NATIONAL GUARD NOT NEEDED AT MEXICAN BORDER

Violence associated with the drug trade flowing into the United
States from Mexico has spiked on both sides of the border, creating
widespread concern over the many law-abiding citizens of both
countries who are caught in the crossfire.

The early response from the Obama administration -- increasing border
security and finding new methods to cut off the flow of weapons and
drugs -- has been commendably swift, as have Mexican efforts to crack
down on the cartels that have often operated with impunity south of the border.

But just as the U.S. must continue to find ways to contain this
violence, which in particular plagues the border states of Texas and
Arizona, we must simultaneously push and help Mexico, within reason,
to get a handle on its drug trade.

Some foreign policy experts worry that the Mexican government could
be toppled or gradually turn into a "narco-state." The country
already produces 10,000 metric tons of marijuana annually, while 90
percent of all cocaine sold on our streets, plus a majority of
America's meth, flows through there.

Mexico is ground zero for the war on drugs. It is a pressing national
security issue.

It's true that Mexico has a history of corrupt or frightened or just
plain ineffective local police who have been unwilling or unable to
halt the flow of drugs to America. But Mexican President Felipe
Calderon has lately drawn a line in the sand, using the nation's
armed forces to take the fight to the drug lords.

There are hints that the Mexican military putting the squeeze on its
cartels has actually spurred the new violence. The "easy" supply
routes have been closed. As the noose gradually closes around the
cartels -- a process far from complete -- they're having to find new
routes and methods to get drugs to their legion of customers in the
U.S. They're also beginning to war amongst themselves. That violence
saw more than 6,600 killed in drug-related violence last year in
Mexico, double the number from 2007.

Why does Mexico's fighting matter to us? That violence has crossed
the border, with an increase in kidnappings, home invasions and other
crimes in the border states. And both Mexican authorities and our
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say that most of
the weapons these cartels are using are coming from America, smuggled
by gun-runners here. Of the 20,000-plus weapons seized last year from
drug lords in Mexico, 90 percent of them are believed to have
originated in the United States.

That's where new American efforts come in. On top of the $1.4 billion
President Bush secured before leaving office to give Mexican forces
better equipment and training, the Obama administration announced it
was going to put about 500 more federal agents on the border, along
with drug sniffing dogs and mobile X-ray units. Meanwhile, the FBI is
focused on gathering more intelligence on the drug syndicates to
share with border patrols here and anti-drug efforts there.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano -- a former Arizona
governor -- is nonetheless resisting a push by Congress to add more
money to the fight. More money and manpower may eventually be needed
to plug a border that is entirely too porous.

But this is not yet the time, as some border governors have
suggested, to deploy the National Guard and make this a military
fight on our side. We have our hands full at the moment. Let's see
what Mexico can accomplish first, while keeping an eye on what's
happening there.