This report was published in November 2008. President-elect Barack Obama recently met with President Felipe Calderón of Mexico who offered the President-elect advice on improving America's image in the world.
Meetings between incoming U.S. Presidents and the Mexican Presidents prior to inauguration have become standard in recent years.
EL PASO - Mexico is one of two countries that "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse," according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.
The command's "Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)" report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. "In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.
"The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."
The U.S. Joint Forces Command, based in Norfolk, Va., is one of the Defense Departments combat commands that includes members of the different military service branches, active and reserves, as well as civilian and contract employees. One of its key roles is to help transform the U.S. military's capabilities.
source: El Paso Times. For .pdf of JOE 2008 - click here
The President-elect and Calderon also discussed the North American Free Trade Agreement, with Obama's emphasis being on the rights of labor and environmental issues.
Calderon acknowledged the issues of gangs and drugs and pointed out the efforts he was undertaking regarding these issues.
Calderón has deployed tens of thousands of Mexican soldiers and federal police to fight drug cartels. The United States must do its part, Calderón said, by limiting arms trafficking and reducing drug consumption. "We are working hard on the supply side," he said. "Working on the demand side is critical." source: The Washington Post
This is yet another issue that the Obama Administration will be dealing with, but the up side is that we can have confidence that the new grown ups in The White House will actually be dealing with it.
Hillary Clinton and plans that she has set forth with respect to Department of State, and the other institutions within the government that are supporting reinvigorating and blowing the dust off of the State Department, are also a good sign for hope that the foreboding in the above report may be averted with good leadership, planning and execution.
Rachel Maddow had an informative, interesting and hope inspiring segment on what can, should and will happen (fingers crossed and double-knotted here) with Hillary Clinton's State Department.
I'm going with 'not to worry (too much)' on this one. There is cause for optimism rather than pessimism due to the incoming Administration and the supporting cast of characters.
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