Do as we say, not as we do

The … federal prison system is plagued by overcrowding, limited alternatives to incarceration, and is facing challenges created by prisoners involved in narco-trafficking.

No, that isn’t Scott Hensen talking, though it could be any expert on incarceration in the United States. It’s from an unidentified document “obtained by the Washington Post” outlining U.S. strategies for Un-Plan Mexico (i.e., “Plan Merida”, aka — “throw money at the Mexicans, and hope they stop us from buying narcotics”). The only difference I can see is that the U.S. prisons are overcrowded with narco-buyers, and Mexican prisons with narco-sellers…

SO… what do our great minds in Washington propose. For starters…

…the document states that Mexico’s military, known by its Spanish-language initials SEDENA, is better suited to interdict drug shipments, especially those in remote areas, than the Mexican federal police or the customs agency.

In other words, don’t fund crime-fighters (i.e., police), but make this a “national security issue” and turn it over to the military, which the report also wants funding for — to improve their human rights record (or at least sell advertising about their human rights record…

It sounds like a sop to all those “political consultants” (spin doctors) who will be out of a job now that Mexico reformed (once mor) its electoral process and banned outright all paid political advertising. Guys like Dick Morris and Rob Allyn are going to need some way of receiving funding from the Mexican government for their work on behalf of the Republican Party…. but more on that later).

Out here in West Texas, we have not exactly enjoyed peace and tranquility when the military has come in to act as policemen. I wonder how many people outside THIS area ever have had to tolerate being under occupation — but, what the hey, the Mexicans won’t complain, right?

OOPS…

The U.S. effort to sell the plan in Mexico, where there is an ongoing debate about whether the military should be involved in drug campaigns, has been hampered by inaccurate reports in Mexican media that 60 percent of the package would go to the Mexican army and navy.

Those silly Mexicans… only 40% is going to the military: a measly 200 million dollars of your tax money. The rest we expect to spend convincing the Mexicans to change their legal system to fit our need to prosecute their people who sell the drugs we want to buy. And to stop the flow of guns — and money — from us to our suppliers.

OK, why don’t we stop the gun and money smuggling, and just keep our $500 million at home… and maybe clean up our own prisons.

NAH… too simple.