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When Eric Holder’s nomination was confirmed as U.S. Attorney General, Lisa and I began wondering how long would it take for the Obama Administration to find an issue on which they will develop broad public support for gun control.
As Secretary of State Hilary Clinton concluded her first official visit to Mexico, she boldly claimed that the US is co-responsible for the drug cartel wars that threaten to overwhelm Mexico.
“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 death of police officers, soldiers and civilians,”
Washington’s response is to propose spending another $1.7 Billion to upgrade and secure the border. At this time sources are unclear whether this would be “new money” or if it has already been requested from Congress.
Also of note is Clinton’s last quote stating that the cartels are better equipped than the Mexican military.
“It’s not only guns. It’s night vision goggles. It’s body armor. These criminals are outgunning the law enforcement officials,” she said. “When you go into a gun fight, where you are trying to round up bad guys and they have … military style equipment that is much better than yours, you start out at a disadvantage.”
Considering the intense corruption in the Mexican government over the past ten years, it’s not much of a stretch to know where some of those U.S. guns came from.
The US Arms Both Sides of Mexico’s Drug War
…the Clinton administration increasingly militarizes Mexico’s drug war, by providing more weapons aid and encouraging the military to become more involved. (snip)
…the administration has concentrated on providing the Mexican military with firepower sufficient to counter that of the drug bandits. [snip]…an agreement between the two governments which has resulted in Mexican soldier training at Fort Bragg and other US bases, and in the gift of 73 Surplus “helicopters, night vision goggles, radios and other military equipment. In addition, the White House has requested $9 million in military aid for Mexico for fiscal year 1998 (up from $3 million in fiscal year 1996) for the purchase of new weapons from US arms manufacturers. *
*source: The Secretary of State,” Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1998, p. 413.
Still, we cannot ignore statements such as this being repeated around the world.
Mexico has repeatedly said, however, that its efforts will come to nothing if the United States does not clamp down on the smuggling of U.S. guns used in 90 percent of drug crimes south of the border.