Clinton off-base, U.S. not to blame for Mexican drug violence

Clinton off-base, U.S. not to blame for Mexican drug violence
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 3/26/2009 8:00:00 AM
A former Republican presidential candidate says comments yesterday in Mexico by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton underscore that the Obama administration not only doesn't understand the nature of the Islamofascist threat in the Middle East, but it also doesn't understand the nature of the problem posed by drug gangs operating in Mexico and along the U.S. border.



Secretary of State Clinton said Wednesday in Mexico City that America's "insatiable" demand for illegal drugs and inability to stop weapons smuggling into Mexico are partly to blame for violence along the U.S.-Mexican border. "I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility," Clinton told reporters, adding: "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers, and civilians."

Gary Bauer, the president of American Values, says it is a "big overstatement" for Clinton to suggest Mexican drug violence is America's fault.

"The problem is that you've got vicious gangs in Mexico. We didn't create those gangs. They're not made up of Americans -- they're made up of people who were born in Mexico; and it's the Mexican government that needs to get those gangs under control," he contends. "I don't think it's helpful for the Secretary of State to once again be pointing fingers at our own country when she should be putting as much pressure as possible on the Mexican government."

Instead of pouring tax money into the coffers of the Mexican government, Bauer argues that President Obama needs secure the border by providing enough National Guard troops or Border Patrol agents to ensure the Mexican drug violence does not spill over into the U.S. and further endanger the lives of American citizens.