war

Civilian deaths in Mexico higher than in Afghanistan

Lauren Finnegan Lauren Finnegan; 3-1-2011

The number of civilian deaths in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez was greater than the total number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2010, according to a report done by CNS News. The deaths stand at 3,111 deaths in Ciudad Juarez, compared with 2,421 in Afghanistan.

And that number is just in one city in Mexico. The total numbers of 2010 deaths that are related to drug cartels are 15,273. And while the U.S. has attempted to work together with Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, this war just keeps getting more and more dangerous, and the danger has been spilling over to the U.S. as well. So this leads one to wonder why we are focusing on sights on conflicts around the world, such as the Libyan conflict, while a border town that is right across from El Paso, Texas is largely being ignored.

The U.S. has entered into the Merida Initiative with Mexico which promises $1.4 billion to help fight the ever growing drug wars that are happening right on our border, but we have spent since 2001 about $748.1 billion on the Iraq war and we have also spent about$190 billion in Afghanistan so far. The $1.4 billion that we are planning on using to stop the drug cartels that have now reached every part of the U.S. is not going to help. And with limited law enforcement on the border, and relaxed gun laws in the border states, it is just a matter of time before the drug violence begins to escalate. The Merida Initiative has not helped reduced the violence from these drug cartels so far.

The Initiative is a plan to fight the drug war by buying equipment to detect the presence of drugs, better the communication between law enforcement agencies in both the U.S. and Mexico, as well as to help train the Mexican forces. But all of this is not enough and it makes one wonder how getting involved in a conflict such as the Libyan one, or to keep on pumping our resources into Iraq and Afghanistan is more pertinent then a war that is happening among our towns.

Just recently in November 2010, six American citizens were killed by drug violence in Ciudad Juarez in one weekend. The killings were random shooting deaths in the town, just as the killing of two American teenagers two weeks ago in Ciudad Juarez also seem to be. And on February 22, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent, Jaime Zapata was gunned down as he and one other colleague drove between Mexico and Texas, by members of a drug cartel. A gun involved in the incident was traced back to Texas.

Besides the financial costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the cost of our troops' lives have far outweighed the benefits .If the job of the United States military is to protect its citizens, then the place for military presence is at the border between Mexico and the U.S. While the leaders of such countries as Libya, Iran, and North Korea, may be a threat on an international level, the drug war is a threat on our national level.

Lauren Finnegan graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a bachelor's degree in political science and has an insider's perspective on the military because of her role as a military wife who has lived around the country.

My  brother keeps trying to keep me informed. I have lots of questions...

He does his best to find me answers I can understand.

There is so much I dont understand!!

Its so overwhelming....knowing all that is wrong in the world.

I ask about Afghanistan...

I learn about this...on our very boarders!!!

What 'battles' to pick?

Thanks Joe!!