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When President Clinton last month certified that Mexico is
fully cooperating with the United States in fighting
illegal drugs, Senate Republicans and Democrats couldn't
wait to express their displeasure. In angry speeches, they
vowed to reject the certification, as they had the
authority to do by March 30. Without certification, Mexico
would lose U.S. trade and other economic preferences.

On Thursday, the fighting senators turned into purring
pussycats. By a vote of 945, they refused to decertify
Mexico. Instead, they congratulated themselves for reaching
a "tough" compromise with the White House. The compromise
requires Mr. Clinton to make another assessment of Mexico's
antidrug fight in five months. Here's a sure prediction:
In August if not before, the president will again certify
that Mexico is doing a good job in fighting drug
traffickers. In fact, it is not.

As a matter of political reality, decertification would
stand in the way of cooperation with our southern neighbor.
If the U.S. government declares that Mexico is an ally of
drug traffickers or treats such criminals with benign
neglect, relations between the two countries would become
icy.

The drug war cannot be won if Mexican and U.S.
officials no longer even talk to each other. Still, the
American people are entitled to the truth, which the Mexico
certification process has debased.

According to one estimate, the drug trade enriches
Mexico's drug cartels by $30 billion a year.

Recently, a U.S. State Department report did not mince
words: "No country in the world poses a more immediate
narcotics threat to the United States than Mexico." Shortly
thereafter, Mexico's drug czar was arrested on charges that
he was on the payroll of his country's drug cartels. The
arrest may be regarded as proof that the Mexican government
is seriously fighting narcotics criminals. But who put this
czar in power in the first place? And was the arrest
orchestrated to give the White House a big push to certify
Mexico?

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd says the certification process
is a disaster. The process itself is not really a disaster;
it has been used disastrously.

The Clinton administration, like its predecessors, does
not want to jeopardize relations with Mexico, China,
Pakistan and other key allies or trading partners by
decertifying them. So China continues its human rights
abuses, Pakistan continues its nuclear weapons program and
Mexico gives lip service to the drug war.

That is not what the certification process is intended
to do.