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| U.S. drug czar named as Mexico drug war worsens |
| 2009-03-12 |
| Mexico's drug cartels pose a clear threat to U.S. national security, Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday as the Obama administration named a drug czar to lead the U.S. fight against narco-trafficking. Some 7,000 people have been killed in an upsurge in violence between Mexican cartels since January 2008. U.S. officials fear the violence is spreading into the southwestern United States, where there have been abductions and execution-style murders tied to the drug trade. "Violent drug trafficking organizations threaten both the United States and Mexican communities," Biden said at a ceremony to nominate Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as the country's new drug czar. You can tell B.O.'s serious as a heart attack about this, naming the Seattle police chief, who keeps drug enforcement way up there at #495 on his Top 500 priorities. Biden said Kerlikowske, a 36-year law enforcement veteran, would oversee a strategy to improve information sharing, harness new technologies and increase the interdiction of drugs into the United States and guns and cash flowing into Mexico. "It is a strategy we need ... in order to bring the situation under control, to protect our people, and to bring about the demise of the Mexican drug cartels," Biden said. About 90 percent of all cocaine consumed in the United States comes through Mexico. It also is a major source of heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana in the United States, according to Homeland Security officials. Canada is also a major marijuana exporter to the US, probably bigger than Mexico (I don't know anyone who buys the Mexican crap anymore). Yet for some reason the Canuck producers remain generally peaceful and civil. Discuss.... The death toll in the drug wars -- 1,000 in January this year alone -- has soared since Mexican President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006 and sent tens of thousands of troops to fight the country's powerful cocaine cartels. NOT CABINET-LEVEL "With escalating violence along our southwest border and far too many suffering from the disease of addiction here at home, never has it been more important to have a national drug control strategy guided by sound principles of public safety and public health," President Barack Obama said. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kerlikowske would head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which was elevated to Cabinet-level under former President George W. Bush. Obama, however, intends to remove the post from the Cabinet. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 "Dave's not here, man." "I'm Dave!" |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-03-12 13:45 |
| #10 You wanna legalize pot? You're gonna have to legalize cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine while you're at it if you want an end to border violence. Might as well go ahead and legalize LSD too. Then sit back and watch this country go to hell. My suspicion is they keep drugs illegal to keep the prices high and maximize profits. Drug czar my ass. Some guy gets a plush office in DC with a fat paycheck and a pension but he does absolutely nothing of any consequence. What we need is the army on the border with orders to shoot to kill. But we ain't gonna get it. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-03-12 13:39 |
| #9 Well, sounds all very nice in theory, I really don't know what would happen if it happened. A lot of children killed by drivers high on drugs. Obama getting reelected. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-03-12 13:34 |
| #8 Joe, You keep this up and I am going to do something with extreme prejudice. |
| Posted by: "Dead-eye" Dick Cheney 2009-03-12 13:30 |
| #7 I should add, i meant the above only for cannabis! |
| Posted by: Galactic Coordinator Omavising9607 2009-03-12 12:21 |
| #6 My 2cents, I say legalize it, regulate it like alcohol but with a strong tax. If you can get it legal but at a reasonable cost, why go through drug dealer and send billions of US dollars out of the country, when you can get it at something like an ABC store. Money from the taxes, reduce small time offender count, jail costs, prioritize real drug crimes, and deny the lucrative profits to these cartels. All this money we are spending to fight illegal drugs and now a cartel bosses ends up on Forbes richest list with a billion dollar income. Well, sounds all very nice in theory, I really don't know what would happen if it happened. |
| Posted by: Galactic Coordinator Omavising9607 2009-03-12 12:20 |
| #5 Those drug cartels wouldn't even exist, let alone pose such a great threat, if the drugs they traffic weren't illegal. Or if drug users were shot. Joseph Stalin. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-03-12 09:55 |
| #4 Those drug cartels wouldn't even exist, let alone pose such a great threat, if the drugs they traffic weren't illegal. |
| Posted by: Cherelet and Tenille1095 2009-03-12 04:38 |
| #3 GLOBALRESEARCH.CA > OBAMA AND US COMMANDER DISCUSS US MILITARY INTERVENTION IN MEXICO; + RENSE > THE END OF INDUSTRIAL CIVILIZATION. * ALso, ALAN REYNOLDS: TOP-SECRET US "EXECUTIVE ASSASSINATION RING" LED BY FORMER VP CHENEY. **cough** **cough**....... |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-03-12 03:29 |
| #2 Obama's first choice, Tommy Chong, was ineligible since his taxes were paid up. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-12 00:40 |
| #1 FREEREPUBLIC > seems the Bammer is contemplating sending NATIONAL GUARD units to the borders. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-03-12 00:25 |