Learn from history!

The deteriorating situation in Mexico, where the government is engaged in a losing battle with the local drug traffickers, concerns me more than what is happening other trouble spots of the world like Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Mexican government is on the brink of becoming a ‘failed state’, and the prospect of thousands refugees from Mexico crossing over to USA is a disturbing thought. The reaction of U.S. government to this threat? Put more troops to guard the borders! This is like giving antibiotics for any fever, without trying to diagnose what exactly is causing it. The root cause of deteriorating situation in Mexico is the insatiable demand for drugs in USA, and the lack of gun control in USA permitting the drug traffickers to arm themselves with heavy artillery to fight the Mexican police. (The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement today pointing this out must be revealing to many in this country). USA has been at a losing battle with drug trade for decades, with the consumption of it increasing every year. The hapless Mexico ended up to be the portal for supply to USA from the South American countries like Columbia, Peru and Ecuador. The obvious solution to this will be to legalize drugs in USA, and to handle drug use as a health issue. But I guess it is too shocking a move for this conservative country. Nobody remembers the ill fated attempt to prohibit liquor in this country in the 1920’s. I am afraid that the prohibition of drugs has the same result.