Thread: BUSH WANTS TO GIVE mexico $500 MILLION

INSTEAD GIVE THE FUNDS TO OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT ALONG OUR BORDERS!!!!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5762622.html

May 8, 2008, 12:13AM
Bush pitches funding plan for military aid to Mexico
President seeks $500 million to help fight the war on drug cartels


By STEWART M. POWELL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

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RESOURCES
THE MERIDA INITIATIVE

Among the items in the $500 million requested by President Bush to assist Mexico in its drug war are:
• $2.8 million : to upgrade and equip two Citation surveillance aircraft for Mexico's attorney general

• $104 million : to buy eight medium lift 13-passenger utility helicopters for Mexico's air force

• $100 million : to provide four maritime patrol aircraft to supplement seven surveillance aircraft already operated by the Mexican navy
WASHINGTON — President Bush on Wednesday showcased his request for $500 million in U.S. military assistance to help Mexico combat murderous drug cartels in a bid to build congressional support for the more contentious part of his spending package — the latest multibillion dollar request for emergency war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush crafted plans for the U.S. military assistance to Mexico at a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon 14 months ago and sketched details last October, including money for military equipment such as helicopters, training and assistance in combating corruption in the criminal justice system.


Council of the Americas
Bush pitched his financing plan to the Council of the Americas, an organization of international businesses that backs free trade and democracy. The U.S. military assistance — $500 for Mexico and $50 million for Central American nations — will help them "deal with the scourge of these unbelievably wealthy and unbelievably violent drug kingpins," Bush told the organization's conference at the State Department.

Administration officials have said the remaining $900 million originally proposed in the Merida Initiative will be requested later.

Some members of the Houston-area congressional delegation have been leading advocates of helping Mexico beef up security forces along the U.S.-Mexico border to help stem a wave of drug-related killings that claimed an estimated 2,700 lives last year.

"There is a war going on down there and if Mexico loses that war it will be worse in our own country," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. "If Mexico can control these drug traffickers, it means they don't come here."

Bush pivoted off the remarks at the Council of the Americas to appeal for favorable congressional action on his entire emergency spending request, not just the tiny share set aside for U.S. military assistance to Mexico and Central American nations.


Bush, Democrats differ
The total for the supplemental spending package was in flux. The Bush administration sought at least $108 billion to finance operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through Sept. 30. The House Democratic leadership fashioned a spending package of nearly $195 billion that included domestic spending that Bush has threatened to veto.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill may get a more detailed look at the program's spending blueprint today when the House Foreign Affairs Committee's panel on Latin America hears testimony from the State Department's top Latin America specialist, Thomas Shannon.

Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy, a non-profit think tank that opposes the Merida Initiative, said the administration included financing for the program within the emergency war supplemental bill because it would be ''hard to strip out any part of that spending package.''

Details of the spending proposal were not made available by the White House.

But Isacson's organization published on its Web site (www.ciponline.org) two State Department documents that he said had been used to brief members of Congress on details of the Merida Initiative.

The documents showed that most of the $132.5 million designated to bolster Mexican law enforcement agencies would be poured into the Mexican Federal Police Force with another $112 million being used to assist operations by Mexico's attorney general and the criminal justice system.


Culberson opposes aid
Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said he opposed providing the assistance to Mexico. "These resources should go to our own law enforcement officers rather than Mexico's," Culberson said.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said he favored providing U.S. military assistance. ''We must fight to keep these drug cartels from operating with impunity on our border," he said.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, vowed to work in the Senate to win the requested money.

But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, opposed including the funds in the war supplemental. A spokesman said Cornyn "believes additional funding requests should be reviewed on their merits through the normal appropriations process."

stewart.powell@chron.com

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, vowed to work in the Senate to win the requested money.

Wrong answer Brown Nose Hutchison.

NO NO NO NO. You don't reward bad behavior!

We need to be speding that money on this side of the border to deal with Mexico's Criminals on this side of the border! Mexico needs to be spending their cash on their crooks and cartels! If it's that bad, then they need to be voluntarly asking for a UN peace keeping mission in Mexico.

Dixie

12-20 million of them here we are paying for and Bush wants to give mex 500 million more?!?! STOP THE INSANITY! Geeze, Im gonna blow a gasket soon.

Calgon take me AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

"Culberson opposes aid
Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said he opposed providing the assistance to Mexico. "These resources should go to our own law enforcement officers rather than Mexico's," Culberson said."

Could this be an elected official attempting to do the right thing????

Bush, I have a message for you:

This $500 million is an installment of the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative.
Caldreron DEMANDED NO CONDITIONS BE ATTACHED AND SAID, "I NEED THAT TECHNOLOGY".
Due to the amount of corruption in Mexico's government and Calderons 'no conditions imposed' some congressmen at reluctent to pass the bill.

Mexico blames the U.S. for the drug cartels--i.e. if the U.S. didn't have such a huge demand for illegal drugs then there would be no drug cartels. Therefore Mexico feels destroying the cartels must be paid for by the U.S. yet they won't allow U.S. professionals into Mexico to train their army because Mexico is 'sensitive' about their sovereignty

In addition to the military aid, money is to be spent for Mexico to secure it's southern border. (We don't get our border secured but Mexico will.)

NO WAY. NO MONEY FOR MEXICO. BUILD THE WALL HIGH AND WIDE. LET MEXICO DEAL WITH THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. CARLOS SLIM HAS MONEY, LET HIM PAY FOR IT. THEY LET THE DRUG DEALERS GET OUT OF CONTROL. HEC, THEY PROBABLY MADE MONEY OFF DRUGS THEMSELVES. NOW THEY NEED HELP? TOO BAD. WE HAVE OUR OWN PROBLEMS. BUILD THE WALL.

Calderon, you are some peice O work!

Mexico blames the U.S. for the drug cartels--i.e. if the U.S. didn't have such a huge demand for illegal drugs then there would be no drug cartels.

Maybe if the drugs were not here/available, thier would be no demand. What came first the chicken or the egg? Talk about putting the cart before the horse!

What an arrogant SOB.

History has proven that money given to Mexico to fight drug cartels, ends up funding drug cartels. We paid to train an elite force of Mexican military to fight the war on drugs and they all went to work for the cartels for better pay.

We need to send OUR military to the border to fight the violence there. Let Mexico deal with her side and let US protect OURS.

Like I said before seems like everyones problems are BLAMED on the USA.
We are the FIRST to GIVE MONEY.
How stupid, the government has FAILED the CITIZENS of the USA.
We are to give and give, but, yet we are to be BLAMED for everything.
Why not spend the money and BUILD THE FENCE.
They are saying we have NO MONEY to build the FENCE, but, yet we are giving 500 million to these people. Gee someone sure has FILTHY HANDS, sounds like mexcio. They will only put it in their OWN POCKET and continue to BLAME the USA for everything. They have all these excuses to get AMERICAS money, and now they have come up with more.
And yet the ILLEGALS still come here, and get. Get all the FREEBIES they want. Give me attitude. AND our GOvernment is sooooo F___ing stupid.
UGHHHHH I am ready to blow..... I am absolutely just freaking sick.