government will not label the cartels, people who maim, behead and torture
more than al Qaida, terrorists. Their argument is that there are enough
laws to combat drug trafficking. Okay, then why do we have ~230 drug cartel
nodes here in the US? Where is the evidence that current laws are effective
and drug cartel presence in the US is waning? Where is this comprehensive
policy, and does this policy also cover illegal immigration for which the
cartels exploit to their advantage by blackmailing/extorting illegals to
work on their behalf or lose family members...or even their own lives?
According to the article below, labeling the cartels terrorists gives us the
following... "gives U.S. police broad authority to crack down on suspected
terrorists, such as by seizing their bank accounts or imposing harsher
prison sentences for gun possession" Also, what other known terrorist
group(s) have been attributed with killing over 35,000 people- NOT Even Al
Qaeda, Hezbollah or Muslim Brotherhood, alone or combined, can say this. End
comment.
Federal Officials Will Not Designate Mexican Drug Cartels as "Terrorists"
Source: (AHN) Reporter: Tom Ramstack
Location: Washington, D.C., United States Published: May 13, 2011 06:18 pm
EDT
Topics: Politics, Diplomacy, International Relations, Crime, Law And
Justice, Organized Crime, Crime, Law And Justice, Police, Investigation
Federal officials this week said they would not put Mexican drug cartels on
their list of terrorist organizations despite pressure from conservative
members of Congress.
The "terrorist organization" designation gives U.S. police broad authority
to crack down on suspected terrorists, such as by seizing their bank
accounts or imposing harsher prison sentences for gun possession.
The issue arose during a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on
border security.
Grayling Williams, director of Homeland Security's counternarcotics
enforcement, said there already are enough laws to combat drug trafficking
in the United States. He also cautioned against using laws and tactics that
might be too severe.
"Do we call gangs on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant terrorists because
they engage in rival gun battles?" Williams said during the hearing of the
subcommittee on oversight, investigations and management.
The Mexican news media is closely following the debate about whether the
U.S. military and police use tactics reserved for terrorists against the
cartels.
The Mexican government has warned the United States against any actions that
could infringe on its sovereignty.
A war between the cartels and the Mexican government that started in
December 2006 has claimed about 35,000 lives.
A "terrorist" designation for drug cartels also would make it easier for the
Justice Department to extradite gang members to the United States.
Williams said the Mexican government does not seem to be making much
progress in its drug war.
However, Amy Pope, the Justice Department's deputy chief of staff for the
criminal division, said using a federal law that authorizes severe action
against terrorists would not help in prosecuting drug gangs.
"We have very, very powerful penalties here in the United States," she said
during the hearing. "Having another crime won't make a difference."
She suggested that Congress give law enforcement agencies more resources to
track down gang members rather than making the laws stiffer.
Leading the effort in Congress to classify Mexican drug cartels as
terrorists is Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee on
oversight, investigations and management.
He introduced a bill March 30 asking the State Department to classify Los
Zetas, Sinaloa, La Familia Michoacana and three other cartels as foreign
terrorist organizations.
"In my view, we got to call them what they are," McCaul said. "Their tactics
are certainly like a terrorist."
He was joined in calling for a tougher stance against the cartels by Arizona
State Attorney General Tom Horne, who said the violence in Mexico is
increasingly spreading across the border.
Examples he mentioned included a beheading in Phoenix in October, a
firefight in a rural Arizona town between drug cartel rivals earlier this
year and the shooting last month of an agent from the attorney general's
office.
This week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon repeated his position that the
U.S. market for drugs is feeding the violence in his country.
Calderon spoke while attending the Americas Conference in Washington, D.C.
He said an attitude among some Americans that marijuana is "cool" or
"fashionable" is making it harder to stop drug trafficking.
He also criticized states that have legalized the purchase of small amounts
of marijuana, normally for medicinal use. Fifteen states have legalized the
personal use of marijuana for medical reasons.
Calderon said marijuana is addictive and often leads to a worsening drug
problem for users.
"I think there needs to be a little consistency in political policies,"
Calderon said during a meeting that included U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
Read more:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90048355?Federal%20Officials%20Will%
20Not%20Designate%20Mexican%20Drug%20Cartels%20as%20%26%23147%3BTerrorists%2
6%23148%3B#ixzz1MHP7nYcL
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