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Media Critique: Dallas Morning News on "Plan Mexico"
by Nick
Friday, Apr. 04, 2008 at 10:55 AM
nickcooper--at--indymedia.org
There is a lesson to be learned from "Plan Colombia," where billions of dollars poured into a militaristic approach to the "drug war" have accompanied an increase in violence, drug production, and human rights violations.
audio: MP3 at 1.4 mebibytes
On Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News ran an editorial titled "The terror threat next door" advocating support for the Merida Initiative, also known as Plan Mexico. Their comparing the brutality of Mexican drug gangs to that of Al Qaeda leads them to the conclusion that "Congress needs to act quickly on President Bush's Mérida Initiative request of $1.4 billion to help Mexico and Central America train police and coordinate programs to fight the cartels." There is a lesson to be learned from "Plan Colombia," where billions of dollars poured into a militaristic approach to the "drug war" have accompanied an increase in violence, drug production, and human rights violations. The US Steelworkers and wide spectrum of left and right associated organizations and individuals have joined in opposition to Plan Mexico, urging Congress not to provide this military aid.
A year and a half after the murder of indymedia journalist Brad Will in Oaxaca, Mexico, the security forces that shot him on video have still not been brought to justice, and Plan Mexico would be giving more money to these same security forces. America can instead contribute by addressing the gun trade from our border states, which is a significant factor in the border violence. Those who profit from conflicts are rewarded when we ignore studies like that of the conservative RAND institute, which notes that drug treatment is 23 times more effective that interdiction is reducing drug demand. The Dallas Morning News has fallen for the familiar propaganda of those who advocate wars.
www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-mexico_...
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