Should the United States intervene militarily in Mexico's drug war?

¶ … U.S. get Involved Militarily in Mexico's Drug War

The United States has occupied a place unique among nations since the fall of the Soviet Union. Super power is a term that can only apply to one country due to economic, military and domestic strength. Although there are other countries, most notably China, that are gaining ground, there is no other country that can currently claim to be a super power. But, this does not mean that the U.S. can act with impunity whenever it wants to. This paper will discuss the current drug war in Mexico and why the U.S. should not intervene militarily because Mexico is a sovereign nation, of the possibility of an international backlash, there could be a drug spillover into the U.S., it could cause a great deal of U.S. deaths, and of the possible added cost of the war during a recession.

Sovereign Nation

The United States, because of the beliefs set down by its founders, is a nation which believes strongly in individual sovereignty and the will of the people. Even in the interests of protecting its own people, the government of the United States would have a difficult time directly intervening in another country's affairs without some provocation. Mexico is a sovereign nation that has had political and economic difficulties during its history, but it is still a free nation (Kearney). No matter what the issue, the U.S. would have to make a solid case before its own people and the rest of the world before it could invade, even if the mission was largely humanitarian in nature. Moving military into another country is a significant issue.

Increased Drug Traffic

One source has already cited the poorly executed interventions that the U.S. has already tried, and the resulting increase in drug traffic (Chacon). The United States has sent envoys into Mexico to help that country in its fight against drug cartels, but there has been little initial success. In actuality, drugs from Mexico to the U.S. have increased since the U.S. became involved (Chacon). This does not mean that U.S. involvement can be directly correlated to the increase in drug traffic, but U.S. tactics can be linked. The United States has trained soldiers and national police, and advised Mexico to increase their military and police presence throughout the country. Since that advice was heeded, there has been an astronomical increase in the death toll and in amount of drugs finding their way into the United States (Chacon). It does not seem that the strategy is working.

US Deaths

The cartels in Mexico only care about the money they are able to generate and the power that capital can give them. They have infiltrated Mexican police departments and government outposts, but they do not yet have a significant foothold in the U.S. If the United States were to act directly against them, they could very well react by kidnapping and killing U.S. citizens. More than 15 million U.S. citizens live within ten miles of the Mexican border, and all of those lives could be in danger (Bricker). The cartels would definitely retaliate against the U.S. To try and drive public opinion against further intervention in Mexico. The cost in lives would be too great.

Economics

Currently, the United States, like many other nations around the world, is trying to free itself from the burden of an economic downturn. Any action that the United States takes has to be done with that context in mind. One of the reasons that America halted operations in Iraq was due to the ongoing cost. U.S. citizens are more worried about what is happening in their country than they are about other parts of the world. Even if those parts are right next door.

The United States has some of the greatest weapons in the world, but they can cost a great deal of money to operate (Thompson & Mazzetti). Add to that the costs of deploying soldiers, sailors and airmen to a battlefield, and it can be a pretty significant drain on U.S. resources. The money spent on a new war could be better used to solve some of the domestic issues that have plagued the United States (Chacon).

Conclusion

Mexico is having the worst problems with drug cartels since Columbia was able to defeat the radicals that were making their country such a dangerous place to live. However, even though Mexico borders the United States and there is danger of the cartel violence spreading to border states, it is not a significant enough problem that the U.S. military has to get involved directly. Even the involvement that the U.S. presently has in the war may be too much. It is a better idea to send aid to Mexico, and to make sure that the U.S. borders are also secure. It may also be a good deterrent to make sure that the U.S. is policing its own drug problems and take some customers away from the cartels.