« Che Guevara On Flag in Houston Campaign Office For Obama | Main | Berkley Commies Vs. The Good Guys »
February 12, 2008
White House Wants $1.4 Billion Stimulus National Security Package For MEXICO
The White House wants a $1.4 billion stimulus/national security package…for Mexico
The plan is called “The Merida Initiative.” The White House has had this plan in the works for nearly a year with little congressional input on either side of the border.
The State Dept is leading the way.
Shannon O’Neil, CFR’s Mexico expert, says that although many members of Congress are upset at not being consulted on the details of a new $1.4 billion multiyear initiative to bolster Mexico’s crackdown on drug and criminal rings, she believes that it will get congressional approval. “There is political will on both sides to help Mexico out,” she says.
The State Dept. disclosed the first phase of the Merida Initiative last October, involving some $550 million in aid for inspection scanners, helicopters, surveillance tools, and case management software:
This partnership would support coordinated strategies to:
*Produce a safer and more secure hemisphere where criminal organizations no longer threaten governments and regional security; and
*Prevent the entry and spread of illicit drugs and transnational threats throughout the region and to the United States.
To achieve these goals, President Bush has requested $550 million as part of a multi-year program to provide:
*Non-intrusive inspection equipment, ion scanners, canine units for Mexican customs, for the new federal police and for the military to interdict trafficked drugs, arms, cash and persons.
*Technologies to improve and secure communications systems to support collecting information as well as ensuring that vital information is accessible for criminal law enforcement.
*Technical advice and training to strengthen the institutions of justice – vetting for the new police force, case management software to track investigations through the system to trial, new offices of citizen complaints and professional responsibility, and establishing witness protection programs.
*Helicopters and surveillance aircraft to support interdiction activities and rapid operational response of law enforcement agencies in Mexico.
*Initial funding for security cooperation with Central America that responds directly to Central American leaders’ concerns over gangs, drugs, and arms articulated during July SICA meetings and the SICA Security Strategy.
*Includes equipment and assets to support counterpart security agencies inspecting and interdicting drugs, trafficked goods, people and other contraband as well as equipment, training and community action programs in Central American countries to implement anti-gang measures and expand the reach of these measures in the region.
Now where did this initiative come from?
It actually came from the Mexican side. Calderon proposed to Bush to do some sort of joint project back in March when they met together in Merida, so hence it becomes the Merida Initiative. In the first year, Bush is proposing $500 million of aid to Mexico and over the next three years $1.4 billion worth of aid to help Calderon build up his technological equipment and police and military forces to combat the drug cartels.
Is there a bill now before Congress?
Sure. It is a supplementary funding bill mainly for Iraq, in which the Merida Initiative is included. It is $500 million as a part of a larger $50 billion package. So it’s tied in some ways to the state of the Iraq funding as well, which is of course an issue in its own right.
Has the initiative gone to any committee for consideration?
This is just added on. So the people in the House and Senate foreign relations committees are discussing this but the administration hasn’t sent someone yet to really discuss the nitty-gritty of this bill to either of the subcommittees yet. So they haven’t really yet started hatching up the issues yet. Congress has complained that its members were left out of the negotiation process.
Usually when there is a major initiative, people from the State Department or the Defense Department go to Capitol Hill and brief the staff people on what’s up. Why was this done so secretively?
It’s hard to know. In fact the House subcommittee on the western hemisphere had asked the State Department to come right after it was really released. The department said, “Not yet. We’re going to come in a couple of weeks with more information.” So it’s a little unclear why they have been so secretive. But perhaps it’s because they were really hammering out these negotiations with the Mexican government and trying to deal with the sensitivities of Mexico.
were left out of the negotiation process.
Also, according to one expert, “Mexico is very protective of its sovereignty and very worried about any incursion of U.S. security forces or private contractors—like Blackwater—coming in to train Mexicans.”
And what does Mexico do for the United States?
Mexico refuses to extradite criminal suspects who’ve fled from the U.S. down to Mexico unless our prosecutors drop death penalty charges against them.
BUT this is not all of it, yes there is more, while seeing all of this at Michelle Malkins blog I did a search online and also found this - Wild Thing
Mexican president to visit US amid immigration debate
Mexican president Felipe Calderon was to arrive in the United States Sunday for a working visit amid a fiery US election-year debate over illegal immigrants from Latin America......Calderon will not be meeting with his US counterpart George W. Bush, despite it being his first visit since he became president in December 2006.
Nor will he meet with any of the leading candidates for the US presidency, whose campaign has highlighted the debate over the US handling of millions of illegal immigrants, including an estimated five million Mexicans, and efforts to build a wall along much of the two neighbors' 3,000 kilometer (1,600 mile) border.
Instead, Calderon will travel to New York, Boston, Chicago, Sacramento and Los Angeles to meet with expatriate Mexican community leaders and academic and financial sector figures.
Calderon told the New York Times in an interview Thursday that the heightened furor over illegal immigrants was threatening the close relationship between Mexico and the United States.
"I'm very worried because this has generated an atmosphere full of prejudice, an anti-immigrant atmosphere with certain themes that are also anti-Mexican, that benefits no one," he told the Times.
"It seems to me the worst thing the two countries could do is make our people think our enemy is our neighbor."
He was also critical of the US approach to Latin America in general.
"What is clear to me is that in Latin America, and in the world, for some reason the United States has been losing friends, and it seems to me it should do everything possible to reach out to the few friends it has left."
In New York their meetings will include financier David Rockefeller, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
.
Wild Thing's comment........
And party hacks are still wondering why 'stupid' conservative voters aren't jumping on the party bandwagon. Unbelievable that the Democrats are the one questioning this. I realize the Democrats will always be critical of anything GWB is doing. The line drawn between the good guys and the bad guys has molded into one. With just a few straglers remaining that LOVE our country and want a soverign nation and want to secure our boders especially since we are at WAR. Not that would be someting wouldn't it. To actually HELP our troops fight this war and secure our borders and stop kissing up to the illegal lovers in our government.
Mexico is NOT our friend, nor is it anywhere near being an ally, and worse yet our leaders are the enemy of our country most of them.
OH and you will love this too, look at this that I found, from the Laraza .com site.......
“the Calderón government hoped that Bush would offer at least three times the $1.4 billion finally agreed upon.”
We can’t—or won’t—control our southwestern border. The Mexicans are actively thwarting our attempts to do so.
And our president gives them over a billion dollars. And we have a man in our own party that has had 3 Amnesty plans and he is running for President. And we are told he is a (choke cough) conservative!
Absolutely incredible! I am so sick of GW not listening!!! And McCain is not going to listen either. He makes me ill when he gets that smug look on his face and says " I will build YOUR fence". Why NOT his fence too this is HIS country for pet'e sake.
Clinton sold us out to the Chinese - a nation arming themselves to destroy us from the outside. El presidente Shrub has sold us out for illegal immigrants to destroy us from the inside. And we are told by Bush that he is a conservative and so is John McCain as he back him for President.
....Thank you Mark for telling me about this.
Posted by Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 02:55 AM
Comments
"Mexico is very protective of it's sovereignty". Well, maybe we should learn from Mexico. I knew Bush's trip to Latin America would result in lots of American money being given away for "goodwill".
The Mexican president has an agenda. Mexico for Mexicans and America for Mexicans also.
Yes, our politicos are giving America away.
Hang onto your purses and wallets. Bush is going on a big trip to Africa this month. He will give away our money like a drunken sailor on liberty. Supposedly it will be for worthy purposes, but Africa is the definition of corruption. That money will buy Mediterranean villas for African dictators and tribal chiefs and new plush executive jets to fly them there.
Posted by: TomR at February 12, 2008 06:57 AM
That money could be used better here. There are children so poor they have nothing to eat. And for Calderon to be dictating terms that he wants this or that is completely insane!
We can't keep giving away the store. We are keeping the whole world afloat on our backs. No wonder my back hurts. I feel like Atlas who was destined to hold up the whole world for all eternity.
We NEED to stop the bleeding of illegals from Mexico. We're not prejudiced, we're just angry about how this is happening. I think it was a dummycrap who told immigrants that if they had a baby on American soil, that baby is an American and you can't be deported. How stupid was that?
What will the next President sell us for? A few trinkets and silly putty? And who will he sell us to? Cuba? Russia? Iran?
Get with the program and join the winning team--The American Team. Stop badmouthing us and do something about it. Don't expect the government to do it for you--obviously, it's not going to. It's up to us.
Posted by: Lynn at February 12, 2008 08:11 AM
You think maybe Bush is going to sign away the Southwest back to Mexico before he leaves office?
Posted by: BobF at February 12, 2008 09:49 AM
A Stimulus package for Mexico, how sweet it is. And of course there are no strings attached or any requirement for the Mexicans to pay it back.
We have a border in crisis and we are paying the Mexicans to keep it up. 89 Americans have been kidnapped from Neuevo Loredo and no one cares. The congress wants NOT to hear about it. Although it is there district.
The Police have had gun battles with the Mexican Army when chasing drug dealers across the border and of course are out gunned thanks to the American government supplying the Mexican Army with weapons. Also there have been border invasions by the Mexican Army onto American soil. But of course that is not reported what is reported is how racist the American People are.
Yet Our Government ignores it and turns around and give them billions of dollars so they can know ahead of time when their drug dealers are coming back and if they are being chased by an American Sheriff.
And MxCain is the Republican Nominee.
Is it any wonder Obama is going to win, he promises nothing but change, and I am sure the common thread is 'anything is better than what we got, Right now.'
Posted by: Mark at February 12, 2008 10:45 AM
I'm willing to believe anything now about our White House buffoon...
Maybe he could start with MS-13 in The States.
How did this guy every father children? He's clueless about first thing first.
Posted by: Rhod at February 12, 2008 01:14 PM
We keep paying them more and more and all they do for us is send millions of ILLEGALS across the border.
Big Dog foreign policy: "Mexico, look here amigo, you get all your ILLEGALS and take them back to Mehico and we will consider the money you want.
That consideration involves you sending a bunch of that oil you have this way for real low prices so we can get cheap gas again.
Any questions pinche?
Posted by: Big Dog at February 12, 2008 01:53 PM
Think of this as the CFR's invitation for all of us to join the extended family of John Ellis Bush and his wife Columba Garnica Gallo. A future with scores of Grandpa Jorge's Niños's. We can help by joining the corruption of Mexico where the blend will not be so apparent or noticable to anyone but the American taxpayer and who gives a rat's ass about the dumb Americans or their sovereignty anyway? At least the Canadians will get a Mexican border out of the deal along with their superhighway.
Posted by: Jack at February 12, 2008 02:17 PM
Compassionate Conservatism again. What belongs to America belongs to Jorge Dubya, and he gives it away on our behalf.
Posted by: Rhod at February 12, 2008 04:33 PM
Tom, all these huge amounts of money for things they put through and then they fight putting through money for our military. Anything as long as it is not for our troops. grrrr
Thanks for the information about Bush going to Africa, yes I wonder how much he will offer them from our hard earned tax dollars. sheesh
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:37 PM
Lynn, I agree, when will this maddness stop. Our country is already borrowing money from China of all places. Our country to even borrow money really shocked me when I found out about it.
Too much spending and mostly on the wrong things and the wrong places. It is crazy.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:40 PM
Bob it sure as heck feels like he will. He is on a roll to do exactly what he wants no matter what we want, not listen to us anymore and screw America. Thanks for nothing Bush.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:43 PM
Mark, exactly! When adding McCain and how he thinks so much like Bush about Mexico I have zero confidence that this will stop when Bush leaves office.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:45 PM
Rhod, yes he might as well as he sure is on a roll.
"Maybe he could start with MS-13 in The States"
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:46 PM
Big Dog, yes, and what the heck are we getting out of this package. nolthing
What gets me too is how Mexico calls itself our ally. Ally in what? The war, it is not in this war with us in Iraq or Afghanistan. They said no. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:48 PM
Jack ......."At least the Canadians will get a Mexican border out of the deal along with their superhighway."....yes welcome to Mexico Candians. See how you like it.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:50 PM
Rhod, yes and God help us all if we hear another politician say they are a compassionate Conservative.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 12, 2008 11:52 PM
