Whack-a-mole Drug War: Battles, Tanks, Missiles, but no Insurgency in Mexico

From the website, Insight - Organized Crime in the Americas:

Battles, Tanks, Missiles, but no Insurgency in Mexico: "Refugees fleeing towns to escape the fighting, corpses strewn on the road after a battle between rival groups, and combat involving tanks, high-caliber guns, and anti-aircraft missiles -- the events of one week have made parts of Mexico seem like full-fledged war zones. ...
(Secretary of State Hillary) Clinton was derided for comparing Mexico to the situation Colombia faced 20 years ago, namely one of war, in which powerful groups jockeyed to overthrow the state. While recent circumstances cast her comments in a kinder light, Mexico is still far from that situation, and there is no evidence that the trafficking groups' powerful weapons are being used for anything further than increasing revenue by defending their territory.

Despite their warlike trappings, in the absence of political ambitions these groups cannot be described as an insurgency. The drug gangs' challenge to the Mexican state is a by-product of their wish to get their goods to market and collect the profits. In this sense, the state is a useful tool, rather than an obstacle."