Our National Security is at Stake and Our Drugged Up Kids Hold the Key

U.S. drug use fuels border violence

Secretary of state in Mexico to bolster anti-narcotics cooperation

by Paula Jackson

Stop using Drugs Now!  Drug Use in our country is a matter of National Security.  If no one used illegal drugs then there would be no "Drug War".  Now, most of us on the side of sanity know that making all drugs legal, regulated, and taxed will take the drugs off the streets and into the light where we could shine a big bolt of economic power into education but reality kicks us in the head when we come against the wall of fear that chooses militarization over legalization and we just scream, "Geez Us What are You People Thinking".

So we get stuck into this spirialing drug war where we can sell Mexico more arms, security, police stuff, etc…. and we have hawks on this side of the border claiming that Mexico will be the next Iraq!  Yeah, and Mexico has weapons of mass destruction right too!  Idiots! 

How do I know?  I’ve been to Mexico to see for myself.  Many U.S. Veterans live down in Mexico, most in Chapala just outside of Guadalajara in the State of Jalisco.  Thousands of veterans living on pensions, having fun, drinking margaritas and enjoying life in the warm sun.

They have recently told me that they know that the hype is just more hype by the mainstream media following it’s cue from the corridors of power.  Nothing personal. Just business as usual as the reality on the ground is far more different than the U.S. media portrays.  They say Mexico is a great place to live and enjoy!  No Drug War on their doorsteps. 

That’s not to say the the drug dealers are killing one another and thinning their herd to fight to see who gets the profit off the kids and families of United States because this part is true.  But they kill each other, not civilians.  So to say everyone is fighting in the streets hand to hand to combat and to portray Mexico like the next Iraq is comicial and quite silly.

The part about Police corruptions has always been true. That’s not news and it’s nothing new.  Anyone who lives in Mexico knows that.  Nothing to worry about…..just the same ole stuff.  Their culture has a word called "mordida" and that means ‘bribe".  It’s better than it was 20 years ago but it still exists.  Corruption is and has been in place.  Again, nothing new.

As you may of heard, today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that America’s "insatiable" demand for illegal drugs and inability to stop weapons smuggling into Mexico are fueling an alarming spike in violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Looks like the U.S. leaders are finally telling us the truth here.  I like Clinton.  She’s saying what is real.

Clinton said the United States shares responsibility with Mexico for dealing with the violence. She said the administration will work with Mexican authorities to improve security on both sides of the border.

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said. "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," she told reporters accompanying her to Mexico City a day after the administration of President Barack Obama said it would send more money, technology and manpower to secure the United States’ southwestern frontier and help Mexico battle the cartels.

Obama himself said Tuesday that he wanted the U.S. to do more to prevent guns and cash from illicit drug sales from flowing across the border into Mexico.

"That’s part of what’s financing their operations. That’s part of what’s arming them. That’s what makes them so dangerous," he told a news conference. "And this is something that we take very seriously and we’re going to continue to work on diligently in the months to come."

Clinton’s remarks, delivered ahead of her arrival in Mexico City, appeared more forceful in recognizing the U.S. share of the blame. Mexican officials have in the past, particularly under the administration of former President George W. Bush, complained that Washington never acknowledged the extent that the U.S. demand for drugs and weapons smuggling played in fueling the violence.

"These criminals are outgunning the law enforcement officials," Clinton said, referring to guns and military-style equipment such as night vision goggles and body armor that the cartels are smuggling into Mexico from the United States.

"Clearly, what we have been doing has not worked and it is unfair for our incapacity … to be creating a situation where people are holding the Mexican government and people responsible," Clinton said. "That’s not right."

She said she would repeat her acknowledgment as loudly and as often as needed during her two-day visit to Mexico City and the northern industrial city of Monterrey during which she will brief Mexican officials on the administration’s plans for the border and counter-narcotics aid to Mexico.

The administration announced Tuesday that it would increase the number of immigrations and customs agents, drug agents and antigun-trafficking agents operating along the border. It will also send more U.S. officials to work inside Mexico.

In addition, it will allow federal funds to be used to pay for local law enforcement involved in southwestern border operations and, at the same time, U.S. prosecutors will boost efforts to go after those smuggling guns and drug profits from the U.S. into Mexico.

The measures fall short of calls from some Southwestern states that troops be deployed to prevent further spillover of the violence, which has surged since Mexican President Felipe Calderon stepped up his government’s battle against the cartels. 

In her discussions, Clinton plans to stress Obama’s commitment and encourage Calderon and his top aides to boost efforts to combat rampant corruption by promoting police and judicial reform, according to senior U.S. officials.

U.S. help for such projects has already begun under a three-year, $1.4 billion Bush administration-era program known as the Merida Initiative through which Congress already has approved $700 million to support Mexico’s efforts to fight the cartels.

Clinton’s visit is among several high-level meetings on the matter. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder are to meet with Mexican officials in early April before Obama is expected in Mexico ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

In this light and a new day it’s time for all of us to take responsibility.  If you see you a kid using drugs, sit him down and educate him that they are not only hurting themselves but hurting their country and empower thugs who terrorize and do harm. 

This is a matter of national security for sure but it’s our problem to solve, not Mexico’s.  So either legalize it or educate your kids that every time they take a puff or a snort, they are putting our citizens and families in danger.  And that’s the real truth! 

DON’T USE DRUGS! WE CAN END THE DRUG WAR AT HOME, NOT IN MEXICO!  DRUG USE IS KILLING OUR COUNTRY AND IT’S A MATTER OF NATIONAL PRIDE AND SECURITY!