Pubdate: October 10, 1997 
Source: Los Angeles Times Opinion 
Contact:  
Fax: 2132374712
Author: BARRY R. MCCAFFREY

Cooperation With Mexico, Flaws and All, Still Is Best 

Drug war: Criticism from the U.S. side of our long border will impede
rather than improve our neighbor's efforts.

Our report on U.S.Mexican counterdrug efforts submitted to Congress last
month argues for continued cooperation with our southern neighbor despite
shortcomings in its struggle against drug trafficking. 

Optimism about a serious problem need not preclude realism. Beyond
evaluation, the issue here is utility. In assessing Mexico's antidrug
efforts, we are not simply debating whether the cup is half empty or half
full. 

Assuming responsibility rather than assigning culpability is the way to
reduce drug trafficking along the 2,000mile border our countries share.
Working together against criminal narcotics syndicates beats bickering
among ourselves or standing alone. 

Before blaming Mexico for the drug trade, we must face the fact that our
own country is one of the largest consumers of illegal drugs in the world.
Although drug abuse among American adults is far lower than it was a decade
ago, we still spend $50 billion a year on cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine,
marijuana and other illegal drugs. Mexican traffickers wouldn't be selling
if Americans weren't buying. 

Furthermore, fingerpointing is futile considering the global nature of the
drug threat: When we plug one hole in the levee, it invariably springs a
leak elsewhere.

International problems require multinational solutions. Mexico readily
admits that corruption has compromised drug control in a country whose very
sovereignty is threatened by powerful, ruthless drug organizations that
gross billions annually from cocaine alone. President Ernesto Zedillo has
stated that narcotics trafficking is his country's No. 1 national security
threat. 

Drug money and terror undermine Mexico's law enforcement, judicial system,
legitimate business and political fabric. 

Recognizing reality is an essential step in solving difficult problems.
Accordingly, Mexico is beginning to take decisive action. 

In addition to prosecuting suspected links to the drug trade inside
government, Mexico has criminalized money laundering, facilitated
interdiction and set world standards in drug crop eradication. Mexican
authorities are also reconstituting compromised law enforcement agencies in
an effort to insulate them from corruption. 

Nevertheless, Americans must understand that Mexico faces an uphill battle.
A problem that developed over many decades will not disappear in just a few
years. 

Our two nations have expanded the ways in which we cooperate against this
common threat, and by the end of the year, both governments will adopt a
detailed drug control strategy that will lay out concrete actions by both
countries. 

Our national debate about the merits of continued cooperation with Mexico
must be wellinformed. Some U.S. leaders have suspected ill will in Mexico
and have wanted to respond by punishing the government. 

The problem, more accurately, is that Mexico is confronting a much larger
challenge than we originally thought. A real solution will require
institutional and social change over time. 

Our role is to nurture the good intentions at Mexico's top level and assist
when we can with equipment and expertise. In Mexico's new political
climate, we expect to be more successful as a partner confronting a common
problem than as a powerful neighbor making demands. 

Some analysts underestimate Mexico's sensitivity over sovereignty. Living
next to a colossus isn't always easy. Americans must understand that public
cataloging of Mexican shortcomings on the part of the U.S. government may
prove counterproductive. 

At the end of the day, nothing will change the fact that our two countries
are virtually joined at the hip by the busiest open border in the world,
which is crossed by 250 million people every year. Commerce and culture
bind out nations together. 

Mexico recently surpassed Japan as the secondlargest client (after Canada)
for U.S. exports. One out of every 16 American citizens is of Mexican
descent. 

No one disputes that Mexico faces a problem of staggering proportions from
illegal drugs and attendant violence, gunrunning, fraud, blackmail and
bribery. 

Yet on both sides of the border, courageous partners are committed to
rooting out a malignancy that could overwhelm Mexico's ongoing political
and economic transformation. 

Our political system must find a sensible balance between domestic debate
and foreign diplomacy. That being said, prevention through education and
treatment, combined with tough law enforcement, is still the answer to a
drug problem that ails us at home, next door and abroad.   

Barry R. Mccaffrey Is the Director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy 
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