POST 1

Jennifer: Given the vast expanse of our borders, especially those between the United States and Mexico, it is extremely difficult to ensure complete border security and prevent the flow of illegal crossing and the movement of narcotics and other materials that can be used against the United States. There are many debates about the most appropriate manner to use our finite resources, which include building a fence, adding border security agents, investing in technology, and partnering with other nations. What do you feel is the most effective method or methods to improve the security of our borders?

POST 2

It seems that the terrorist activities in Mexico still get media attention because the two in some way work in the same manner. Mexican cartels are resorting to terrorism as a means to intimidate and coerce authorities into abandoning specific policies. These have also been warning signs that Mexican drug cartels may be willing to take actions that cross over to international terrorism (Schtulmann, 2010).
The underlying difference between acts of terrorism carried out by cartels in Mexico and those used by extremist groups in the Middle East or Europe is the lack of a fundamental political or religious ideology motivating them. In Mexico, the rationale for the cartels is to protect their multimillion-dollar operations. In Colombia, the cartels also financed and influenced various armed insurgent groups.

Some of the movements of the cartel include financing of domestic guerrilla movements opening a new front of war in the current conflict. Cartels have conspired to or aided external terrorist organizations to target foreign nationals or foreign assets in Mexico. Cartels have aided terrorist organizations or criminal gangs to attempt to smuggle a weapon of mass destruction or its components through Mexican territory, and also using guerrilla movements or radical groups to carry out terrorist attacks (Schtulmann, 2010).

Terrorists and insurgents are increasingly turning to Transnational Criminal Organization (TOC) to generate funding and acquire logistical support to carry out their violent acts. The Department of Justice reports that 29 of the 63 organizations on its 2010 Consolidated Priority Organization Targets list were associated with terrorist groups. Involvement in the drug trade by the Taliban and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is critical to the ability of these groups to fund terrorist activity (whitehouse.gov). While the crime-terror nexus is mostly opportunistic, this nexus is critical especially if it were to involve the successful criminal transfer of WMD material to terrorists or their penetration of human smuggling networks as a means for terrorists to enter the United States. Expansion of Drug Trafficking despite noticeable counterdrug successes in recent years, mainly against the cocaine trade, illicit drugs remain a serious threat to the health, safety, security, and financial well-being of Americans. The demand for illicit drugs, both in the United States and abroad, fuels the power, impunity, and violence of criminal organizations around the globe.

Counterterrorism experts believe that radical Muslims and Islamic terrorists routinely sneak into the U.S. across the Southwest border since many of them are indistinguishable from Mexican illegal aliens. Drug trafficking alone has created such a massive network of corruption that allows for possible terrorist threats and weapons to seep across the border. The corruption and violence is directly or indirectly due to the insatiable U.S. demand for drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines, all of which are produced in Latin America and smuggled into the U.S. along an incredibly efficient network along with hundreds of tons of drugs, people, terrorists, potentially weapons of mass destruction.

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) wants to involve all states who have an interest in reduction, ability and willingness in taking steps to stop the flow of such items at sea, in the air, or on land. The increasingly aggressive efforts by proliferators to stand outside or to evade existing nonproliferation norms, and to profit from such trade, requires new and stronger actions by the international community.
The involvement of insurgents and extremists groups in criminal activity, has been a concern for decades. The interactions between international terrorists and criminals is increasing making the U.S. vulnerable against attacks by terrorist groups that have enhanced criminal capabilities and financial resources. An attack of combined criminal and terrorist activity might also affect the global economy and U.S. foreign policy goals (fas.org, 2010). The PSI is asking all states concerned with this threat join in similarly committing to undertake effective measures in forbidding the transfer or transport of weapons of mass destruction, adopt streamline procedures for rapid exchange of relevant information concerning suspected proliferation activity, to review and work to strengthen their relevant national legal authorities where necessary to accomplish the objectives and work to strengthen international law and frameworks, and to take specific actions in support of interdiction efforts regarding cargoes of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery methods or related materials (state.gov).