OPEN WARFARE: CARTELS ATTACK MEXICAN ARMY

Just a little more than two years ago, new Mexico President Felipe
Calderon declared war on drug cartels operating in his country. Last
week, it became clear the cartels have -- back at'cha -- declared war
on Calderon's military forces. In a coordinated move, with heavy
weapons, drug cartels attacked three Mexican army garrisons on the
Mexico Gulf Coast near Texas.

It's getting worse and worse in Mexico, and daily, it seems, another
worse-yet is tacked onto the picture of 17,000-plus murders.

It's gone from drug cartels assassinating each other's gang members to
killing U.S. citizens. Such was the case last month when an El Paso
County Jail employee and a worker at the U.S. Consulate in Juarez were
gunned down in their car just feet from the U.S. border. They were
husband and wife. A third person, a Mexican citizen who worked at the
consulate, was killed in a similar fashion at about the same time.

It's gone from no fear here of the war spilling over to the U.S. ...
to Texas Gov. Rick Perry sending state aid to the border ... and New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson sending National Guard troops to his
state's remote border area.

It's gone from "don't worry here in El Paso" to the El Paso Police
Department using grant money to stock up on the same type of
machine-gun-style weapons used by the cartels in Mexico.

In Juarez, the death count is approaching 5,000 -- almost a third of
the country's total death count in this declared war. Juarez, a city
of 1.3 million people about a year ago, is now minus an estimated
300,000 of its citizens; they've fled their homes and businesses. El
Paso officials estimate 30,000 of those have come to El Paso.
Thousands of businesses are shuttered; empty homes abound.

The U.S., and especially those living along the border, have decried
this violence, and as it's gotten worse we've decried it more.
Military and law-enforcement being found on the take. Corruption into
high levels of government. We decry it.

But something substantial has to be done. Solid, effective moves must
be made to stop the violence. That we haven't seen. Mexico has to take
control of its republic. It has to. Because, now it's open warfare in
our neighbor to the south.