Whack-a-mole: COIN (Counter-insurgency strategy) in Mexico?

Here is an analysis of various "whack-a-mole" scenarios that could be part of the thinking of the Obama administration regarding its strategy for Mexico. The thinking of the administration began to come to light this past week with the comments of Secretary of State Clinton and administraion's responses to her.

Adam Isacson's blog | Just the Facts: Secretary Clinton’s insistence that Mexico’s gangs and cartels are “morphing” into an insurgency still stands (unaddressed by President Obama's response). This is a concern, because some poor policy choices can result from viewing criminal gangs and narcotrafficking syndicates – whose only truly political goal is to keep government from disrupting their business – as “insurgents” or revolutionaries.

If gangs and cartels are insurgents, it would follow that the proper response would be counterinsurgency (COIN). The term refers to the process of regaining government control over territory and populations in zones controlled by anti-state movements. While it includes civilian elements, COIN is ultimately a military strategy.

... It is unclear from her remarks whether Secretary Clinton is, in fact, implying that Mexico needs a classic counterinsurgency campaign or a beefed-up military offensive. If so, then she is recommending the wrong course for Mexico... Sept. 10, 2010, Just the Facts, a collaborative project of the Center for International Policy (the sponsor of the Americas Program), the Latin American Working Group and the Washington Office on Latin America

Legalization: Former House Counsel Overseeing DEA Says Drug Chiefs’ Prop 19 Plea More About Politics Than Facts

Here is a response by a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committe, which oversees the DEA, to today's press conference by former DEA directors on their opposition to California Proposition 19.

Former House Counsel Overseeing DEA Says Drug Chiefs’ Prop 19 Plea More About Politics Than Facts | The Seminal: "This letter is the clearest indication that the drug prohibition establishment recognizes the political attractiveness and unique importance of Prop. 19. ... If our national marijuana prohibition policy were not so clearly failing and not so close to being replaced with real controls, they would never have mobilized in this way to defend it. If Prop. 19 were not proposing a system of control that is so logical and straight forward that it is widely politically attractive, they would not be mobilizing this kind of collaboration." Posted on Firedoglake - The Seminal website.


Eric E. Sterling is the President of The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, a private non-profit educational organization that helps educate the nation about criminal justice problems. As a former Assistant Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee (1979-1989), Mr. Sterling was responsible for writing federal drug laws. He serves on the advisory board of Just Say Now.

Legalization: Pot, Prop. 19 and Mexico

As the California vote approaches on whether or not to legalize the sale and consumption of marijuana, the debate heats up. Here is a review of the arguments, by Mexicans and U.S. citizens, on both sides of the question.

Pot, Prop. 19 and Mexico | Seattle Times Newspaper: "As the Obama administration presses Mexican President Felipe Calderón to stand firm in his costly, bloody military campaign against drug mafias, Mexican leaders increasingly are asking why their country should continue to attack cannabis traffickers and peasant pot farmers if the U.S. government is barely enforcing federal marijuana laws in the most populous state." Sept. 12, 2010, Seattle Times/Washington Post

Legalization: Former D.E.A. Chiefs Seek to Block Legal Pot

What is this about increased "traffic accidents and trouble in the workplace"? Hasn't Mr. Bensinger heard about alcohol? As the old sixties song goes, "When will they ever learn?"


Former D.E.A. Chiefs Seek to Block Legal Pot - NYTimes.com: "Every past administrator of the 37-year-old Drug Enforcement Administration is calling on the Justice Department to sue California if its voters decide to legalize marijuana in November.

Peter Bensinger, who ran the D.E.A. from January 1976 to July 1981, said legalizing the recreational use of pot, even in one state, would be a “disaster,” leading to increased addiction, traffic accidents and trouble in the workplace. So, he and the eight other former D.E.A. administrators are asking the Obama administration to step in – much as it did when the Arizona Legislature passed its tough new immigration law this spring. ...

A spokesman for the Justice Department said it could not speculate on what it would do if the measure passes. “The federal government is committed to enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act and the Department of Justice will continue to focus its enforcement resources on significant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana, in all states,” he said." Sept. 13, 2010

Whack-a-mole: Follow the Dirty Money

Follow the Dirty Money - NYTimes.com: "Wachovia alone had moved more than $400 billion for account holders in Mexico, $14 billion of which was in bulk currency that had been driven in armored cars or flown to the United States. Just who in Mexico did anyone think had that kind of cash? Of course, the government did a thorough investigation but could find no individuals responsible. Bankers are escaping prosecution because law enforcement is failing to expose the evidence that some bankers market dirty money." Sept. 13, 2010, NY Times OpEd by Robert Mazur, a former federal agent, who is the author of “The Infiltrator,” a memoir about his undercover life as a money launderer. He is the president of a private investigative agency.

Viva Mexico!: On 200th Birthday, Mexico Battered but Not Broken

Here is a nicely written overview, by the Associated Press, of the state of life in Mexico on the occasion of its Bicentennial this week.

On 200th Birthday, Mexico Battered but Not Broken - AP/NYTimes.com: "As Mexico limps into the bicentennial of its 1810 independence uprising, it is battered and full of self-questioning, but with more openness and debate than perhaps at any other time in its history." Sept. 13, 2010

Legalization: Texans Against the War on Drugs

Mary O'Grady, columnist for the Wall Street Journal, has written columns critical of the war on drugs. Here she talks about visiting El Paso, Texas, where she finds the city council discussing legalization. 

Texans Against the War on Drugs - O'Grady:WSJ.com: "El Paso, Texas: In the national debate about the efficacy and morality of the U.S. war on drugs, it is not uncommon for prohibitionists to accuse their opponents of harboring libertine motives. But as opposition to current policy increases in places like this culturally conservative and predominantly Catholic border city, that charge isn't sticking." Sept. 13, 2010, Wall Street Journal column by Mary O'Grady