Drug Wars

George Ueda
Period 5/LA
Current Important Issue Editorial
Cornell Notes

High threat for US on "war on drugs

Addressing the problem in US congress

Cross-country accusations

Growing demand in market

Carlsen, Laura. "The high price of US "war on drugs"."�News America�3/31/09 4. 5 Apr 2009.

The US press and government appear to have�launched a public opinion campaign over the past few months�focusing on the latest alleged threat to national security.   The country now in the sights of US threat-assessers and fear-mongerers is its southern neighbour and North American Free-Trade Agreement (Nafta) partner, Mexico. Mexico,�historically the target of US military offensives more often than it has been�the aggressor, has been called a near-"failed state", bordering on civil war and on the verge of collapse.  
In the past few weeks, US congress�has held six hearings to address the new threat.   Shrill US voices�portray drug-related violence as a contagion from Mexico and warn of "spillover" on the border, offering little or no evidence to support their claims.   Prominent officials, including Rick Perry,�governor of the US state of Texas,�have demanded that troops be sent to the border immediately to protect the "American way of life".   This sudden outburst of finger-pointing southwards has�led to an unexpected and rapid deterioration in relations between the US and Mexico.   Felipe Calderon, Mexico's president,�responded that his government was in control of all national territory and vehemently denied the "failed state" charge.   At every opportunity, he countered by accusing the�US of being the root of the problem as the largest market for illegal drugs in the world and the source of the arms used by warring drug lords.
The Mexican attorney general's office reports that�more than�90 per cent�of weapons confiscated in counter-narcotics operations in the country are from the US, many bearing US army serial numbers. The north-south black market in arms...