The government believes about a thousand people a month are dying from cartel related violence. This puts Mexico ahead of the recently increased terrorist violence in Iraq and where Syria was earlier this year. Some 70,000 have died in the cartel war since 2007, compared to over 100,000 in two years of Syrian violence and 120,000 Iraqi dead in a decade of religious violence. Since the 1970s there have been similar internal conflicts in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. It’s a bit of Middle East style civil violence in North America. This is not the first time. Leftist and drug gang violence in Colombia have left over 220,000 dead in the last 60 years. That’s for a country with only about 40 percent as many people as Mexico. This war in Colombia in finally winding down, but is shows you how long and bloody such conflicts can be.
Many decades ago, I recall Mexicans dismissing American complaints about the drugs heading north, saying that it was a demand problem. And if American dollars flowed into Mexico to feed an American problem, what was it to Mexicans?
The lack of national media attention in America to the Middle East-levels of violence is our response, I suppose. But it is a problem for us. Drug cartel violence won't stay restricted to Mexican territory. Already, Mexican drug gangs seek inroads into our cities to extend their network and cut out middle men who eat into cartel profits.
President Obama is pulling our ground forces out of CENTCOM since the tide of war is receding (he says). We might need those troops closer to home, after all.
