FOX ENCOURAGED ABOUT US COOPERATION IN DRUG WAR

Fox Encouraged About US Cooperation In Drug War

KENNESAW, Ga. -- Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Tuesday he
is encouraged that the Obama administration accepts some U.S.
responsibility for drug violence ravaging Mexico, but he is not yet
persuaded it will lead to concrete U.S. actions.

"The responsibility is here as well as it is in Mexico, so it's a
joint responsibility," he said in an interview in suburban Atlanta
with The Associated Press. "Finally they have accepted this."

He said it's not yet clear whether the U.S. will join Mexico in the
fight against the drug cartels, or if "they want to protect the
border and they just want to protect U.S. citizens."

Fox, who was president from 2000-2006, said he was similarly
encouraged early in his own administration when former U.S. President
George W. Bush enthusiastically promised immigration reform. But he
was later disappointed when Bush made repeated excuses about why it
wasn't possible, he said. Fox said he fears the same may happen with
the drug war if the U.S. doesn't make a real commitment.

"As long as this nation, and I mean the United States, does not
reduce or eliminate drug consumption, Mexico will have problems," he said.

After a trip to Mexico in April, President Barack Obama said
strengthening border patrols and cooperation between U.S. and Mexican
officials would help make cross-border crime a manageable problem.

Obama also named former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as the
U.S. drug czar. Kerlikowske has said he will focus on reducing demand
for illicit drugs - a contrast with the Bush administration's focus
on intercepting drugs as they cross the border and punishing drug crimes.

Fox said Mexico's current president, Felipe Calderon, is making a
"courageous" effort to cut the drug supply, but he said the U.S. and
Mexico must share information and strategies, "and not only send the
army or build walls."

Fox also said it's time to renew the debate about legalizing some
drug use - an idea he proposed while still in office. It is gaining
ground in Mexico amid increasing violence that has killed more than
10,500 people since Calderon launched a military-led offensive
against powerful trafficking cartels in 2006.

Fox said strict controls and high taxes would be necessary under
legalization. He said levels of drug use might remain the same but
violence would be significantly reduced because the cartels would no
longer control the supply. Families and schools should bear much of
the responsibility to educate against drug use, he said.

"I am not yet convinced that that's the solution," he said. But he
added, "Why not discuss it?"

Fox was in suburban Atlanta Tuesday for a summit on relations between
Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. He spoke Monday at Emory University's
commencement ceremony.

Fox is president of the Centro Fox, which he established in 2007. It
is a presidential library and museum that focuses on humanitarian work.