THE U.S. IS TURNING AWAY FROM MEXICO'S FAILING DRUG WAR

GIVE MEXICAN President Felipe Calderon credit for honesty as well as
courage. Last week he presided over a three-day public conference to
assess the results of nearly four years of war against Mexico's drug
cartels. Most of the facts were grim:

- -- According to the chief of the national intelligence service,
28,000 people have died violently since Mr. Calderon deployed the
Mexican army against the drug gangs in December 2006. That number
represents an increase of 3,000 over the death toll the government
reported earlier this summer.

- -- There have been 963 incidents involving federal forces and the
gangs since the offensive began -- or just about one per day.

- -- Mexican authorities have seized more than 84,000 weapons,
including thousands of high-powered assault rifles, grenades and
other military-caliber equipment. More than 80 percent of the guns
whose provenance could be traced came from the United States.

- -- The ferocity of the violence continues to escalate as drug gangs
import the tactics of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. To kidnappings,
beheadings and massacres of innocent civilians and even children can
now be added car bombs -- two of which have been detonated in
northern cities in the past few weeks.

Mr. Calderon bluntly spelled out the threat the cartels represent to
Mexico. "The behavior of the criminals has changed and become a
defiance to the state, an attempt to replace the state," he said.
Drug lords are collecting their own taxes from businesses in some
areas. According to the secretary of public security, they are
spending $1.2 billion a year to buy the allegiance of 165,000 police officers.

Preventing the sort of cartel takeover that Mr. Calderon warned of is
a vital interest of the United States -- which is why the Obama
administration and Congress could benefit from their own
truth-telling session about Mexico. Congress has appropriated $1.3
billion since 2008 to help Mexico fight drug trafficking, but because
of poor implementation and bureaucratic delays, only a fraction of
the money has been spent. Mexican forces are still waiting for badly
needed U.S. helicopters, surveillance planes and drones as well as
training programs in areas such as money laundering.

Worse, the Obama administration has shrunk from the duty of cracking
down on the illegal trafficking of guns to Mexico, including improper
sales by many of the 7,000 gun shops along the border. During his
last visit to the United States, in May, Mr. Calderon pleaded with
the White House and Congress to reinstate the ban on sales of assault
weapons. As so often when it comes to the needs of this important
neighbor, there has been no response.