Don’t look now, but Nawaz Sharif has been arrested in Pakistan.
It seems fitting that Pakistanis have begun to worry about extremism. While Osama’s popularity softens from around 50% to 34% thinking he will “do the right thing in world affairs:
Overwhelmingly, Pakistanis are worried about the impact of extremism on their country and people, says a new survey conducted by PEW (IRI) global research.
In 2008 72 per cent said they were concerned about Islamic extremism in their country, and over half — 54 per cent — said they were very concerned, the highest per centage among the eight countries on the survey where the question was asked (the others were Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Turkey). [...]
Meanwhile, “the long march” continues, as does the crackdown in Pakistan, with opposition party leaders and other activists going into hiding to keep from being arrested.
A story floated about Russia, Venezuela and Cuba have the wingnuts spinning Cuban missile crisis theories, because “if” and “could” equals action to jumpy Republicans. Memeorandum has the roundup.
Secretary Clinton to Mexico later this month.
Clinton’s talks in Mexico would cover the global financial crisis, trade and the war against drugs, as well as the explosion of narcotics-related violence, Duguid said.
[...] The State Department last month warned U.S. citizens of the recent surge in violence, particularly near the border, and advised traveling only on main roads during daylight, sticking to well-known tourist spots and avoiding areas frequented by prostitutes or drug dealers.
With due respect to the State Department, there should be an all out travel advisory regarding Mexico that should read like this: You’re thinking about traveling where? Are you nuts?
That brings me to the forum on Friday at the Cato Institute, Can the Pentagon be Fixed? One of the people on the panel was Col. Douglas Macgregor. One specific point Col. Macgregor (retired) made I’ve come to the conclusion is unassailable. The Caribbean basin will likely become an increasing challenge for the U.S., though Macgregor’s assessment is much more dire. He believes firmly that homeland security is more urgent than the troubles we are facing in the Af-Pak region, something that is sobering in the extreme. However, that’s looking forward, because for my money, right now nothing is more urgent than the situation in Pakistan.
Macgregor believes “high impact, low footprint” missions will be more important going forward, because the era of the U.S. being “indispensable is over.” Macgregor: We are not going to garrison the world. The world doesn’t want it and we can’t afford it. That’s as close to a quote as I can get, but you catch the drift.
But it was on the Mexico cartel question from the audience that Macgregor hit on something very rarely covered. It’s not the drug cartels, in his opinion, that are so dangerous. “The transportation structure is enormous,” but also deadly lethal to the United States. The people in charge of the transportation system only want to be paid and they don’t care what they’re transporting. The drug cartels have one product they’re interested in pushing and selling, so they’re focused on it. The transportation structure, vast and unlimited, is different. In Macgregor’s judgment, though he’s not alone, the Coast Guard is vastly underfunded and underequipped, but he also believes the U.S. Navy should have a larger presence in the Caribbean basin.
Oh, and by the way, Macgregor thinks we should be out of Iraq yesterday. Containment worked before and can again. I remember the first time I wrote something along those lines, pushing for this tried form of strategy to be utilized again. I was pilloried with mail. Let’s hope colonels have clout.
But one question from a reporter from Military.com was very interesting: If you had 2 minutes with Robert Gates what would you tell him?
Winslow Wheeler: Tear up the phony stuff like the Levin-McCain legislation. Do what you talked about in your Foreign Affairs article. (–Notes via tweets on Twitter.–)
Col. Macgregor: “Persistent warfare” needs to end; develop containment policies.
Danielle Brian: Stop saying top guy at Raytheon is the right guy. Learn to say no.
Tom Ricks: Ten percent (10%) of new brigadier generals should be people who have been blackballed.
Let me just say that Tom Ricks is priceless. (See my tweets during the forum for more.)
Oh, and as for the F-22, Winslow Wheeler was blunt: “It’s a dog.” Danielle Brian thinks it’s part of a larger test for President Obama. “This is going to be a real test of Obama’s administration” says Danielle Brian, which she’s said before, as a staunch critic of the F-22, but also someone pushing for real change at the Pentagon. If Obama yields to Congress it will be the same old stuff all over again. Taxpayers paying for a military force structure that used to protect us, but in its current form isn’t ready for the 21st century threats we face.
How about we at least test the weapons we purchase before we order dozens of them? …and while we’re at it, Congress needs to quit thinking and saying that defense budget cutting is not supporting the troops. The Pentagon’s bloated budget hides behind that lie.
“How about we at least test the weapons we purchase before we order dozens of them? …and while we’re at it, Congress needs to quit thinking and saying that defense budget cutting is not supporting the troops. The Pentagon’s bloated budget hides behind that lie.”
How about the gawd damned ELECTED CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT regain control of the military and the procurement of weapons?!
See last paragraph.
SideBar:
Talk about conflicting headlines …
http://i39.tinypic.com/65vdcx.png
NYT says : A.I.G. Planning Huge Bonuses After $170 Billion Bailout
CNN says: Under Pressure, AIG REDUCES Bonuses
So which is it … ?
hc4bo says:
15 March 2009 at 11:31 am
SideBar:
Talk about conflicting headlines …
http://i39.tinypic.com/65vdcx.png
NYT says : A.I.G. Planning Huge Bonuses After $170 Billion Bailout
CNN says: Under Pressure, AIG REDUCES Bonuses
So which is it … ?
__
the former led to the latter. I believe.
I’m on the border. We do not have daily murders on the Texas side. In this city, there rarely are more than 20 homicides per year in a population of almost 250 thousand. Most of us (I don’t) travel to the Mexican side frequently without fear of violence or harassment.
Mexico has very strict gun laws and anyone caught with a gun or ammunition will be imprisoned for a very long time regardless of where you are from. Local deer hunters have accidentally crossed to the Mexican side with their perfectly legal (in the U.S.) concealed weapons and have gotten themselves in a heap of trouble.
So where do all the automatic weapons used in the Mexican town assassinations come from? The U.S., of course. How? Our lax gun laws. Mucho dinero is being made from gun dealers and gun shows who supply these weapons and nobody is cracking down on them.
I do not favor gun control for the average citizen, hunter, or collector, but come on, we have created the demand for the drugs and we supply the weapons to perpetuate the violence. This is where we should focus. We, the U.S., are the problem. What good is a fence or our military presence in Mexico if the flow of weapons and demand for drugs doesn’t stop?
icemama says:
15 March 2009 at 12:14 pm
We, the U.S., are the problem. What good is a fence or our military presence in Mexico if the flow of weapons and demand for drugs doesn’t stop?
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I say take the advice of the late great conservative thinker Bill Buckley— legalize the junk and take the criminal component out of the equation. It’s worked for alcohol. There are not more or less drunks because you can buy it at the corner store. People that want to drink or get high will do so regardless. Legalize, tax, relax…
programming note:
Fareed Zakaria GPS:
Charles Freeman, former Amb. To Saudi Arabia @ the top of the hour on the west coast. (and Paul O’Neil)
I totally agree with you icemama. But after watching CNN about the cartels I know for sure that when we go to SPI this coming December we WILL NOT be crossing the border. This past December we went to Matamoras and Nuevo Progresso.
I have read on the internet that Matamoras is the hdgtrs of the “Gulf cartel.” Yet when we questioned our waiter at Garcias in Matamoras about the armed troops at the border, he just shrugged it off and said they were trying to stop the money flow across the border. What a laugh.
Then we went to Progresso and they were really armed across the border. More so then at Matamoras. I mean they had machine guns with sand bags around them and a truck with a mounted gun. Plus many armed military men on foot.
When we stopped at a sidewalk cafe for margaritas there was a sign apologizing for the inconvenience, saying that it was due to the drug trafficking.
After reading the articles on both towns I don’t think I’ll go back anytime soon.
Until we crack down on the guns here, especially the automatics then we are still going to see the problem. And I believe that it will spill over into the border towns as well.
Hooray, Cheney is writing a book chronologizing 40 years of lies and abuse of power. (He was on John King, CNN, spewing his repulsive views on Obama.)
Watch Olbermann and Rachel tear this bozo up tomorrow night.
And by the way, on the way home on highway 77, you have to go through a checkpoint. As we were waiting in the line of cars the dog they had suddenly started barking and lunging towards the car next to us. He literally dragged the agent across to the car. After he sniffed around the car, the agent pulled the driver out at gunpoint. I assume they found drugs since that’s what the dogs sniff for.
I wonder if they have dogs that sniff for weapons going from the US to Mexico.
And by the way, I think fences are ridiculous. Why don’t they hire more border patrol people which would also create jobs. I know that a judge in McAllen, who by the way is Mexican, feels that more people are needed at the borders rather than fences.
I also worry about fences stopping the wildlife from their natural habitat which would be crossing back and forth over the border.
Hey Betsy, I do not travel there for the same reasons you stated. Innocent bystanders occasionally do get caught in the gunfire. For the time being, the risk is not worth it.
I feel very safe on the Texas side, however, this doesn’t mean that we do not have cartel members in our neighborhoods. We’ve been extremely lucky thus far as they have been laying low and non-violent. I pray it stays this way.
My nephew is a U.S. Customs agent and trust me, Betsy, those dogs can sniff out way more than we can imagine. The Border Patrol canines are no different.
About also inspecting vehicles going to Mexico — yes, I believe this is being discussed and may be implemented soon. I think it must be done.
Charles Freeman is Fareed Zakaria guest on his show GPS on CNN.
Betsy says:
15 March 2009 at 1:01 pm
Charles Freeman is Fareed Zakaria guest on his show GPS on CNN.
___
I said that already
icemama, I also felt safe in Brownsville. It’s just as you said, getting caught in the crossfire. Yet some of the wintering Texans don’t seem to be the least worried. And there are others who said that they are staying away, and will go get their meds just before they go home. Sad state of affairs. And sad for the Mexican people who really need the revenue that the Americans spend over there.
Watching Freeman as well…
icemama says:
15 March 2009 at 12:14 pm
Guns come from many sources in Mexico, including the U.S. Given the lawlessness and the sieve of Mexico’s borders, there’s no reason not to also believe that gun running is part of the transportation issue.
Our gun laws are plentiful and are also not the issue. Law abiding U.S. citizens must not be penalized because of Mexico’s continued crime escalation.
We are also not to blame for the fact that Mexico has no economy.
Watch California re: legalization, but the rest of the country will be slow. Good news is that Holder has signaled no more raids on medical marijuana orgs.
I agree with Geo…Legalize…tax…relax.Prohibition does not work it just makes criminals out all involved. The ‘war on drugs’ is a failure and has filled our prisons with nonviolent users and turned them into lifelong criminals.It is fueled by more of that cowboy mentality that has influenced politics for far too long.
Another distinction between conservative and progressive worldview!I want all of Obama’s people out there as much as possible making the distinctions.Let the wingnuts howl!
Yes Ms. M., that’s what I say about U.S. citizens owning/buying guns, we should not be penalized, but more accountability is needed on those who sell the high powered weapons in quantities that no normal citizen would buy for personal use.
You and Geo both talked about legalizing marijuana. I agree. Our law enforcement could use the break from all the petty arrests that keep them from other more pressing investigations….not to mention jail overcrowding. How often do we hear of a pot smoker driver killing a family of four while under the influence? Alcohol does more harm and where’s the outcry?
…but more accountability is needed on those who sell the high powered weapons in quantities that no normal citizen would buy for personal use.
Accountability? Our laws are there for that. “No normal citizen”? What’s the definition of “normal”? It’s ridiculous to use “normal,” because any law abiding citizen should be able to buy whatever weapon he/she wants. There are gun enthusiasts and collectors, as well as those people who enjoy shooting them at a range. They should not be kept from that because of some idiot who breaks the law.
I’ll stop there… let the discussion continue…
If I didn’t make myself clear, I agree with icemama that it’s the illegal sales of automatic weapons that needs to be cracked down on. My husband is a gun collector and I don’t think people like him should suffer. We DO have enough gun laws, but it’s the illegal sales and smuggling across the border that needs to be tightened up on.
As far as legalizing drugs, on CNN several people said that legalizing would stop a lot of the violence and the drug cartels would no longer be able to subsist because their goods would be lowered in price and legal.
I’ve been saying for years that if you are looking at drugs where is the fact that alcohol is actually a drug. Our prisons are way over crowded because we have users and sellers in there. You don’t put someone in jail because he had a drink, unless his/her drinking causes bodily harm to someone. Then more than likely they get probation, fines, and community service.
Taylor Marsh says:
15 March 2009 at 1:38 pm
“No normal citizen”? What’s the definition of “normal”?
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didn’t you get the memo? I decide what is normal.
Go Mizzou! Missouri wins Big Twelve! March Maddness might be fun this year!
icemama says:
15 March 2009 at 1:24 pm
not to mention jail overcrowding. How often do we hear of a pot smoker driver killing a family of four while under the influence? Alcohol does more harm and where’s the outcry?
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plus in some states the sentencing is still draconian with small time pot users getting multi-year jail time on par with violent offenders in some cases.
I personally never touch the stuff
Lake Lady says:
15 March 2009 at 3:09 pm
Go Mizzou! Missouri wins Big Twelve! March Maddness might be fun this year!
_____
cool! My USC Tronjan’s almost made it to the Pac 10 finals, but at least they beat UCLA.
My fav team other than AF of course is USC because my mother went there.
Normal, abnormal (only Geo knows, lol) …..the fact is that too many weapons are getting into Mexico illegally. All I meant is that this is what should be looked into more closely because fences or U.S. military will not prevent this.
Of course I never implied that citizens be limited or forbidden from buying/using the weapons as they please.
http://cbs5.com/national/mexico.us.guns.2.947011.html
I’m not taking just you on, icemama. It’s just that so many people think we can do this stuff all on our own. We need to demand and expect more from our neighbors in Mexico, as well as other allies. To quote Macgregor, we cannot garrison the world.
Betsy says:
15 March 2009 at 3:13 pm
My fav team other than AF of course is USC because my mother went there.
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My brother, one niece, one nephew. And my High School football coach Greg Wells was third string behind OJ
icemama says:
15 March 2009 at 3:31 pm
Normal, abnormal (only Geo knows, lol) …..the fact is that too many weapons are getting into Mexico illegally.
______
This may be a generalization, but when I traveled in Baja South of Ensenada was literally like a third world country with shanty towns and the whole nine yards. The tourist areas are deceptive because Mexico is still a very poor country where wealth is even more top heavy then it is here. The government can’t police the country as it is let alone control the border.
Twenty years ago, just about the time that NAFTA passed, U.S. corporations like GM, Ford, Chrysler, established the twin plant “maquiladora” system where U.S. raw goods were transported to Mexico and were assembled and returned as finished back to the U.S.
So many poor Mexican towns along the border and inland benefited from this. There were good wages, benefits and less need to illegally look for work in the U.S.
Soon, these same companies, became greedy, and it no longer was enough that Mexican labor was cheap, but that Chinese labor was cheaper so they just upped and left the Mexican towns with these huge empty buildings and an unemployed work force.
I visited one auto wire harness plant across the border and it was state of the art with high quality control. Mexicans were proud to work there. U.S. companies exploited them and then dropped them for China. Mexico hasn’t been able to recover from this. Sure, there are still many U.S. manufacturers assembling in Mexico, but the biggest, who employed the most workers, have dwindled. How could America choose China over Mexico to partner with? Yes, NAFTA needs a rehaul. A big one.
I thought that NAFTA was strictly between the US, Canada and Mexico. Am I wrong? I have a brother in law who owned the company that had the only contract with Disney to make all the disney hats. Then we started trading with China and he lost the contract. He had just built a million dollar plant in VA when this happened. And it hit the same time that the Savings and Loan mess occurred. So his loan was called in and of course he couldn’t pay it up front. So, he lost his business and now works for the company that bought it. Very sad commentary and I’m sure there are thousands more that China destroyed.
I should say that there is more to the story than that, but the gist is that he couldn’t keep the business when he lost his main contract. He had contract with Walmart and K-Mart, but not anywhere near as big as Disney.
The company also makes novelty items and now sells them all over the US.
It’s called capitalism, unbridled, un/deregulated, unaccountable to anyone but boards of directors capitalizm.
And frankly Walmart ain’t nothing to be proud about. I refuse to walk into one because of the way they treat employees, their illegal antiunion activity, their preditory pricing to drive mom and pop stores in the area out of buisness and because they are MAJOR supporters of the repugnantklan.