The theme for today seems to be wishful thinking. My first exhibit is this editorial from the Dallas Morning News on what to do in reaction to the murders of the Americans living in Mexico:
So how can the U.S. help Mexican authorities stem the rising tide of violence and terror?
First, it’s clear that President López Obrador’s campaign promise of using “hugs not guns†to address the break down of Mexico’s social fabric and the rule of law was considered a sign of weakness by the cartels. Last month’s decision by the Mexican government to release Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo†Guzman, to prevent further bloodshed after eight people were killed in a botched raid in Culiacán has also emboldened the cartels.
But do the high-profile arrests and extradition to the U.S. of kingpins like El Chapo actually weaken the cartels? Jake Dizard, a fellow with the Mexico Security Initiative at The University of Texas at Austin, is skeptical. “The U.S. should continue to provide intelligence on criminal groups to Mexico,†he us, but “U.S. law enforcement should recognize the counterproductive nature of playing whack-a-mole with cartel leaders and help Mexico develop a more comprehensive, civilian-led security strategy.â€
What would such a strategy look like? All the experts we spoke with agree that a joint effort to crack down on illegal U.S. gun sales to Mexico should be a high priority. Patrick McNamara, a history professor at the University of Minnesota and an expert witness on more than 100 asylum cases, says the U.S. should also “stop obsessing about Central American refugees and allow Mexico’s new National Guard to be deployed to protect Mexican civilians in northern Mexico†instead of stopping peaceful migrants from heading north.
This is nonsense. If we can’t “crack down” on cross-border illegal drugs or human trafficking, how in the heck will we do so on the illegal gun trade. We can’t even crack down on illegal guns in Chicago. Nearly all Chicago’s homicides are perpetrated using illegal guns.
There is no crackdown on illegal guns in Chicago because there is no political will to do so. It would (at least in the politicians’ minds) perpetrate a race war which they fear they would lose, not necessarily in the streets, but in the public opinion. Of Chicago. Re-election is more important than people’s lives, especially lives of gang-bangers and the politically powerless.
Police don’t stop crime, they document crimes and methodically compile evidence to bring to the prosecutor with which to charge a suspect, if they can find one. Crimes are normally prevented by social mores, lacking that, Mexico’s future looks like medieval Europe with those who can afford it building castles of gated communities with private security, personal weapons and panic rooms.
Build that wall. Social breakdown is highly contagious.