WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT DRUG VIOLENCE?

As bad as the attacks on 9/11 were, and I am a New Yorker who was
there that infamous day, there is a war that is actually worse. Right
across the fence from El Paso, Texas, is a poor Mexican city where
more murders were committed in 2010 than the 9/11 attacks.

Since 2008, there have been more than 10,000 murders in this decaying
city, which easily surpassed both of our wars in the Middle East
combined by a whopping 40 percent. This city is called Juarez, which
has become the symbol of all the unspeakable violence that has hit
our once-proud neighboring country of Mexico. As the
director-producer of "8 Murders a Day," a movie documentary about
Juarez that opens here Friday, I know about the violence there.

The mass murders in Mexico, due mainly to the rivalries among
ferocious drug cartels, has reached an all-time high, with Juarez
accounting for almost a quarter of the damage. Currently, 71 percent
of Mexico is crippled by drug cartel violence, and the Americans are
shamelessly supplying most of the illegal weapons and cash to Mexico
for all the illegal drugs that are destroying our own country.

This level of violence is also due to the colossal failures of both
the U.S. and Mexican governments. The Mexican side has been riddled
with deep corruption and Felipe Calderon's miserable attempt at
weakening the powerful cartels. The Obama administration has
collectively yawned at our desperate neighbors, with priorities
focused in on the Middle East.

Children and even babies being slaughtered are not uncommon in
Mexico. At this point, anybody is "fair game" during this drug war
which has turned Juarez and other parts of Mexico into a
bullet-riddled "free-for-all."

Can we finally say "no to drugs" or have stiffer penalties to bring
down all the drug users in America? That would be one refreshing
start. Would sending in U.S. troops be an option? Can Mexico govern
itself despite the Americans' horrific involvement? Is legalizing
drugs in the United States worth a try? Citizens in Cairo, Egypt,
toppled their own government -- is it out of the question that Mexico
could follow a similar revolt?

Charlie Minn

El Paso, Texas