DRUG SEIZURES: ALL-TIME RECORD THIS YEAR

There's data and a theory that Mexico's drug cartels are on the run in
spite of all the violence in the country's northern states.

So say officials of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the
Mexican government.

It's good to hear there are record seizures of illegal drugs and that
smugglers are having to use desperate measures to get their contraband
into the U.S.

But what should be looked at closely is that this joint announcement
last week was punctuated by a call to the U.S. Congress to pass
President Bush's $4.1 billion Merida Initiative to help Mexican
President Felipe Calderon in his fight to beat down the drug cartels.

We see more than 400 people murdered in sister city Juarez this year,
and the murders occurring on a daily basis. In this fight for control
by drug cartels, we're seeing pedestrians being caught in the deadly
crossfire.

It's good to hear that the drug seizures mean the street costs of
Mexican drugs on U.S. streets is rising sharply -- cocaine is
reportedly up 21 percent. Fewer drugs, fewer drug addicts is a good
theory.

It's good to hear that this explosion of terror and violence is a
last-ditch drug cartel attempt to rule.

If this is really the end, that's great and perhaps the $4.1 billion
will be a good investment ... if it's really going to be over. If it's
fact, good. If it's politics, let's think about it some more.