Whack-a-mole Drug War: No US pledges expected at Central American drug meeting

Now how is this for a new spin on the drug war. The U.S. is converting its strategy "into a far more strategic strategy." Is this an oblique acknowledgement that our previous--and still inplace--strategy wasn't so strategic?

The Associated Press: No US pledges expected at CentAm drug meeting: "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and officials from throughout Central America are pledging to confront a problem her officials acknowledge U.S. policies helped create: a rise in activity by powerful drug cartels in the vulnerable nations of the region.

Representatives at the two-day meeting that opens Wednesday in Guatemala City are expected to discuss a coordinated security plan to stem the growing presence of cartels in Central America and ask for close to $1 billion to pay for it.

But U.S. officials said Monday that participants should not expect Clinton to break out the checkbook.

'The secretary may announce how we're repackaging some of our own assistance. But ... this is not a donors conference,' Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela told reporters in Washington on Monday.

Instead, Valenzuela said, 'we're taking substantial amounts of support for Central America and try to convert it into a far more strategic strategy.'"