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T.G.I.F. my friends I hope you have all had a good week and are looking forward to a great weekend, because I am. I am also sorry this post is coming to all of you so late today, but as the saying goes “life Happens”, and it happened to me today. Today’s blog is going to be on Mexico and the War on Drugs. Anyway let’s get started what do you say?
As I am sure you are all aware we have been fighting the war on drugs for decades. We have not always been successful in our efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into our country, but we have had our victories to. The war on drugs has lasted longer than the Vietnam War, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan combined. It has also cost more money than all three of those wars put together, and when you count the lives lost on all sides of the drug war the loss of life is immensely greater also.
This war has also been fought on many fields and fronts from Europe, the Far and Middle East, to central and South America, and now Mexico. Although for the record Mexico has always been a port of entry for smuggling drugs into the US the four Mexican cartels that are currently vying for supremacy as the reigning exporter of drugs to the states control the Mexican side of the border now and no one smuggles drugs into the US unless one of them gets paid.
The war on drugs in Mexico has really gotten bad on their side of the border in recent years. Many of the cartel members either have prior military or law enforcement experience. Some of these guys are even still serving in the Mexican military or as law enforcement officers inside of Mexico. Their training in weapons and technology make them far superior to other criminal organizations around the world.
The results of their expertise are immediately obvious to even the most casual observer. Their willingness to bring death to their adversaries with cool, calculated, efficiency is just one trademark of their talents demonstrated to their countrymen and the world on a near daily basis. Their expertise in exporting drugs to the US and importing weapons back into Mexico speaks to their talent for avoiding capture and arrest.
Now I am going to say something that most of you will find surprising, and that is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right. She was right about the hunger and desire for the drugs that these cartels supply by many of our citizens, which makes us partially responsible for the drug trade that flourishes in Mexico. She was right about US weapons and money going to Mexico as partially our responsibility as well.
However I am quite sure that Mexico is at least as much responsible for these things as we are, after all it is their side of the border that US weapons and cash are smuggled across by these very cartels, in order for them to finance and wage their war on terror against the Mexican people. It is also across their side of the border that the trafficking in illegal narcotics begins.
For the record though I don’t think that it is necessary for our Secretary of State to apologize to the Mexican government for their criminal elements and their lack of ability to police those criminals. It is not our fault that their government officials, law enforcement officers, and military personnel are corrupt. We are not responsible for their current economic instability either.
In one way or another, American dollars are Mexico’s biggest import, whether it is by illegal immigrants sending a portion of the money they earn here back to Mexico, or the profits from drugs that get smuggled back into their country by the drug cartels. Mexico is responsible for their own economic problems by utilizing a de-facto caste system where the few rule the rich like the royals and the serfs in 15th century Europe.
The truth is that the major export from Mexico to the US is Cannabis Sativa although they do import cocaine and heroin into the US as well. However if we were to not only decriminalize marijuana, but legalize it as well most of the problems on the border would disappear overnight. Well that and actually do something on our side of the line with a real border security plan like building the fence, increasing border agents, and applying 21st century technology to the task.
Well that is all I have to rant about here at Simple Man Politics for today. I hope you all have an awesome weekend and I will be back again next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Before we get started with today’s post I thought I would help to spread a rumor I heard yesterday on AM talk radio. I heard a rumor that Barack Obama may be considering offering John McCain a cabinet post as Secretary of Defense. I personally don’t believe it, but if it were true I think we all would know what the price is for selling out your supporters and intentionally losing your own election. It would explain some of the mistakes of McCain’s campaign though, although I reiterate I DON’T BELIEVE IT!!!!! I wonder how these rumors get started. Now for today’s post.
What I want to talk about today is some of the challenges in foreign policy that our President Elect will face when he takes office in January, particularly with regard to Russia and Iran. These two nations can and do pose serious threats to stability in the regions they inhabit and as a result they represent very negative influences in those places with their saber rattling. I am sure that most of you are aware that they are acting the way they are in an attempt to intimidate and influence the courses of action that Barack Obama may be considering within their sphere of influence.
Take Russia as the first example. They have not been very happy since the breakup of the Soviet Union. They have seen their dominance over large parts of Eastern Europe dwindle, since the fall of the Berlin wall. They have also seen many former communist countries that were part of the Soviet Union move steadily towards democracy. Most notably in the news cycle has been the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
I personally believe that Georgia’s move towards democracy is what prompted Russia’s attack against the fledgling democracy rather than any support for the two supposed break away provinces there. They almost certainly don’t want Georgia or any of its other former territories in NATO. Now you have the Russians threatening some sort of retaliation against Poland if the missile defense shield negotiated between the US and Poland is put in place. They supposedly feel that their own sovereignty is being threatened, which is not at all true.
As far as everyone’s favorite little Islamic extremist resort in the Middle East Iran is concerned. They are doing everything within their power to destabilize that region. They support the insurgents in Iraq and more than likely in Afghanistan. They are constantly sending arms and munitions as well as funds to militant groups operating in Iraq.
On top of which they just tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile and Russia wonders why a missile defense shield in Europe is important to us. Not to mention the fact that Israel is very happy about this new missile either. This new missile that Iran just tested operates on solid fuel and is a potential nuclear delivery system.
The master of the political gaff VP elect Joe Biden actually got it right for once. Barack Obama will be tested and tested very early in his Presidency. Fortunately for Obama there are some very good people already working on these very serious threats to our national security. Russia and Iran are just two of the threats our nation faces, other countries such as North Korea, Venezuela, Syria, and China to worry about as well.
I fervently hope that Barack Obama does not entirely dismantle the infrastructure that supports our intelligence and defense organizations. Now I know he might want to put his own people in charge at places like CIA as well as in the office of the DNI (Director of National Intelligence), but I don’t think he will be stupid enough to try to tear it all down and do it his way. I also hope that he will try to do more to make our national defense stronger. The last thing we or he can afford is another 9/11 on his watch.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Wednesday CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Hello everyone and welcome to my last post of the week. I hope you all are really getting something out of what I’m doing here. Since Wednesday was part one of the war on terror in Afghanistan, it is now time for part two of the war on terror in Iraq. Let’s get this thing done…we are burning daylight.
The Iraq war, also known as the Second Gulf War, began March 20, 2003. The invasion led by the US, UK, and troops by other nations as a multinational coalition. The purpose of the invasion was the removal of Saddam Hussein from power and regime change for the Iraqi people. While removing Saddam Hussein from power proved relatively easy stabilizing the country and securing it proved quite difficult due to unrest among the various peoples of Iraq as well as the emergence of foreign fighters including Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Amongst the excuses for entering into the war in Iraq was the idea that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD, (weapons of mass destruction) and/ or had operating programs for production of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and that these weapons posed an imminent threat to the security of the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. This was supported by intelligence from a variety of nations including British Intelligence. There was also intelligence from Russia linking Iraq with terrorism, and Germany supplied intelligence in preparation for the war. It has been concluded that neither Russian, nor German intelligence confirmed the presence of WMD in Iraq. Weapons inspectors also found no evidence of WMD, and the Iraq Survey Group determined that Iraq’s WMD programs ended in 1991 and that there were no active programs at the time of the invasion.
Another reason for the invasion was the accusations made by some US officials that Saddam Hussein was harboring and supporting Al Qaeda and the support of families of Palestinian suicide bombers. No proof of a collaborative relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda has been proven to have existed. Other reasons for the invasion include Iraq’s human rights abuses and Iraq’s oil reserves.
Both of our Presidential candidates have very different views of how to deal with Iraq. John McCain believes that the surge in Iraq has worked and advocates’ staying there until the war is won, and supported the war from the onset. Barack Obama says he has been against the war from the beginning, and advocates a 16 month timeline for troop withdrawal. There is even a side by side comparison of the two men on their positions for how to deal with Iraq.
Regardless of how any of you may feel about the war in Iraq and the reasons for us being there we are there now. While intelligence and investigation has proved there were no WMD in Iraq at the time of the invasion, we know that at one time Saddam Hussein possessed WMD as evidenced by intelligence, photographical, and eye witness accounts of the use of WMD by the Iraqi government against the Kurds in the north, and against his own people right in the heartland of his nation. We also know from one of his top generals, Georges Sada, that WMD elements were relocated outside of Iraq and into Syria prior to the invasion. As far as harboring Al Qaeda goes, even if he didn’t harbor Al Qaeda, he had some relationship with terrorist organizations because their camps were found in the north of Iraq after the invasion of Iraq was completed. These camps were used to train, equip, and finance terrorists.
There is no mistaking the fact that Saddam Hussein was a bad man, and the world is better off with out him and his Baathist regime in power. We also know that while the initial invasion and deposition of the Iraqi government was successful, we also know that violence and atrocities like Abu Ghraib as well as abuses against its own citizens were the rule rather than the exception for quite some time after the invasion. However with the success of the surge of 2007 and the fact that the Iraqi people and their own government are finally starting to take over their own country and appreciate their new national identity as fragile as it is. I don’t see how we can just up and leave and run the risk of the whole Iraq experiment in democracy becoming an absolute failure.
That is all I have to say on the subject of the Iraq war right now. As usual I can only find the facts and present them to you; you still have to decide for yourself where you stand. Have an awesome weekend, and I will see all of you right here next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!