Blackhawks down and talking trash

With the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations asking “dude, where’s the money?”,  still more questions are being raised about the supposed “Merida Iniative” funding... that never was going to come to Mexico in the first place, being designed to assist U.S. businesses (and — no surprise — those businesses with a history of support for the Bush Administration).

Although I don’t think Mexico should be fighting the U.S. drug war, if it is going to do so, it will need technical assistance.  But, given the propensity for the Bush administration of make promises it never intended to keep (remember the March 2007 announcement of aid to Central America?),  there is no reason Mexico should wait 18 to 24 months for promised help.

Apparently, the U.S. forgets that Mexico does not HAVE to buy from the United States, nor does it need that Merida money particularly (nor, for that matter, does it have to fight this proxy “war”).

U.S. National Security Director Dennis Blair is scaring everyone, claiming the United States has a “responsiblity” to “help” Mexico in this war (for whose benefit?). Sort of like the “responsibility” Woodrow Wilson had to “help” Mexico after the spectacular failure of the Taft Administration?

I wouldn’t compare Taft to Bush II (for one thing, William Howard Taft, unlike George W. was an honorable and ethical person of proven administrative ability before he came to the White House.  For another, the Taft Administration was reformist when it came to  domestic issues), but I have compared Obama to Woodrow Wilson.  Both have this sense that the United States MUST have a role in Latin America, wanted or not… and that they have the right to implement change.  With a Secretary of State like Hillary (“What good’s an Army if you don’t use it?”) Clinton, it’s no wonder Felipe Calderon is tripping all over himself this week to claim that “support” from the U.S. military does not mean “intervention”. Uh… sure.

Interesting enough, I found Calderon’s statement in the Veracruz edition of Milenio, not in the national edition.  Veracruz may be a little more sensitive to U.S. “intrusion” …  (that’s the word used on the Naval Museum exhibit about the 1914 U.S. invasion), memorializing it — especially Teniente Jose Azueta who did not quite appreciate the “help”.

The Naval Museum — of course — also includes exhibits on the various French invasions (in 1838 and 1862).  The French can act like real dickheads, but they’ve learned a few things from their own — and Mexican — history. The two French invasions were justified (by the French) on the grounds that they were owed money.  That makes sense to Mexicans.  Business is business.  As long as the Mexicans are willing buyers, and the French willing sellers, and nobody’s pointing a gun at anyone else, everyone can get along just fine.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been here on a sales trip, taking orders for investigative technology (probably including heliocopters, something promised by the Bush Administration but due for delivery the manana after manana.. if then).  Incidentally, Sarkozy also met with Mexico City’s Jefe de Gobierno, Marcello Ebrard to talk trash…. literally.  Mexico City has a solid waste disposal problem, and the French have engineering experience and equipment to sell.