With the increasing deaths and anarchy of the drug war in Mexico and the widening debate on considering legalization that President Calderon opened last week and former President Vicente Fox joined this week, it seems that more and more of the media in the U.S. are taking a more critical look at the "whack-a-mole" U.S. policies that support the war (the Merida Initiative) and the prohibition laws that create the illegal drug trade. Here are two such assessments, one from the LA Times, the other from the Miami Herald. In our opinion, this increase in critical assessment is a good thing.
Mexico's Drug War is Not Working Is the U.S.-backed drug war in Mexico working? By almost any account or any measure, the answer is no. Though high-ranking authorities on both sides of the border continue to support Mexico's military-led enforcement strategy against the country's powerful drug trafficking cartels, the facts remain stark, L.A. Times correspondents Tracy Wilkinson and Ken Ellingwood say in a special report published Sunday. (A summary of major facts outlining the failure is provided) August 11, 2010, LA Times
Mexico drug cartels thrive despite Calderon's offensive (This is the full report, a review of the drug war and its results.) August 8, 2010, LA Times
(I)t's clear that after four years of Calderón's U.S.-backed war on drugs, the cartels are smuggling more drugs, killing more people and becoming richer. Perhaps the time has come to take a step-by-step approach and start a serious debate about passing laws that would regulate legal production of marijuana, alongside massive education campaigns to discourage people from using it. Then, we could see who is right and consider what to do next. August 12, 2010, Miami Herald, editorial column
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