Wednesday, April 20, 2011

US companies ship more arms to Mexico than Afghanistan or Iraq

U.S. companies sold more guns to Mexico in 2009 than to Iraq, Afghanistan or Israel in 2009. According to Narcosphere,
U.S. private-sector suppliers shipped a total of $177 million worth of defense articles — which includes items like military aircraft, firearms and explosives — to Mexico in fiscal 2009...

The onslaught of weapons that hit Mexico in fiscal 2009 via these legal commercial exports is multiplied even further by the thousands of additional illegal weapons that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allegedly allowed to cross the border into Mexico, unchecked...

This double whammy of deadly firepower pouring into Mexico through these U.S.-sanctioned programs also coincides with a major spike in Mexico’s murder rate over the same period.
That suggests to us that Mexico isn't exactly a safe place for an American trucker to drive. Not that an American trucker in his or her right mind would do such a thing. Unfortunately, our federal government is saying a trade deal -- Nafta -- obliges us to open the border to Mexican trucks.

To support such a plan requires (a) ignoring that Mexico is in a state of war and (b) the trade deal would only benefit companies located in Mexico, not in the U.S.

If all this makes you mad, then tell the government!  It's easy. Click on this link, click on the orange "Submit a comment" button, fill in the blanks and write a few lines about why the U.S. should keep the border closed. Be sure to give a reason and keep it clean. Already more than 100 Teamsters have submitted comments (though they're slow to appear because they have to be screened for vulgarities first).