The Obama Administration is considering sending 1,500 National Guard troops to the border to help fight the drug war, according to published reports. It would ask for National Guard volunteers to work at the border for no more than a year.
But there are concerns that this is a step toward militarizing the border. In Arizona, for example, the National Guard already is doing this kind of work, according to the Arizona Republic. And they say they need more manpower.
This may be true. But I think this obscures the deeper issues. First, it's the U.S. consumer driving the demand for the drugs. We tend to look at this as Mexico's problem but as a nation we have to take responsibility for a great part of this problem. If there were no demand in the U.S., there would be no drug war in Mexico.
Second, the Mexican government has to look at why so many people become
involved in the drug trade. In many parts of Mexico, especially rural
areas, there is limited opportunity for employment. For some people
they have two choices. Immigrate to the United States, or get involved
in the drug trade.
And we know that there is corruption at the government level from the
military to the police who profit from the drug wars in Mexico. Granted
Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has done more than any other
president to target drug traffickers. He has deployed his Army to
various states to fight the traffickers.
But the two countries should instead fund programs that deal more with
the root causes of the problem - drug abuse in the United States and
unemployment in Mexico. Adding more National Guard at the border is
like putting a Band Aid on the problem. It may stop the bleeding for a
while but it won't heal the wound.
Filed under: drug war
Tags: border, drug war, Felipe Calderon, Mexico, National Guard, Obama
