Related to Mexican President Calderon's fight against drug trafficking organizations, today's Washington Post headline "New Strategy Urged in Mexico" has one problem: it suggests there was an old strategy.
Calderon began fighting the drug trafficking organizations from the moment he arrived in office. He asked for and received help from the United States. He's deployed more Mexican military forces than any previous administration. He's shown resolve in the face of violence and seen both progress and setbacks.
Here's the essential problem. Nobody doubts Calderon has the resolve to fight a war against the cartels. But nobody is sure Calderon has a plan to win that war.
Calderon has been so caught up in the day-to-day fight that he's never answered the questions "What does victory look like?" or "What is the 5-10 year plan?" or "What is Mexico trying to accomplish?" Calderon began his fight against cartels without a plan for victory. He just started fighting because he saw a threat and violence. Throughout the past two years, instead of pro-actively implementing a plan, Calderon has tended to react to violence, sending thousands more troops to Juarez, Michoacan and elsewhere following surges in violence from the cartels.
In spite of the media's constant use of the word "strategy," troop deployments and the Merida Initiative aren't strategies, they're military operations and an aid package. Asking the US to counter consumption, fight illicit arms trafficking and block money laundering are probably components of a strategy, but not a strategy in themselves. Police, intelligence and judicial reform are obviously more components. Economic development and countering corruption need to be included. And yes, there is also a role for military operations to achieve a clear objective like defeat a specific cartel unit or secure an area while reforms are taking place.
However, it's up to Calderon and others in Mexico to piece it all together, provide a vision, set the priorities and lay out some sort of timetable for what will likely be a long struggle, one that will likely continue beyond Calderon's presidency and will have to adapt to changing events. Calderon doesn't need a new strategy, he just needs a strategy. Then we can debate the strategy overall and the components within.
