[arthurus]

By next war I am thinking about the growing political drug empire in Latin America. The Cartels are or will be the governments down there and we will have to deal with them, too. Part of that is the problems of the gangs becoming an insurgency in the SW and in the big cities all over. These things we can't really deal with effectively while we are facing Islam until the states realize they are hurting and become willing to shoulder the load themselves. Right now there is only the glimmering of awareness in a few states. Most states and localities are still in the Sanctuary and American rights for everybody in the world mode.

I don't see some of the actions of the past that contributed to the problems of the present as being miscalculations. They were necessary in the conflict then at hand. That one had to be won even if it set up a further conflict. The error was in not following up in Afghanistan and well, that was when Clinton took the helm.

[stuartcr]

If the cartels could become that powerful, and their source of income is illegal drugs, then the logical solution, to quickly put an end to them, is to make the drugs legal and they will have no income.

[bcsco]

"By next war I am thinking about the growing political drug empire in Latin America."

That's what I suspected as I stated in my response to your post #119. I suppose the problem I have with such a policy (to allow the states to take control over the border issue until the WOT is...let's say 'contained')...if it is indeed an administration policy, is that our border issue is a Federal problem, and if Bush wishes the states to take control of a Federal issue then he should have worked with the governors instead of leaving them come to such a conclusion on their own.

Your conclusions regarding the implosion of Communist Russia and the resultant problems with the Middle-East are not hard at all to understand, and on the mark in my estimation.

As is often the case, we look at things in the short term and give little attention to long term political affect. This is a general failing of humanity. That's where real leaders (what's that?) stand out.

Thanks for an enjoyable thread.