Washington, D.C. – On Sunday, November 9, 2008, Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, famously described the Obama administration's philosophy for governing: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. What I mean by that is it is an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." "O-Team" sycophants in the so-called mainstream media chuckled. Conservatives were alarmed. We now know we had reason to be.
At the time Mr. Emanuel made his comment — five days after the election — we thought he was referring to the ongoing "economic crisis" to justify life-altering legislation on new government spending, social entitlements, higher taxes and massive debt. A quick glance at the Obama budget proves we were right. However, it turns out we grossly underestimated the willingness of the "O-Team" to apply their carpe crisis maxim to every situation — foreign or domestic.
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Anyone who has followed the current travail of the Mexican government in dealing with hyper-violent drug cartels south of the Rio Grande agrees that it is a serious calamity. In 2008, more than 5,800 people were killed in Mexican drug-related violence, double the number in 2007. At least 1,100 have died thus far in 2009.
The $40 billion that drug lords reap annually from U.S., Canadian and European "customers" has fueled massive corruption in Mexico, allowing cartels virtually unlimited power. Ruthless killings of civil, police and military officials who resist has become endemic. When the chief of police in Ciudad Juarez refused a cartel order to resign, he was told that they would kill one of his police officers every 48 hours. Five of his officers were murdered in ten days. The chief quit and went into hiding.
Not all of the problem is south of the border. Well-funded Mexican-affiliated drug gangs operate in at least 230 U.S. cities and towns, keeping their American "clients" supplied and fighting for "turf." Last year in Phoenix, Arizona, there were more than 370 drug-related kidnappings. Cartel-related crimes have been reported from Albuquerque to Anchorage and Seattle to Savannah.
Last month Mexico's courageous and beleaguered President, Felipe Calderon, began deploying military units to fight well-armed narco-terrorists in northern Mexico. On the U.S. side of the border, DEA, ATF, FBI, CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents along with state and local law enforcement officers, commenced a coordinated, multi-state crackdown on drug gangs. According to the Department of Justice, the operation netted 755 drug dealers, money launderers and smugglers.
In addition to committing additional law enforcement assets to the border, the U.S. is also providing Mexican authorities with intelligence, high-tech detection gear, sophisticated sensors and night-vision equipment for combating cartel "foot soldiers" armed with automatic weapons, hand grenades, heavy machine guns and Soviet-era rocket propelled grenade launchers. This help is certainly warranted. It is in our national interest that the Calderon campaign against the cartels succeeds.
Unfortunately, the "O-Team" and their "progressive" allies in Congress aren't satisfied with the progress that is being made thus far. They apparently intend to use the "cartel crisis," as Mr. Emanuel has advocated, "to do things you couldn’t do before."
On February 25, Attorney General Eric Holder urged the U.S. "to reinstitute the ban on assault weapons. I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." The following day, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said, "I am prepared to wage the assault weapons battle again and intend to do so." And on March 17, during a Senate subcommittee on crime and drugs, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., claimed that an "iron river of guns from the United States arms Mexican drug cartels to the teeth."
Reality check: Resurrecting the so-called "assault weapons ban" that expired in 2004 isn't going to do anything to help the Mexican government deal with drug cartels — or any other criminal organizations. Nor was the "O-Team's" decision to stop the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) from allowing surplus military brass cartridges to be re-loaded going to stop a single bullet from reaching criminals. Thankfully, that inane rule has been reversed, saving law-abiding gun owners — and our heavily indebted government — money.
The Mexican drug cartels aren't being armed by law-abiding Americans. Rather than trying to re-enact meaningless legislation based on the appearance of a firearm or the shape of a magazine, the "O-Team" and their congressional allies need to focus on securing our borders and providing the resources to enforce the laws we already have on the books. Infringing on the Second Amendment rights of U.S. citizens won't make Mexicans, or any of us, any safer or more secure — no matter how severe the crisis.
— Oliver North hosts War Stories on FOX News Channel and is the author of the new best-seller, "American Heroes: In The War Against Radical Islam." He has just returned from assignment in Afghanistan.
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