[bybybill]

So, we build a wall, and the Mexicans or anybody else blows a hole in, you don`t think this President would respond? Gee, there might be a few folks in Iraq and Afghanistan that hold a different view.

[Wallace T.]

This Administration has applied a different standard to Latin America than it has in the Middle East. There have been incursions of Mexican Army units on American soil, yet there has been no formal protest to Mexico City, but rather joint statements to the effect that some Mexican gangsters decided to play soldier, complete with authentic looking uniforms and weaponry.

On another level, we have witnessed advances of Marxists to power in Latin America, including Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia, in the last few years that would have given nightmares to Cold War era Administrations. Granted that Russia is not the power it was 25 years ago (thank you Reagan), there is nonetheless a de facto alliance between Russia, China, Cuba, and the new Marxist nations south of the border. When you consider the ties between Marxists and Muslim radicals, as evidenced by leftist opposition to the Iraqi War domestically and Russian involvement in the Iranian nuclear program, our "blind eye" today to the rise of Marxism in Latin America may well haunt us in the future.

I would be delighted if this Administration applied the same determination in Latin America that it has in the Middle East. The track record of the last five and one half years unfortunately suggests otherwise.