More and More Like the Real Thing

Is America under siege?

Perhaps not in the literal sense (yet). But this scary-looking chart, which comes from a new report published by Colgen LP, "Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment," detailing the extent to which Mexican criminal gangs have infiltrated the United States, suggests the violent and chaotic "war" on our southern flank is looking more and more like the real thing.

With that in mind, the report, written by General Barry McCaffrey, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Bill Clinton, and Major-General Robert Scales, former Commandant of the United States Army War College, offers a military perspective on how to secure the increasingly hostile border regions along the Rio Grande River.

Here's an excerpt from the Executive Summary:

During the past two years the state of Texas has become increasingly threatened by the spread of Mexican cartel organized crime. The threat reflects a change in the strategic intent of the cartels to move their operations into the United States. In effect, the cartels seek to create a “sanitary zone” inside the Texas border -- one county deep -- that will provide sanctuary from Mexican law enforcement and, at the same time, enable the cartels to transform Texas’ border counties into narcotics transshipment points for continued transport and distribution into the continental United States. To achieve their objectives the cartels are relying increasingly on organized gangs to provide expendable and unaccountable manpower to do their dirty work. These gangs are recruited on the streets of Texas cities and inside Texas prisons by top-tier gangs who work in conjunction with the cartels.

Strategic, Operational and Tactical Levels of Conflict

The authors of this report, both retired senior military executives bring more than 80 years of military and governmental service to their perspective on Texas border security viewed in terms of the classic levels of conflict: strategic, operational and tactical.

Strategic

America’s fight against narco-terrorism, when viewed at the strategic level, takes on the classic trappings of a real war. Crime, gangs and terrorism have converged in such a way that they form a collective threat to the national security of the United States. America is being assaulted not just from across our southern border but from across the hemisphere and beyond. All of Central and South America have become an interconnected source of violence and terrorism. Drug cartels exploit porous borders using all the traditional elements of military force, including command and control, logistics, intelligence, information operations and the application of increasingly deadly firepower. The intention is to increasingly bring governments at all levels throughout the Americas under the influence of international cartels.

Operational

In the United States the operational level of the campaign against cartel terrorism is manifested at the state. Texas has become critical terrain and operational ground zero in the cartel’s effort to expand into the United States. Texas has an expansive border with drug cartels controlling multiple shipping lanes into the state. Texas’ location as the geographic center of the U.S. allows for easier distribution of drugs and people. In effect, the fight for control of the border counties along the Rio Grande has become the operational center of gravity for the cartels and federal, state and local forces that oppose them.

Tactical

At the tactical level of war the cartels seek to gain advantage by exploiting the creases between U.S. federal and state border agencies, and the separation that exists between Mexican and American crime-fighting agencies. Border law enforcement and political officials are the tactical focal point. Sadly, the tactical level is poorly resourced and the most vulnerable to corruption by cartels. To win the tactical fight the counties must have augmentation, oversight and close support from operational and strategic forces. History has shown that a common border offers an enemy sanctuary zone and the opportunity to expand his battlespace in depth and complexity. Our border with Mexico is no exception. Criminality spawned in Mexico is spilling over into the United States. Texas is the tactical close combat zone and frontline in this conflict. Texans have been assaulted by cross-border gangs and narco-terrorist activities. In response, Texas has been the most aggressive and creative in confronting the threat of what has come to be a narco-terrorist military-style campaign being waged against them.

Click here to read the rest.

(Hat tip to War News Updates.)

Comments

[Bailey]

Gee what a shock, who could have imagined, yet DHS says our borders are secure, its just like WOW because Mexifornia seems in such great shape. Who knew all this great slave labor might backfire on 90% of the citizens of the USA?

[Highgamma]

So we complain about Pakistan harboring Al Qaeda, but we are now the harbor for the drug cartels from Mexican authorities. What do we do when the Mexicans starting launching strikes against cartel "bases" in the US?

[stevefraser]

This invasion is already successful; the enemy is now simply consolidating their gains.....See "sanctuary city" for the details.

[Walter Witman]

Those arrows are pointing the wrong way. The U.S. has militarized Mexico and the region by giving them billions of dollars for paramilitaries and the U.S. is the most responsible party for these drug wars. It's U.S. demand and U.S. prohibition that create the huge markets. Furthermore, the U.S. leads the world in imprisoning people and spending money on war and police and has exported this failed policy throughout the world--it has dictated this harsh policy to countries like Mexico. The military industrial complex has expanded into prisons, border patrol, and drug war.

I see McCaffrey's scare tactics as just that--jingoist scare mongering to further enrich a few U.S. corporations.

How many boards does McCaffrey sit on that will benefit from the militarization of both Mexico and the "homeland"?

p.s. stevefraser, the enemy has already indeed consolidated its gains, and in fact already declared a separate state! The U.S. is the one that waged an illegal war of aggression on a neighbor and stole their land. In fact, I'm sitting on land stolen from Mexico. So it's a bit too much for the U.S. to be calling other people "invaders".

[eugene]

I agree with stevefraser. Anybody with a brain can see legalization is the answer. Should have learned that with prohibition. As steve points out, we are the demand. Where there's demand, the supply will arrive. But as with all our problems, we think a gun is the answer. Naturally, when you arrive with a gun, you get answered with a gun.

But look at the employment that's provided. I'm sure there's big, big US money behind the whole thing. And the weapons that are built by high paying American jobs. The cops, border patrols, judges, lawyers, jails, guards and the bribes that have to be everywhere. And most of all the fanatics who get to "play" soldier having countless meetings to discuss countless ineffective interventions with new weapons. There's a lot at stake here.

[roger]

Drug addiction,bad for our health, no
argument there,but the higher the profit
margin the more severe the consequences.
by eliminating the profit we eliminate the
'pusher'. That would be a big step forward.

[Craig]

Remember our "noble experiment?" The prohibition of alcohol created criminals like Al Capone. The War on Drugs is no different, creating crime when there could be commerce and potentially treatment where needed; "use" does not equate to "abuse" for every individual.

The answer is regulation and taxation.

Please watch Ken Burns' treatment of Prohibition this weekend and ask yourself if you can see any parallels with the War on Drugs: http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/

[Bob]

Where's the fence?

[web design London]

It's U.S. demand and U.S. prohibition that create the huge markets. Furthermore, the U.S. leads the world in imprisoning people and spending money on war and police and has exported this failed policy throughout the world--it has dictated this harsh policy to countries like Mexico. The military industrial complex has expanded into prisons, border patrol, and drug war.

[Bailey]

Gee wouldnt it be NAFTA that great free trade treaty that destroyed Mexicos farmers and our industrial jobs that really led to this mess?
Stolen land from Mexico, thats a laugh didnt you "steal" it from the Chumash? North Americas first inhabitants were from Europe, I mean how far back do you want to go?