The current administration will be voted out and everything will return to the way it was with the Mexican government ending the war and everything going back to “turning a blind eye”.

The non drug private sector just isn’t strong enough yet to make progress against the cartels yet. It will one day, and that is just reality.

Not going to happen. The clowns in D.C. (in both parties, sadly) haven’t a clue. Now people everywhere are paying the price.

Prior to the United States entering WWI, we made a foray into Mexico from 1916-1917, chasing Francisco “Pancho” Villa. Villa’s side had recently all but lost the Mexican Revolution, lost previous American support, and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico.

The year-long foray was politically ham-strung and, while General Pershing claimed victory in public, in private he admitted the restrictions on his campaign kept him from real success.

While Villa had his issues with the law, both before and after the Revolution, he was no cartel boss; however similarly, the cartel bosses are not military leaders. An invasion of Mexico seems, to me, unnecessary at this time. Rather, a covert, black-ops action seems like a more appropriate and, in this man’s opinion, will likely be more effective at dealing with the cartels.

But first, we need a man in the Oval Office with the cajones political will to do it.

Get serious about shipping illegals back to Mexico and cut off funds transfer from US to Mexico except for valid bank account holders who can prove their legal residency. The latter will shut down about one-third of the Mexican economy.

Make ‘em a state or otherwise annex them? Hell no. Frankly, if we could seal the border I’d opt to ship in bulk quantities of arms and just let them shoot one another until they run out of bullets or Mexicans.

Since the people of mexico would prefer to be americans it seems inevitable that someday mexico will become part of the US. However – one state? No way – we might end up with another california. I could see mexico becoming 5 -10 individual states. Which would be good for both the people of mexico and the us.

Mexico should never be incorporated into any part of the United States. It is probably not capable of being governed, the same as Haiti, Somalia, and Afganistan.

The best thing we can do is totally wall off Mexico from our border, and enforce it by military means. Land mines, machine gun towers every few hundred yards, and the will to use these devices would soon stop the spillover of lawlessness into this country.

If we don’t have the will to enforce our border integrity, it won’t be long before we become like Mexico.

Oh joy. No – best not to start a trend .

Invade, that is. All we need to do is properly guard our border and protect our citizens. If the Mexican government wants our help and specifically asks us for assistance, that’s one thing (which would still have to be properly considered), but like Afghanistan? I sure hope not.

Mine the border and Make a 2 mile no mans land between Mexico & the US.

Pull all of the troops out of Iraq and South Korea and send them down to the border. We have bigger problems here and now.

Send all the democrats in Congress to Mexico for a permanent vacation.

But then we’ll be called racists anyway.
We are paying a price, which will get much higher, for illegal and legal Latino votes. The Health Care reform travesty is aimed in part at the illegals, as are the often haphazard voting procedures.
For the whores in Washington there is no tomorrow, so no problem.
And if there is they’ll blame someone else.

This would be a disaster. Although many Mexicans are envious of the economic opportunities in the US, forcing all of them to become Americans wouldn’t go over well. It’s not Canada. It’s a very different culture and they are very different people. Integration would be extremely difficult and unlikely to be a success, not to mention the strains that such a large impoverished population would put on our welfare state, which unfortunately won’t be eliminated anytime soon (unless of course we actually have our own Greek-style debt crisis).

Mexican politicians regularly campaign on anti-Americanism. It works because many Mexicans perceive the government to be under the thumb of their neighbor to the north. Regardless of whether or not this is true, the perception exists. Annexing the country would validate these claims. Like us, they simply want to govern themselves according to their own values (however flawed some of those values may be). Annexation would prevent this from happening and would therefore be viewed as an act of imperialism. It would give rise to an extremely popular nationalist movement.

Invading the country, at least in some grand campaign, wouldn’t be successful either. The Mexican government hasn’t failed to tackle the drug cartels because of a lack of military strength, they’ve failed because the cartels often have the support of the local populace, particularly in rural locations. Like in Afghanistan, the cartels can easily blend into the landscape and population when needed. Defeating them won’t be quick or easy for us, and success wouldn’t be certain. A full-scale invasion would also face the same problem with nationalism that annexation would.

Even if the Mexican government collapses and the country descends into complete chaos, I’m not sure there’s a whole lot we can do to help. Even if we were to solve the problems Mexico faces, those solutions won’t be viewed as legitimate by large segments of the population, which would threaten the long-term success of any plan we implement. They have to solve their problems themselves. We’re having trouble nation-building in Afghanistan, what makes us think we’d be able to do a better job in a country as large and as populous as Mexico?

This isn’t to deny the threat that the violence in Mexico faces to our own security, both physical and economic. We should absolutely put troops along our entire border. There shouldn’t be a single foot that isn’t visible to the naked eye of an American soldier. There’s a huge difference, however, between protecting our border and rebuilding an entire country.

cue Coldwarrior

will only work if it is left up to the Mexican people. Show them what it would take to be annexed and then let them vote on it. They should learn english but be allowed to use spanish as their primary language. Learn both American and Mexican history, much of it we have in common. And of course study the US Constitution.

Once they know how much better they would live under our Constitution,
Miranda warnings, carrying a firearm to defend yourself against crooks and corrupt officials, and a better future for their children if our politicians don’t ruin it first.

why the print media, especially the Sunday newspapers and their increasingly tabloid-like supplement magazines, are the dodo birds of the information age.

The treatment given Mexican affairs and immigration by the MSM are as much to blame for the crisis as the lazy and corrupt politicians. I hope your “modest proposal” catches fire and stimulates debate from the next congress going forward.

The Tohono o’Odham Indian reservation runs from Mexico, across the US border to the western edge of Tucson and west of Phoenix. The reservation’s northern boundary stops a few miles south of Interstate 8, the major route from Phoenix to San Diego.

According to plenty of news reports in the Tucson area, relations between the Border Patrol and the o’Odham are strained. The fact that southern Arizona is the most liberal portion of the state, and filled with liberals who will gleefully seize on any opportunity to take the opposite side of the Border Patrol on any issue, makes me think the Border Patrol might be finding it hard to do its job as effectively on the o’Odham reservation as it can elsewhere on the AZ border.

Now, couple that with the fact that much of Arizona’s border is federal wilderness land….and federal wildernesses often insist that the Border Patrol use eco-friendly means to do its mission…and I think we have lots of reason to worry…

…NOT that the Arizona border is less secure than we thought. We knew that already.

No, we should be concerned that the defacto US border, the parts that Border Patrol can effectively patrol, extends much farther into the US, and much closer to our homes, than many of us heretofore thought.

I currently live and work in central Mexico. I will share with all of you a couple of things about living here in Mexico. 1st: The people of Mexico are scared. 2nd: The people of Mexico love America.
In my opinion, if the United States of America were ever going to decide to help another nation it should be Mexico. Why you ask? It is a God fearing Catholic 95% nation. The nation is 20% immigrants, mostly from Europe and the US. US businesses have already invested a lot of money here in Mexico, and would likely invest much more if things are stabilized here.
A wall is not the answer to the problem. While having US troops along the border may serve as a deterrant, nothing will ever stop the flow of drugs to the US while demand remains. All building a wall will do is MOVE the problem.
Mexico will always be Mexico. It is not in the interest of the US nor in the interest of Mexico to change this. Mexico has its own history, which it is very proud of and I don´t think they would be willing to change their holidays. By the way, Cinco de Mayo is NOT a holiday in Mexico. Many, many Mexicans died on that day and it is neither celebrated or recognized as a holiday here. The current labor laws in Mexico are a huge advantage to the US, if they stay the way they are now. Mexico has much to offer the US in the way of manufacturing and agriculture.
I believe we should find a way to help Mexico. And when it comes to corruption in government, well let´s just say that the US just does a better job covering it up. I would be willing to bet that politicians in the US have stolen just as much money from the people as the politicians in Mexico.
This is a country of God fearing christians, whose people love America and are being terrorized by drug gangs because of America! Need I say more.

Mexdawg1

The Mexicans are a proud people, most of whom are fiercely loyal to their own country, have no desire to become a part of the United States, and who would rightly resist an invasion with their lives. While it’d be one-sided, it would also result in a blood-bath of horrendous proportions, and we would go down in history as the villains. At least if it’s done at this point.

I’m hesitant to jump into the folly of trying to analyze Mexican politics, but I think the author is correct in his assessment of the corruption institutionalized by 70+ years of PRI rule. Although the PAN party displaced PRI on the national level with the election of Vicente Fox, he was pretty much an empty shirt who first blamed us for everything. The Calderón administration, while it still has a long ways to go in a short period of time, from all I can tell, has struck a tremendous blow into that corruption at many levels. That the pro-business PAN party has chosen to join forces on a local and state level with the hard-left PRD party is indicative of how serious the corruption is perceived to be by strange bedfellows. But I guess it’s a coalition not unlike we’ve seen from some of our so-called allies in Europe.

It may well be that some sort of military action will be necessary to effectively fight the cartels, but it needs to be done in conjunction with our old friend and neighbor, not in the form of an invasion. Meanwhile, lets focus on doing everything we reasonably can to assist a friendly administration in it’s fledgling fight against both corruption and the cartels. The cartels operate off the corruption.

I kind of like it. Blows the whole illegal immigration problem out of the water. Somehow, though, I don’t really think that’s going to fly with the Mexican people. Drastic changes to their society would have to occur.

A nice solid wall with parapets and a road wide enough to drive at least two humvee’s abreast on the top. Guard posts and observation posts at regular intervals. It worked for Hadrian (without the humvees). Besides, people climbing over a wall cannot see what is on the other side until they get to the top, are skylined and easier to shoot. Walls are way better than fences. We could sell the idea to liberals because the Chinese have done it. So it can’t be racist or anything.

Its good to see some folks are finally taking this problem seriously, as I have been saying for quite some time we need to send troops down there. However I don’t believe it should be called an ‘invasion’ and it certainly doesn’t mean taking over Mexico and making them a state. Did we make Iraq a state? Or Afghanistan? We should simply do what we did there, send our troops in and kill the terrorists, and then instead of staying and nation-building or whatever, just come home. Our job is to kill these drug-gang terrorists and make our border states, as well as Mexico as a whole, safe again from their evil terrorism. We have no need, and should have no desire, to take over Mexico. If they want corrupt politicians and a corrupt government, thats none of our business or concern, its their country not ours. Our concern is wiping out the narco-terrorists, plain and simple. So let’s send America’s finest in, and wipe those terrorists out, and then bring our troops home to the hero’s welcome that they deserve.

We don’t have to invade every country who has problems. We need to secure our border, and to take care of OUR people. I’m sick of helping every country….. it’s not our problem.

1. Declare war – as in a formal declaration of war.
2. Rationale for “1″, they’ve invaded us. If you want to quibble about that come to Arizona.
3. Round up and deport illegal aliens from Mexico, they are after all agents of a foreign power with whom we are at war.
4. Build a big wall, mine the border.
5. Station the National Guard on the border, do not invade, make no effort to do anything but return current foreign nationals who are here illegally and keeping more invaders out.
6. Shut down all movement of money and assets from the US to Mexico.
7. Nationalize all Mexican assets in the US.

Take over Mexico? WTF??? When the Left accuses America of imperialism and then you use “their mismanaged resources” as an excuse for annexing a neighboring country – how do you think THAT is going to go over with anybody?

Are you Saddam? Is Mexico Kuwait?

Can you even begin to imagine the resistance the Mexicans and many Americans would wage? Myself included. I live in Arizona and I like it here. Any imperialist schemes you try to implement in Mexico will spill over into where I live. You ain’t turning MY state into a Bush Family war zone. The only good that can come of that is if Arizona gets an excuse to go to war with the Feds.

SOLUTIONS – Regardless of what you might want to hear, we need to think like Americans. Where’s our American ingenuity? Our creativity? Our willingness to think outside the box?

Here.

1. Yes, put the National Guard on the border, and yes, invade if we must. Killl the drug gangs, show no mercy, and then do the unthinkable: turn those areas back over to the Mexican government and FREAKING LEAVE.

2. This is the west. Start putting bounties on the heads of violent drug gang members. Seriously. Offer rewards of some kind for the capture or killing of any verifiable violent gang member (or Islamic jihadist). This ain’t the days of painted posters on trees. These ‘people’ are on video that can be downloaded from anywhere.

3. Legalize ALL drugs in the USA immediately. The “War On Drugs” is immoral, impractical, unconstitutional, unwinnable, and a well documented disaster which has created these drug gangs in the first place. Drug dealers provide a service even if YOU don’t personally get all warm and fuzzy about it. When service providers are turned into criminals at the stroke of a pen, they must operate outside the law. They cannot turn to the law when wronged by customers or other dealers – the law is just another gang who is wronging them in the first place. Their only option is to become a law unto themselves, and in that situation the most blood-thirsty will be the most successful. Which is exactly the situation now. ISN’T IT! Our feel-good “drug war” has created a class of ‘person’ who in all probability cannot be civilized under any conditions, and must be dealt with forcibly. Their actions are their fault as individuals, but creating the conditions that forced those actions to be profitable and to flourish is our fault as a voting bloc.

4. Let the law of supply and demand solve the drug gang problem. Drug manufacture and distribution is extremely high-risk while the product is illegal. Thus, supplies are low and expensive. Let the newly freed American drug market operate in the open, with the law as their arbiter rather than as their enemy, and they will grow it, make it and deliver it faster, better and cheaper than their Mexican counterparts who spend time and money on a war with their government. Do you think those Mexicans will come here to try to take over? That’s why we need a bounty on their heads.

You may not want to hear what I’ve told you, but it is the CAPITALIST solution, as opposed to your IMPERIALIST solution.

Regardless of whether you want to hear it.

If memory serves me correctly, the Republic of Mexico is composed of sixteen “states.” With 125,000,000 people, they’d be more than 1/4 of the combined 425,000,000 of a merged US/Mexico. The Mexico people wouldn’t settle for a mere 2 United States senators…they’d want at least 12. They’d get over 100 of the existing 435 House of Representative seats…where would those come from? With each state guaranteed at least one, the theft of House seats would be brutal. Even California would see massive losses. You think the current American populace will stand for that? And, of course, Mexicans would demand that Spanish be treated as an equal with English in the courts and legislatures. You thnk Americans would stand for THAT, either? With Mexico’s infrastructure, including roads, schools, electricity, and clean water far below US standards, and the border effectively erased, Mexicans..I mean, our new fellow citizens!…would make a rush north by the tens of millions. Utter chaos. Be carful what you wish for.

Neither our economy nor our culture can handle assimilating millions upon millions of unskilled illiterates. We have some 20 million or so already, and we are paying dearly in treasure, blood & security for the current invasion.

Likewise “nation building.” Help the Mexican gov’t? Absolutely. Help the drug cartels have an epidemic of fatal lead overdoses? Absolutely. Openly cross into Mexico in force? No way.

As others have advocated – build the wall, put the sensors in &
back it with troops authorized to defend themselves and the sovereign territory of the USA.

And deport ALL illegals, regardless of race, religion or national origin.

I don’t think these cartels would have the resources to protect themselves from a Tomahawk or five.

I say just figure out where their leaders’ are (and if TV has taught me anything, they always have these huge villas where they live like kings). Blow those up and kill the leaders. After the cartel members kill each other for a while trying to fill the power vacuum, go clean up the mess and kill whatever is left.

As a certain gun blogger has been known to say….

Unpossible. They have strict GUN CONTROL.

What? It doesn’t work? But….but…..guns are outlawed in civilian hands in Mexico! It must work! Just ask th Brady Bunch and the Violence Policy Center. They wouldn’t, you know, lie…….or make up anything…..or…..get it completely and utterly wrong, Would they?

Q. Why don’t we invade a neighbor nation that has historically and contemporaneously ignored our borders and sovereignty?

A: Because we could wipe Mexico out in a couple of hours with just our conventional forces: it offends our delicate moral sensibilities to take on such a weak opponent.

So, being an historically Christian, non-imperialistic, non-xenophobic nation, we sit on our hands. and explicitly take THEIR invasion. But, if anyone EVER points to our adventures in Iraq again as being a “war for Bush’s Oil Buddies”, I would point out that a much moral logical, (tangentially) moral target of such a “war” by President Bush would have been to invade Mexico. Even though it’s known oil reserves have been in decline, there is evidence to suspect there are fairly vast unknown reserves. And, border harassment has always been viewed as a strike against national sovereignty (-remember Hitler’s manufactured cross-border raids in both the Sudetenland and the Polish frontier as legal cover for invasions?). If manufacturing a “war for oil” was REALLY President Bush’s goal (which of course, it certainly was NOT), this would have made a lot more sense.

Actually, if America ever sought out war –which it manifestly never has done, with the possible exception of the 1898 invasion of Cuba–, a lightning strike along a 50-mile deep frontier across the entire northern border of Mexico would be such a war. We could then occupy the land, and establish a defense corridor under our command. The people living there would be under martial law, but could still participate in whatever flea-bitten political processes take place there as citizens of Mexico. But, our military build-up and presence inside that corridor would be gigantic, permanent, and non-negotiable. This would ameliorate any running afoul our own posse comitatus laws.

The rest of Mexico, having an entirely different cultural, historical, religious, and economic lineage than the United States, could be left to rot or thrive, as it chooses. It has nothing in common with the United States, and can never become part of it, unless the United States spirals down and devolves into a third-word post-Christian kleptocracy.

We need to force politicians to talk about this in a much broader context than “guest worker programs” and “college tuition for illegals”–as you point out, this may be the most tangible national security threat in many, many years.

We could do the logical thing of eliminating the prohibition on drugs as we did regarding alcohol, and the pendent crimes would instantly disappear. But just As Patton did not want WW II to end, so too those veritable legions of judges, prosecutors, cops, “rehab” people, public defenders, and other war profiteers do not want the “war on drugs” to disappear, because their livelihoods would be immediately affected.

Like it or not, drugs largely affect only those using them and their families, just as with alcohol, fundamental religions, eating too much cheesecake, etc., and it is not for a government, supposedly “conceived in liberty,” to tamper with the moralistic choices associated therewith.

People get hit over the head or burglarized or killed to acquire drugs because the market is constricted by prohibition; those who want them will get them, whether purchasing in a legal market for cost 1, or purchasing in an underground market for cost 10, and the latter results in all of the criminality and terrorism associated with illegality.

But, too many of the “good folk” profit from the illegality to have it go away. Those who dumped tea in Boston Harbour December 16, 1773 [a date not known by most so-called "tea partiers"!] would legalize drugs; those who increased police power and banned everything the “leader” did not like in 30′s Germany would prohibit them: which sort of “conservative” are you?

to tackle the issue as evidenced by its efforts to stomp all over the state of Arizona’s attempts to step in aand enforce the law. God forbid, we invade Mexico or, think about making it the 51st state. We don’t need another welfare state as part of the union.

I realize this may not be politically correct but, if you remove the economic benefits available to the drug cartels, maybe things would settle down. Our drug war has been nothing but a big hole into which we shovel money we don’t have. Legalize the drugs and let the idiots who want to use them do so. The cost of getting drugs would decrease dramtically and remove the huge economic incentives. Under the present situation, the drugees will get their fix anyway but, it costs too much for the rest of us.

The price of marijuana is already decreasing because of the number of states who have legalized its use for medicinal purposes. Legal growers are taking less for the weed. It seems like that proves my theory to some extent.

We also need to protect our border by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, this administration has proven it lacks the intestinal fortitude to do anything.

Americans get high whether drugs are legal or not. We waste billions and billions unsuccessfully keeping drug prices high by trying to keep the supply low. All we have done is create a lucrative black market that funds psychopaths and terrorists.

It is past time to make this problem more black and white. Legalize drugs. You get hooked, you are your own problem. You buy from sources that fund our enemies, you get tried for treason. You come into this country illegally, you are sent back, kids and all. It’s time we man-up – be free, be responsible, respect the rule of law, and make the hard decisions.

the Taliban or Al Queda. Re-electing McCain in AZ was a horrible mistake that AZ will pay for in the long run. I’m not sure if we need to invade but we do need to stop this Krap at the boarder. It is time to Fess Up, Man UP etc and get this problem solved. This could turn out to be Obama’s Ace in the Hole come election time. I know this is a far out conspiracy theory but it is possible that if the Mexican problem get worse then Obama could declare Marital Law and stop the 2012 elections until the boarder problem is solved. Laugh if you might but this is possible. why do you think he isn’t concerned about pacifying his own party or the Republicans. He has something up his sleeve.

the war on drugs has been focused on the wrong people. The main effort has been on the users when it should have been on suppliers. Treat the Cartels as enemies and go after them wherever they are. Stop trading with Mexico until they get their country in order. Make them take responsibility for their problem.

I have been telling friends and family that for over a year now, but from a bit different perspective! Granted, it may be a simplistic solution…. and I wasn’t thinking of it in terms of the drug cartel wars. Just that neither the Mexican citizenry or government (or US left guard for that matter) seem to think there should be any border — or any enforcement of a border — between there and here. So why don’t we just deal with the facts as they are… our own government has been “acting as if” a border doesn’t exist anyway, . If we’re going to give them all the benefits of citizenry, then let’s just make it official We stop pretending the border stops at Texas, Arizona, et al, and just incorporate Mexico as a state. They all automatically become citizens (which should make the left delirious with joy) and the people, land and resources there contribute to the USA like all other states. . And yes, then while we’re at it, we could clean up the corruption (a relative statement if ever there was one) and take down the drug cartel’s stranglehold. Makes more sense to me than most of the other solutions I hear.

In the 19th century our leaders sent Ranald Mackenzie and the cavalry into Mexico to chastise renegade Apaches who came across the border. In the 20th century our leaders sent John Pershing and the army into Mexico to punish Villa for border depredations.
Now, in the 21st century our leaders hide in the closet while Mexican criminals run rampant over our border.

Note to one and all: It’s “Illegal Alien”. In law and in fact. (To paraphrase the most famous line from the movie “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”: “¿Passporta’s? ¡We don’ need no stinking passporta’s!”) Anyway: “Don’t Worry, Bob’s here!” That was the punch line from a rather memorable commercial for a temp agency from a few years ago. I took that line, applied it to illegal immigration and came up with the following tongue in cheek essay: “Don’t worry, B.O.B.’s here!” “B.O.B.” stands for “Bag limit? Or Bounty?” (If Bounty, “Dead or Alive?”) It went on from there. Unfortunately, it’s lost somewhere in the old, real old computer it was created on. You, however, I believe, get the idea. I have also suggested that we fire up the nation’s “Mothball Fleets”, work out a suitable deal with say, Argentina’s Terra del Fuego, or Singapore, or, maybe, Spain, to serve as debarkation point(s) and have Mexico (or whatever country of origin applies) pay us a barrel of oil a day (or week, or month) for each and every day an illegal is here. These ships would be convoyed all the way with US Navy protection on training exercises in the area(s) involved. Another suggestion I’ve made over the years was to clear a ten to twenty five mile wide swath along our southern border – salt water to salt water – and turn this strip of land into a live fire, combat training range subject to continuous, unannounced live fire exercises. From small arms to howitzers, aerial bombardment to shore batteries, booby traps to bouncing betty’s. 24 hours a day, everyday of the year, there will be continual and unpredictable live fire exercises and armed patrols, aided by UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors, with standing orders to interdict all attempts to go through, under, around or over this combat training ground and intercept all trespassers. Then, when convenient, remove them to a staging area to be subjected to a biometrical scan and entered into a national database, then unceremoniously taken to the nearest border crossing and sent packing immediately. Oh, yes. It should be called the General “Black Jack” Pershing Military Reservation. Why? “In 1916 Pancho Villa and his bandidos raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico, and in response President Woodraw Wilson sent General John “Black Jack” Pershing into Mexico after him. Back then, American authorities at least did something when the border was violated.”

First, yeah, it’s true that the cartels are increasingly our problem, but that doesn’t remotely justify invading Mexico. The thing is that Mexico’s government is fighting the cartels, too — we have that goal in common, here — and it wouldn’t make sense to *invade* a very populous country when we could help their military with ours instead. The US can exert pressure on Mexico to accept our help, certainly, and this rather difficult drug problem can be solved by a joint effort (the Mexican government is presumably much more in touch with the human side of the drug conflict than ours is; an invasion would only make the Mexicans who are not in the cartels hate us).

Second, that map… It doesn’t show which areas are *controlled* by the cartels; it shows which areas are the *domain* of the cartels — the territory where they operate. All of Mexico is in the domain of one cartel or another, but that doesn’t mean that they control the local governments, just that they, exclusively, sell drugs in that region. They can do this peacefully, away from the authorities, but when they try to expand their territory into another cartel’s, the two cartels fight each other, and the world becomes drastically less safe. Now, I am exaggerating when I say “peacefully”, since what they do *is* illegal and the cartels have remarkable power, but it’s not as bad as saying that they *control* the regions on the map.

Finally, annexing Mexico would be a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD idea. There’s a reason many Americans are against a North American Union, and joining with Mexico would be Step 1 in this North American Union, not to mention that the Mexicans are very patriotic and wouldn’t want to join the US, either. Besides the economic and logistical disaster it would be to suddenly have to support another hundred and ten million people, who on average are at a lower standard of living, the whole idea of the United States would be radically changed. Let go of the 51st state fantasy: we’d be adding 31 new states, all of which speak Spanish and not English. 62 new Senators and probably 150 new Representatives. Mexico operates on the same “united sovereign states” principle as we do. Short of a North American Union, that allows America and Mexico to keep their identities while linking the two (plus) countries economically and politically, there is no even remotely plausible solution, and even the North American Union is a terrible idea.

There is absolutely no reason for us to fight against Mexico. There is plenty of reason to fight *with* Mexico against the drug cartels that plague both countries, however, and that may very well be in our future…

2000 miles of US/Mexico border.

Hire 200 Mexican military generals that each are responsible for 10 miles of border patrolling and securing it on their side.

Give each $1million at the end of the year, but deduct $10,000 from the bonus for each illegal caught on the US side.

Done for $200million a year. Heck, give them an up front $500k budget and make it $300 million a year to solve the problem.