Viciously attacked from all sides, our great nation is forced to turn its attention to that which is immediately present, while paying little notice to long-term threats with frighteningly powerful, unhinging capabilities. The historic election of President Obama, a sluggish economy and two wars have created a thick fog with low visibility.
Once clearly on the national security radar, Mexico border security has nearly disappeared from our sights. Mexico is facing its own battle within — and they’re not winning their internal struggle.
A recent U.S. military report illustrated that Mexico is a high risk for sudden collapse — the result of a highly sophisticated drug trade. Many border cities, including Tijuana, have made it well-known that this past year, 2008, was their bloodiest ever.
Not only are the drug cartels fighting among themselves for the lucrative U.S. illicit-drug trade, in which roughly 90 percent of illegal drugs enter the U.S. through the U.S.-Mexico border, but they have deeply penetrated Mexican local and federal police. This has led to partners murdering each other in cold blood.
More frightening is the manner in which this violence is occurring. These cartels are finding pleasure in the creative ways in which they torture their victims. It appears that with each new homicide that is uncovered, the perpetrator tortured his victim in such a way as to outdo his rivals.
Although the present fog has kept our media away from instant attention to our border, one has to question the possibility of Mexico imploding. Do you think that, in these times, we are prepared to fight a battle on our soil?
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