U.S. must fix drug problem as in Panama
By Bill O’Reilly - ONE of the most underreported ongoing stories is the war in Mexico between the government and the drug cartels. More than 28,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 1996. Mexican drug merchants are even more deadly than al-Qaida. They have more firepower and more money and are just as willing to kill civilians. Yet, Americans know little about the chaotic situation south of the border. The reason: The drug cartels don’t seem to threaten us directly. But, they do. Illegal narcotics from Mexico wind up in almost every community in the United States. The FBI estimates that about 70 percent of crimes from coast to coast are drug-fueled.
The latest atrocity in the Mexican drug war was the discovery of 72 bodies on a ranch, 100 miles from Texas. The dead — 58 men and 14 women — were migrants from South and Central America. The lone survivor says cartel gunmen shot the unarmed folks because they resisted an extortion attempt. The reliably anti-American New York Times partially blamed the mass killings on the Americans, saying, “Mexico’s drug cartels are nourished from outside, by American cash, heavy weapons and addiction; the northward pull of immigrants is fueled by our demand for low-wage labor.”
I had to read that editorial three times to believe it. Hey, you pinheads, if the United States would send 10,000 members of the National Guard to help the Border Patrol, drugs and guns would not be able to cross the border so easily. This grisly charade is infuriating. This country has the power to stop the smuggling of human beings and drugs. We could do that. For political reasons, we don’t. Meanwhile, the drug cartels kill at will and create terror on a scale not seen anywhere else at this time.
Mexico is at fault because it won’t ask for American help. Apparently, it thinks 28,000 dead is acceptable. It’s not. U.S. law enforcement and troops should be assisting Mexican authorities in the destruction of the cartels. The fact they have been able to operate their murderous industry so openly for so long is beyond shameful.
Manuel Noriega turned his country, Panama, into a “narco-state” and, in 1989, President George H.W. Bush sent U.S. forces in to remove him. President Barack Obama might study that campaign. Something needs to be done in Mexico.
Bill O’Reilly is host of the Fox News Channel show “The O’Reilly Factor.” His column is distributed by Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90045.
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
(Thomas Jefferson)