedly killed Chaparro was injured and taken to a hospital.

2nd article from elpaso times.com : 2/22/09

Juárez vigilante group voices support for army

JUAREZ -- A so-called narco offensive last week left Juárez police leaderless and under fire with a wave of killings that also targeted for death elected officials in the outlying village of Guadalupe. The Juárez Citizens Command vigilante group on Saturday issued a manifesto, in which the group supported the Mexican army and condemned the crimes against police officers last week. According to Juárez news media, the manifesto of the Comando Ciudadano por Juárez, or CCJ, alerted the community against a group of kidnappers and extortionists that travels the city in a white Grand Cherokee with tinted windows and Texas plates and a white pickup also with tinted windows but no plates. The manifesto states the CCJ will act soon and asked residents to report the criminals to three phone numbers in Juárez. It was signed by a group leader identified as Comandante Abraham.

Violence Skyrockets in Border Towns and U.S. Joint Forces Command says Mexico Faces Collapse!

Mexico is in trouble! Border Town murders are escalating. In 2008, 1,600 were slain in just one town, Juarez. During the first 12 days of 2009, more than 35 were murdered in Juarez, all due to drug trafficking. As I previously reported, the U.S. continues to lead the world in illegal drug use and also sends 2,000 illegal weapons to Mexico each day. Mexico is sending 2000 fresh troops to Juarez to help quell the violence. Now, the U.S. Joint Forces Command says Mexico is on the verge of collapse due to these drug cartels.
President Obama met with Mexico's President on Monday and plans a second meeting later this month. Two topics include the U.S. helping Mexico with the Border Drug War and stopping the illegal weapons flow back into Mexico. It is clear a joint plan needs to be put in place to resolve these issues.
The El Paso Times reports:
U.S. military report warns 'sudden collapse' of Mexico is possible
EL PASO - Mexico is one of two countries that "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse," according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats. The command's "Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)" report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. "In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico. The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."
The report is one in a series focusing on Mexico's internal security problems, mostly stemming from drug violence and drug corruption. In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security and former U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey issued similar alerts about Mexico.
Despite such reports, El Pasoan Veronica Callaghan, a border business leader, said she keeps running into people in the region who "are in denial about what is happening in Mexico." Last week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon instructed his embassy and consular officials to promote a positive image of Mexico.

2,000 fresh troops sent to Juárez as violence continues
The Mexican army has sent an estimated 2,000 troops to Juárez as part of a rotation even as the death toll surpassed 35 so far this year. Two men were killed Tuesday evening, shot multiple times in separate attacks in which nearly 70 rounds were fired. About 5 p.m., Hector Ramiro Guardado Pereira, 34, was slain in colonia Infonavit Tecnologico, said Chihuahua state police. Investigators counted 40 casings of three calibers.
About 10 minutes later, Agapito Aguirre Leyva, 36, was shot in the 1500 block of Acuario, where 29 casings of three calibers were found, police said. Tuesday morning, Guillermo Pizarro Marceleño, 35, died at a hospital after being shot inside El Trebol restaurant on Avenida 16 de Septiembre, police said.
Three unidentified men were killed Monday. In one case, a man, who had a gag on his mouth and an electrical cord tied to a wrist and who might have been stabbed, shot and run over by a vehicle, was found at about 9:30 p.m. on Viaducto Diaz Ordaz road west of downtown, police said. The other two slayings were a man with a plastic bag taped over his head found in a vacant lot in the Parajes del Sur area and a blindfolded man with several stab wounds to his torso found in a ditch in colonia Insurgentes, police said. Soldiers who arrived in Juárez on Monday are part of a regular rotation of troops sent to different parts of Mexico, the Norte newspaper reported. Last year, more 1,600 people were slain in Juárez.

Presidents Obama and Calderon to Discuss Border Drug Violence and Immigration Initiatives Tomorrow

As I previously reported, President Obama is meeting with Mexico President Felipe Calderon tomorrow, Jan. 12, 2009. Their lead topic of discussion: War on Drugs in Border Cities.

With violence spilling over the Mexican border into the U.S., President Calderon should have little trouble securing support for his battle against drugs when he meets with President Obama.

The U.S. leads the World in illegal drug use and gangs/cartels across the globe are fighting to be the primary drug provider. In fact, last month, the U.S. Justice Department called Mexican cartels the biggest organized crime threat to the United States, saying they are increasingly pairing up with the Italian Mafia and other gangs to control distribution in American cities.

Calderon, who has been praised by U.S. officials for deploying troops to fight cartels and capturing top drug kingpins, already won a multimillion-dollar anti-drug aid package from Washington last year. Obama supports that plan, known as the Merida Initiative, and promises to take up another cause that Calderon champions: stopping the smuggling of guns from the U.S. to Mexico, which the Washington-based Brookings Institute says has reached a volume of 2,000 weapons a day. Obama has said that "southbound" strategy will complement the "northbound" crackdown on drug trafficking.

Calderon is also expected to discuss making immigration reform a top priority. While it is doubtful the Obama administration will view Comprehensive Immigration Reform as a top priority this year due to Economic and War priorities, Calderon said he will press for better conditions for Mexicans in the United States, based on respect for their rights and may express concerns over stepped-up migrant raids. In other words, the end to Hate Crimes Against Latinos and the end of ICE Raid/Detention Center Abuses.

I will monitor the outcome of these meetings and report the results later this week.

Reference: Obama-Calderon talks to focus on Mexican drug war