I appreciate the objectivity of posters on this thread. Straight on factual comments ALL!!

  I’ve no doubt that “Cartel” money is filtered through K-Street. The fix is definite. The pretense by Washington hogs that there is any moral center to their actions has reached a point of absolute hilarity. This BBC piece itself is propagandist boiler plate. (Not by intention but infection.)

    DIAMOND’s insight into the “shadow boy” connection as enablers is spot on. In Viet Nam they were hip deep in the smack trade and cut direct deals with opium war lords to allow sales to Service men.

    The important thing (my opinion) though hard to accept, is the role the “shadow boys” play in allowing international black market crime, cartel money laundering and financial institutions to interface. Drugs are just one aspect of the rackets. This is a direct result of “for sale” revolving door politics. Campaign Finance Reform continues to be our first giant step toward recovering our Freedom.

‘Risk Adverse’?

Does that mean cautious?

‘Official corruption’

How does that differ from unofficial corruption?

Gee, I can picture U.S. diplomats keeping awake all night worrying over this.

With the War in Iraq winding down, and Americans losing interest in Afghanistan, the US will need a place to deploy troops until a real war with North Korea, or Iran starts. Mexico is as good a place as any. It will also be good training for our future police officers.

[Sarcasm off].

The problem with drug traffick in Mexico is a product of many things.  The US
is their best customer and also the number one seller of arms to the
traffickers.  Many working for the US border patrol get good bribe money from
them, and lots of US bureaucrats and businesses benefit from keeping the drug business alive. These are some of the problems we need to examine if we are really concerned.  It’s absurd to look at Mexico for effective solutions.

Wonder how much really stupid stuff has been made secret.  The U.S. is so used to secrets there has to be plenty of silly stuff in the leaks.

The War on Drugs, like its counterpart The War on Terrorism is a profit center and little else. Our police, prison guards, border guards, prosecutors et al all see it as a way to increase budgets and gain more power and influence. This is why we see the various unions related to the above professions lobbying for harsher sentences, more prisons and ever more restrictive laws.

Legalization of drugs, as seen in England for example, means money taken out of the hands of the criminals, a better product safely administered, much fewer drug related deaths for various causes and less crowded prisons.

As long as the American political/criminal class supports Karzai and his drug trafficking brother Walid, on the subject of the drug trade and the corruption it creates they are simply liars and hypocrites: as anyone who knows anything about the so-called war on drugs knows. That war is all for show because the intelligence services are in bed with organized crime, including drug barons. Afghanistan now supplies most of the heroin that comes into America and it’s common knowledge that many of the people in the Afghan government are drug lords as well as war lords. The Taliban burned the poppy fields and if they hadn’t they may well still be in power. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.