Phi Beta Iota: Most of the weapons being used by the cartels do NOT come from US gun shops. They come from the Latin American militaries who have received large shipments of “older” weapons and ammunition from the US, and then turned around and sold them to the cartels. Just as the US is indirectly funding the Taliban in Afghanistan, it is indirectly enabling the cartels with weapons. Furthermore, to imagine that with the money they have the cartels cannot “order in” anything they wish from the Chinese, Israeli, or Russian arsenals, is naive in the extreme. As many or more are dying violent deaths every day in this region as in Iraq or Afghanistan. In our view, the current era of politicians (1981-date) is going to be held accountable for four major strategic blunders, all of them deliberate:
1. Elective invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq on top of irresponsible military cuts and acquisition pathologies
2. Willful acceptance from Bush Senior onwards of the willful destruction of the US economy for the benefit of a few led by Goldman Sachs, Citi-Bank, and Morgan
3. Ignoring the depth and extent of the Southwest Border instability and threat to local communities
4. Ignoring the imminent clean water crisis across the entire region as well as across America
On The Southwest Border (Photo Essay) (Latin America News Dispatch)
Posted by Molly OToole on Sep 15th, 2010
These photographs were taken on an 852-mile, 72-hour trip across the Southwest border, from San Diego, California to Arizona and back. Many citizens from the United States and Mexico have never seen the line that divides and defines their countries, marked by walls, barbed wire fences, U.S. Border Patrol checks and, increasingly, controversy.
2010 National Drug Threat Assessment: Southwest Border Smuggling and Violence
GAO: Border fence lagging, over budget, Home Security mismanaged project, report says (Washington Times, 24 October 2010)
Napolitano visits San Diego, says border is more secure from cartels (Los Angeles Times,October 18, 2010)
Time for U.S. to get serious about cartel threat (MySanAntonio, 16 October 2010)
Cartel Threat Grows, Illegal Numbers Drop (Homeland Security Today, 6 October 2010)
Pirate Lake: Mexican Bandits Terrorizing American Boaters on the Border (FOX.News, 4 October 2010)
Governor Perry Releases Statement on Border Violence (KRGV.com Texas, 2 October 2010)
SECURE BORDER INITIATIVE DHS Needs to Address Testing and Performance Limitations That Place Key Technology Program at Risk (GAO-10-158 January 2010)
Secure Border Initiative: SBInet Expenditure Plan Needs to Better Support Oversight and Accountability (GAO-07-309 February 15, 2007)
See Also:
2010: Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Trilogy Updated
2010 Reference: Trafficking in Persons Report
2009 Reference: America’s Southwest Border Initiatives
2009 Reference: National Intelligence Strategy
2009 Reference: National Plan to Achieve Maritime Domain Awareness
2005 Reference: Results and Implications of the Minuteman Project (Narco Sector, Arizona, US-MX Border)
1989 General Al Gray on Global Intelligence Challenges of the 1990's
