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 Editorials | February 2007 
We Need to Back Mexican President in War on Drugs
 Yakima Herald-Republic
How many times have we heard it in reference to our national interests for being at war in Iraq: We must battle terrorists there so we don't have to fight them here, in the streets of the United States?
Along that line, President Bush has just committed a surge of 21,500 troops to stabilize the situation while Iraq's new government gets its act together.
Whatever happened to America's similar commitment to the war on drugs, to keep illicit drugs from winding up on our streets and in our schools and neighborhoods?
Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, has good reason to wonder.
Calderon put the drug-trafficking battle at the top of his nation's agenda when he took office in December. Since then, he has sent thousands of soldiers to half a dozen of Mexico's states, where they have pulled up marijuana plants and opium poppies and searched thousands of vehicles at military roadblocks.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, he also has fast-tracked the extradition of some of the hemisphere's biggest drug kingpins.
Little wonder Calderon is also signaling he'll be asking for millions of dollars in U.S. aid to continue his campaign and extend it nationwide. The U.S. remains one of the premier markets for illicit drugs.
A cooperative effort that involves millions of dollars in aid for Mexico to rekindle the war on drugs is important to keep in focus as we prepare to spend billions more dollars in Iraq.
The situation there has clouded what used to be a major issue in this country. For the first time in recent memory, the drug war didn't even warrant a mention in Bush's State of the Union address last month.
That must change. And Calderon is providing the catalyst for a new commitment.
Texas lawmakers are sponsoring a bill that would pay Mexico $850 million in new federal funds over five years for training police and prosecutors. That's nearly 21/2 times the $69 million a year Mexico gets now.
"The stars are finally aligned with Calderon, who is willing to work with the United States, who's extraditing criminals, and who's willing to send troops into hot spots and take on organized crime," Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told the Times. "U.S. leaders have always said Mexico needs to do more and now we have a Mexican president doing more."
The war on drugs isn't a matter of waging it in Mexico to keep them from arriving here. They are already here.
We're encouraged by Calderon's initiatives. This is a war the United States most definitely wants to help him win, for this nation's benefit, as well as Mexico's.
We aren't sure about a commitment approaching $1 billion, but Congress and the Bush administration should act quickly.
Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins and Bill Lee. |
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