Army official suggests U.S. troops might be needed in Mexico

[Derechos]

By Matthew D. LaPlante

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Feb 07 2011 07:12PM
Updated Feb 8, 2011 10:29AM

Fretting over a scenario in which armed U.S. soldiers could be called to the border — or even over it — to hold back lawlessness and violence, Undersecretary of the Army Joseph Westphal invoked a contentious word to describe Mexico’s problem with drug cartels:

He called it an “insurgency.”

Speaking at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics on Monday, the second-highest ranking civilian official in the U.S. Army spent most of his lecture explaining the economic and bureaucratic obstacles faced by defense budget makers amid complicated challenges in the Middle East and South Asia.

But in response to a student’s question about strategic blind spots in U.S. foreign policy, Westphal switched hemispheres.

“One of them in particular for me is Latin America and in particular Mexico,” he said. “As all of you know, there is a form of insurgency in Mexico with the drug cartels that’s right on our border.”

“This isn’t just about drugs and about illegal immigrants,” he said. “This is about, potentially, a takeover of a government by individuals who are corrupt.”

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51207681-76/mexico-westphal-drug-insurgency.html.csp

For more in Spanish from La Jornada, see http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/02/09/index.php?section=politica&article=005n1pol

[rabs]

1. Remark retracted: Mexico says U.S. official did NOT know what he was talking about

Looks like Hil and company leaned on this dude and made him grovel ...


Westphal: "What I said was not really what I said."

--------------------------


By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, Associated Press E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press – Wed Feb 9, 8:36 pm ET
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government on Wednesday condemned comments by a top U.S. Defense Department official characterizing the drug gang violence here as a "form of insurgency" — remarks the official later apologized for and retracted.

Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa regretted that "outdated visions" on drug trafficking continue to be used and urged U.S. officials to refrain from commenting on issues they are not fully informed about.

"These unfortunate incidents should show that officials need to refrain from making statements, from giving opinions without having all the facts," Espinosa said.

Westphal made his initial remarks Monday at the Hinkley Institute of Politics Forum. In a statement Tuesday he said that in response to a question, he "mistakenly characterized the challenge posed by drug cartels to Mexico as 'a form of insurgency.'"

"My comments were not and have never been the policy of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government toward Latin America," he added. "I regret that my inaccurate statements may have caused concerns for our partners and friends in the region, especially Mexico."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110210/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_us

Edit to add photo in La Jornada, which is too good to omit ... and to correct DID NOT KNOW in subject line...

[Judi Lynn]

2. Wow, love that photo! He seems every bit bright enough to have made that statement!

I guess certain military types just aren't cut out for diplomacy, are they? Oh, my GOD!

Thanks, a lot. Good to hear someone tried to get a different look on his child-like proclamation, no matter what the scheming is going on covertly.