MEXICAN CARTELS FIGHTING BACK

Friday's killing of Mexico's acting federal police chief could not
have sent a clearer message: This is war. Drug cartels are feeling
pinched by President Felipe Calderon's military offensive against
their operations, and Edgar Millan Gomez's assassination is an
unmistakable warning for the president to back off.

Previous Mexican presidents have heeded such warnings and maintained a
respectful distance from the cartels. They learned from their
counterparts in Colombia that anyone who seriously disrupts this
multibillion-dollar illicit industry risks being squashed.

Mr. Calderon must be unrelenting in his campaign to retake border-area
states from the cartels. Mexico's future hangs in the balance, and he
knows that any sign of wavering tells the cartels that their tactics
are working.

The U.S. Congress is sending its own signal by sitting on President
Bush's request for $1.4 billion in counter-narcotics aid to Mexico and
Central America. If Mr. Millan's killing - along with 200 Mexican
police and federal agents - has failed to rattle Washington out of its
lethargy, perhaps history can put some perspective on where this is
heading.

When Colombian troops and police began a massive crackdown on major
cartels starting in 1989, chaos ensued for the next decade. The
powerful Medellin cartel launched a series of car bombs that caused
thousands of casualties. Presidential candidates, Supreme Court
judges, cabinet ministers and various national police chiefs were
assassinated.

Once-insignificant guerrilla groups joined forces with drug
traffickers, plunging the country into a state of civil war. The
security balance shifted back to the government only after billions of
dollars in U.S. aid began arriving in 1999. Are Americans prepared for
similar chaos right next door?

These mafiosos will use every intimidation tactic at their disposal to
frighten Mr. Calderon into submission. Right now, he is fighting this
battle with minimal U.S. assistance, even though America's
illicit-drug consumption is funding Mexico's cartels. The death and
damage on both sides of the border is incalculable.

By approving Mr. Bush's request, Congress can send a clear signal that
we share Mexico's sense of urgency. By doing nothing, the message to
the cartels is unmistakable: Carry on.