DRUG TRAFFICKERS POSE THREAT TO NORTH AMERICAN STABILITY

To many people, United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton was simply stating the obvious when she acknowledged last week
that American demand for illegal drugs has fortified Mexican
narco-mafias and fuelled that country's drug violence. But Mexico had
not heard such a high-level U.S. official accept shared responsibility
for generating and solving the drug wars, and the positive reviews
Clinton has been getting remind us that a little mea culpa goes a long
way.

The day before she arrived in Mexico City, on her first visit as
secretary of state, the Obama administration promised to address the
problem of southbound weapons trafficking and money laundering.
Clinton also sought to quell fury over recent U.S. intelligence
assessments that Mexico risks becoming a "failed state" along with
other countries riven by violence, such as Pakistan. President Felipe
Calderon had grown accustomed to unqualified praise from the former
administration of George W. Bush, which sought to bolster the
remaining right-of-centre governments in Latin America, and was
blindsided by the sudden talk of no-go areas in Mexico coming from
U.S. military and law enforcement quarters. In a joint meeting with
Clinton, Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa pointedly noted
that there are many places in both countries where the two women
wouldn't venture.

In her role as diplomat in chief, Clinton clarified that the Obama
administration does not hold the position that our next-door neighbour
is about to collapse into chaos. Clinton is right that the Mexican
state and civil society remain strong, and certainly Mexico is able to
send the army into any municipality to calm the drug violence, as it
has done recently in the border town of Ciudad Juarez. But in scores
of towns, the civil government and local police are not able to
confront the traffickers without the help of the army. The drug
cartels have killed thousands and control many more through threats,
bribes and taxes. No matter what you call it, that's a problem that
both countries must resolve together, as the violence is seeping
across the border.

Some Mexicans bristle at taking Black Hawk helicopters and other
military aid from the behemoth to the north. Critics say "help" and
"co-operation" usually come with strings that suggest U.S. meddling.
The United States must remain cognizant of those sensitivities, while
staying engaged and supplying aid. Because left unchecked, the drug
traffickers will pose a threat to Mexico's stability and, therefore,
to all of North America.