U.S. Military: Mexico Could Collapse Under Drug Violence

By: Jim Meyers

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:56 PM

Mexico is in danger of a “rapid and sudden collapse” due to criminal gangs and drug cartels, according to a troubling new report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.

The report also cites Pakistan as a nation facing possible collapse.

“In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Forces and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico,” the report states.

[Editor’s Note: To read the report by U.S. Joint Forces Command on Mexico and other global hotspots - Go Here Now]

“The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels.”

The outcome of that internal conflict in America’s southern neighbor will have a “major impact on the stability of the Mexican state” over the next several years, according to the Joint Forces Command, a Defense Department combat command that includes different military service branches, active and reserves, according to the El Paso Times.

The report warns that “any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone.”

As Newsmax reported last week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the U.S. has developed plans for a “surge” in crime fighters if the drug wars in Mexico should spread across the border.

The plans call for aircraft, armored vehicles and special teams to converge on trouble spots along the border. Military forces would be used if civilian agencies like the Border Patrol and local law enforcement were unable to control the violence.

In the Joint Forces report, Marine Gen. J.N. Mattis said: “If we do not try to forecast the future, there is no doubt that we will be caught off guard as we strive to protect this experiment in democracy that we call America.”

Criminal activity in Mexico has killed more than 5,300 people in the past year, including members of warring drug cartels, law enforcement officials and bystanders, many of them slain close to the U.S. border.

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