What would it take for the US to step in in Mexico?

[KillerDog]

I've recently been reading about the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the expansion of the US influence into the Pacific. At that time it seems very common for one state to see internal weakness in another country and "step in" to solve the problem. This usually resulted in human rights abuses and empire building. Today we see the same sort of actions in Iraq and Afghanistan but with less reason and less benefit.

The thought occurred to me that a more strategic move by the US would be to project our force into Mexico to "stabilize" the government down there. There is ample evidence that the Mexican government is in danger of being completely overthrown (the kidnap and murder of various mayors including Edelmiro Cavazos Leal are good examples of this). Truthfully, some of their chaos is spilling over into the US; although less than you would expect from talking to someone from Arizona. The government has lost control and the entire region could be affected. Even Canada has told its citizens not to go to Mexico on vacation.

What would it take for the US to step in and kill off Los Zetas and the other cartels in Mexico and how much control over Mexico would the US government gain by such a move? How much control will the Mexican government lose if they don't gain control of this insanity?

[statman]

How much control will the Mexican government lose if they don't gain control of this insanity?

I'm not certain they have much control now...

[wuapinmon]

This is a complex question with complex answers. I would never ever ever support a war with Mexico until we legalize drugs here. Therein lies the root of all our problems.

I have zero doubt that an invasion of Mexico would make Iraq's partisans look like chumps. The Mexicans will never again tolerate the invasion of their country by anyone, and we don't have the stomach for a guerrilla against us by the people who invented the word.

[dabrockster]

It seems the Drug Lords have escalated over the past few years and will continue to do so.

If this continues to escalate it will be sad and tragic on the borders as Americans and Mexicans take their own brand of law..

Not sure if any of you have followed or heard the story of the couple being shot at on Falcon lake that borders Texas and Mexico. A couple was out jet skying and crossed into Mexican waters on the lake. They were pursued by someone and the husband was shot and killed. The wife was able to escape but the body of the Husband has never been found..

Another development of this story is the killing of the Mexican investigator in the case. His head was sent to the Mexican Military, providing more blame that this was a Drug Lord battle..

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/12/...ead/index.html

[Indy Coug]

The story of the Gadianton Robbers comes to mind here.

[RobinFinderson]

The Mexican cartels obviously benefit from having a wealthy drug-addicted neighbor that is the U.S., and they also benefit from our drug laws, which make the profit margins on their products so high.

There really are no good solutions... we aren't going to legalize meth and heroin, and legalizing marijuana will only dent the black market that fuels the cartels. The cartels operate locally, intimidating police, pols, and journalists. The military isn't the right tool for protecting police officers, pols and journalists, but what is? It should be the police, but in this case local police are the equivalent of the proverbial knife in a gun fight.

One thing is for sure... Americans who think that our cities are safe from cartel infiltration are dead wrong.

[Jacob]

This is a complex question with complex answers. I would never ever ever support a war with Mexico until we legalize drugs here. Therein lies the root of all our problems.

I have zero doubt that an invasion of Mexico would make Iraq's partisans look like chumps. The Mexicans will never again tolerate the invasion of their country by anyone, and we don't have the stomach for a guerrilla against us by the people who invented the word.

The Mexicans invented the word "guerrilla?" I doubt it. I'd have though the term was much more synonymous with Castro, Che, and central and south america, but the tactic has been used since ancient times.

I don't think we'll go to war with Mexico, or that we ever will or should, but is there really much reason to believe they'd be great insurgents? They've been living under our implicit military protection for so long that I suppose the'd have to default to guerrilla warfare.

[All-American]

The Mexicans invented the word "guerrilla?" I doubt it. I'd have though the term was much more synonymous with Castro, Che, and central and south america, but the tactic has been used since ancient times.

I don't think we'll go to war with Mexico, or that we ever will or should, but is there really much reason to believe they'd be great insurgents? They've been living under our implicit military protection for so long that I suppose the'd have to default to guerrilla warfare.

It's a spanish word, though. And as we all know, once you go south of the Rio grande, they're all pretty much the same.