AAM: "This war has been
going on for at least two years and it's only now that
American people are waking up to that."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Length: 4:33
LARGE (63.1 MB)
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SMALL (5.6 MB)
Michael was on from New York this morning,
discussing the reality of the situation in Mexico.
He also confirmed that he will soon be moving there
to cover the story. He asks during the piece how we
are going to stem the demand for illegal drugs ...
talk about an unsolvable problem!
KIRAN
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Is the White House ready for this plan to deal with
drug violence in Mexico? "The Washington Post" is
reporting that President Obama's plan would include
sending more federal agents to the border. That
announcement could come just as Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton heads to Mexico City. Her two day
trip starts Wednesday and President Obama is also
planning a visit next month.
Our Michael Ware has been tracking the deadly gun
battles between the cartels and Mexican authorities
and he joins us now to discuss the plan.
Okay. Welcome, by the way. Good to see you this
morning.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's always
a pleasure.
CHETRY: The earlier, the better, right? You're always
asking to be in the 6:00 hour.
WARE: Oh, my god! Today, of all days. Sorry.
CHETRY: All right. This plan to actually put more
U.S. boots on the ground, what type of impact do you
think that will have?
WARE: Not much. In my opinion. And yet, we haven't
heard the detail, of course, and when we say boots on
the ground, we're talking about a few DEA officials
who, I would suspect, would be relaying intelligence
about the cartels, and will be cooperating with their
Mexican counterparts. That is a good thing. But what
kind of a dent is it going to make in a fight where
estimates say that there is a hundred thousand cartel
foot soldiers who are as heavily armed as some
American infantry platoons?
The solution has to be much more drastic. Yes, it's a
good thing to send extra help, but it's a finger in
the dike.
CHETRY: This is interesting. There are a couple other
people who agree with you. John Cook is the mayor of
El Paso, it's a border town, of course. He's saying
that the deployment of federal troops is really not
the way to go. He thinks that a safer and a more
effective approach for federal help, if we're getting
it here, would be to search all vehicles heading
south into Mexico, that you need to stop a lot of
these guns that are coming from the U.S.
WARE: Yes, I saw that. They are talking about now
using extra techniques to detect weapons in vehicles
as they cross over. The sad fact is that these
cartels are good operators, they always find a way to
get their guns. And the guns is only one part of it.
What America is trading is guns and the demand for
the drugs. And Mexico is the one that bears the brunt
of the violence and is a recipient of the benefits
that America is giving.
We're now seeing it spill over the border. You know?
We're seeing in Tucson, house invasions where they're
kidnapping children to get drug debts repaid. I mean,
it's...
CHETRY: Will that ever change? I mean, we understand
the demand for drugs is coming from the United
States. Has that ever changed?
WARE: Well, I mean, think of Prohibition. I mean did
demand for alcohol change? Fortunes were made by some
of America's most prominent families. Can anyone find
an answer to curb the demand for drugs from America?
Because as long as you have that, forget the guns,
forget everything else. They will find a way.
Now, at this point, there are two things that you
need in this war with the cartels. One is
intelligence. Information on who is doing what and
how. We don't have a lot of that and Mexico doesn't
have a lot of that yet. The other thing is you need
honest, reliable boots on the ground in uniform and
Mexico is using the army because they can't trust the
federal police or the local police.
Essentially, America, in an extreme situation, would
have to send in American troops to basically fight a
counterinsurgency and none of us want to see that but
that is where we're at. I can't begin to tell you how
terrible the situation is.
CHETRY: Well, you're living there, right now, right?
Or you're going to be soon?
WARE: Yes, I will be soon. Yes.
CHETRY: You'll be able to tell us firsthand.
Hopefully there will be some progress made. Secretary
Clinton is heading to Mexico City Wednesday and
President Obama is planning a visit next month. So
keep us posted.
WARE: I shall, but the thing is with all of the good
intentions, what are they offering? I mean, it's such
a difficult problem here. Much different to al Qaeda
and the Taliban, but also with a similar dynamic.
Basically, this war has been going on for at least
two years and it's only now that American people are
waking up to that. That, in itself, is a crime. It's
going to take some real commitment to deal with this.
CHETRY: Always great to see you, Michael Ware,
international correspondent.
WARE: Thank you.
CHETRY: Thanks for being with us this morning.
WARE: Oh, I'm so good in the mornings.