Killings of Police Threaten Mexico’s War on Drugs - NYTimes.com
It would appear that, for the most part, Mexico is dealing with something nearly on the same level as Iraq - a fractured insurgency with too many small centers of gravity to be uprooted by single strikes; a corrupt police force that makes it difficult to effectively execute long term counter-insurgency strategy, and a general misunderstanding among those at the tip of the spear on how to actually generate the information required to destroy (rather than disrupt) dispersed networks. These are challenges the US has only begun to overcome in Iraq over the past year or so. It'll be interesting to see how Mexico is able to cope without the sort of resources with which we have provided the Iraqi government.
I would be interested to see the nature of the training that is being provided by US funds. Does it focus solely on the tactical aspects of raids? Is it deeper than that? Does it incorporate lessons learned from our experiences in Iraq?
2 comments:
Stratfor has been all over this for a while, and is starting to lean towards seeing Mexico in some real trouble.
I think they've been in trouble for a long time. It just took an attempt by the state to reinstate it's monopoly on the use of force to prove how much trouble they're really in. What was believed to be crime mixed with terrorism has proven to be a deeper insurgency with tentacles that reach deep into the state. I'd be interested to find out if any of the support for the various factions comes from another state (such as FARC support from Venezuela and Ecuador).
Post a Comment