Obama Responds to Reports of Violence at the Border

The Obama administration has responded to the current scare over violence from the drug cartels in Mexico, sending immigration enforcement and ATF officers to the border, along with more cash.  At least one early commenter has a favorable reaction to the move-and living in a border state, she's closer to the issue than I am.

But ramping up the stakes in our failed drug war is not going to solve the problem.  If Obama thinks the response of Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush to casual drug use wasn't sufficiently draconian, then he's going about things the right way.  If he acknowledges the decades-long, bipartisan failure of the War on Drugs, then he'll be a step closer to finding a solution to the current concerns.

And as is often the case, we've been getting a fairly one-sided view of things in the States that shades our government's reaction.  Unsurprisingly, the perspective of even a middle-of-the-road Mexican moderate is quite different from the unquestioning panic we get from most U.S. accounts:

While we bear responsibility for our problems, the caricature of Mexico being propagated in the United States only increases the despair on both sides of the Rio Grande. It is also profoundly hypocritical. America is the world's largest market for illegal narcotics. The United States is the source for the majority of the guns used in Mexico's drug cartel war, according to law enforcement officials on both sides of the border.

Washington should support Mexico's war against the drug lords - first and foremost by recognizing its complexity. The Obama administration should recognize the considerable American responsibility for Mexico's problems. Then, in keeping with equality and symmetry, the United States must reduce its drug consumption and its weapons trade to Mexico.

I hope Obama continues the dialogue with Mexico rather than reacting to the situation in ways that are unlikely to ameliorate the violence.