It’s this week
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Mexico City, Mexico for the Merida U.S.-Mexico High Level Consultative Group meeting on March 23, 2010. The Secretary will be joined by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates; Secretary of Homeland Security Janet A. Napolitano; Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair; Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John O. Brennan; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael G. Mullen; Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security John Morton; Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler; Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Director Adam Szubin; Office of National Drug Control Policy Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Supply Reduction Patrick Ward; and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.
Now that’s an all-star lineup. They’ll be partying hard, I imagine.
Of course, they’re not really going to Mexico for spring break. They’re going to talk about the drug war. And they know their actions will be scrutinized even more now that U.S. Embassy personnel have been killed.
Secretary Clinton and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa will chair an interagency discussion on the evolution of the Merida Initiative that focuses on enhanced engagement in support of our shared goals of breaking the power of drug trafficking organizations; strengthening the rule of law, democratic institutions and respect for human rights; creating a 21st century border; and building strong and resilient communities.
Don’t you love it? The less actual idea they have of what the hell they’re doing, the more poetic the description of it becomes: “enhanced engagement in support of our shared goals” Ah, beautiful. Meaningless, but beautiful.
The reality is that they have no idea how to stop the cartels. As long as the drug war is ratcheted up, human rights and the rule of law are out the window. The attempt at a 21st century border has already failed. Strong communities? They may as well look to the cartels for help, there.
What will certainly not be discussed is any solution that would actually make a difference. The translators won’t have to know the English word for “legalización.”
Besides… Clinton, Gates, Napolitano, Leonhart? These aren’t people who can actually do anything. These are politicians.
Isn’t Michelle the Director now? Is there a reason the State Department can’t keep up with “who’s who?” And poor ol’ Gil. Gosh! Nobody ever invites him on the good trips.
All these key people in one place. Any vets around here get a “cringe” over that fact?
So, they’ll meet, jabber, waste a bit more money, slap each other on the back and shout “Good Job!” Meanwhile, not a damned thing will change. They know what will work but the crowd at the end of the “follow the money” line says NO!
One thing politicains know how to do , waste. Its ok thought they will enjoy themselves at our cost while there, of course they are the just to make a show , not really do anything that makes sense. Politicians and warmongers are the enemy of a peaceful world. Always have been always will be.
These people aren’t stupid, they know. They just don’t consider it an option. On another note, I wonder how tight security is for this?
The convoluted minds that can see more death and mayhem as “A sign that we’re winning” are meeting… for serious talking, about something. Like more efforts at more such successes, I’m sure.
“Winning”?
Winning what?
A war? A sports event?
Oh… the fight? The Fight Against Drugs?
More deaths and disasters… an increase, actually… means “We’re winning”?
Where are the people of peace? I guess there aren’t so many among us who really love and appreciate peace, peacetime, and it’s fruits.
Peacetime means a better time to be alive in.
DEA Bad Girl Michele Leonhart is still the Acting Administrator. Here is her nomination hearing page: http://bit.ly/96LyNq
Link
Two baltimore city cops shot over a small amount of marijuana. It’s situations like these that make me less sympathetic for cops because days or weeks from now they will sit in front of state legislatures begging for pot laws to remain in place which consequently put them in further danger than they would be in otherwise.
Thanks, Cannabis. I thought I’d heard that she was in a group that got “back door” confirmation.
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Mexico City, Mexico for the Merida U.S.-Mexico High Level Consultative Group meeting on March 23, 2010.”
Perhaps they should move the meeting to Juarez and give this “winning team” an eye opening glance at what their policies have wrought.
What is with the ‘strong communities’ rhetoric nowadays?
Why is a strong community always good one; they never seem to elaborate.
I am just sick of all the word play our politicians use on a daily basis for any issue.
Just once Id like to hear some striaght talk, oh but that would mean our politicians would have to damit to mistakes and defeat, admit to being human, admit they are as corrupt as the criminals running the drugs.
All the fancy word play and legal speak is the first sign I see of being lied to. Only a liar or someone that has something to hide has to twist words.
Waiting on bureaucrats and politicians to speak straight
about anything except their pay increase for next year is a waste of time.
How long before someone realizes that if they manage to remove the cartels from Mexico,that we,the US,will have too
give foreign aid to Mexico until they can rebuild their economy. Most of the farmers and people not working in the mfg companies that the US has in Mexico,work for the cartels in some manner. Remove the cartels and we remove the majority of the cash that the population uses too buy their food and clothing with.
I found some good reading,or rather a good reread and everyone that has not read it,needs too. It will really make you mad at Nixon and every president and legislator since because they refused to follow the science then and every since then.
Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy
Marijuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding – Table of Contents
http://www.druglibrary.org/crl/
The sad thing is that they could implement the recommendations of the commission today and it is still a viable policy.
Exactly Just Me, it’s word play. It’s also called Framing. Notice the words in the “historic” health care bill. (not to argue about health care, just to make a point on the play of words used.)
My head was swimming just reading the names of all the knot-heads attending their bogus meeting.
Hope nothing happens to them, or, well I’ll leave that one blank.
Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. recently echoed Leonhart’s words, “the violence is proof we’re winning” or whatever nonsense it was. He also said, “it shows the cartels are running out of options”.
I’m not buying into that last quote, or any thing that is belched out of their oppressive mouths.
He also said, “it shows the cartels are running out of optionsâ€.
The cartels may be running our of options, but they sure as hell haven’t run out of bullets or the ruthlessness to use them against anyone who gets in their way.
Why should the cartels want to hurt their best buddies? The heads of the prohib organizations are the very best friends of the cartels! Who else can be counted on year after year to provide the most support for maintaining the cartels in their money?
Security? What a joke. With cartel influence so deep in the Mex military and LE organs, the security detail assigned to the gringos will almost certainly have several cartel members in it.
But nothing’s going to happen, because nothing has to. A letter will probably be sent to the police (after the hidden cartel members in the security detail have disappeared into the woodwork) that a very real threat of assassination was present, courtesy of those cartels members…but wasn’t carried out because it was unnecessary.
Like I said, the prohibs are the cartels best friends, and killing off the ‘high command’ wouldn’t just be impolitic, it would be stupid. And the cartels aren’t stupid.
This link to a piece by Charles Bowden is one of the best articles I’ve read on the war next door.
Try this link instead:
http://www.hcn.org/issues/42.4/the-war-next-door