Do To The Mexican Border What We’ve Done To Iraq?

With a progressive legislative score of just 24 out of 100, Democratic Congressman Ciro Rodriguez certainly wouldn’t be classified as a favorite of liberal Americans such as myself. As we get closer to the 2010 congressional election, however, the challenger to Rodriguez for the Democratic Party nomination bears some critical examination as well.

That challenger, Miguel Ortiz, is framing his campaign in light of his military experience in Iraq. Certainly, the experience Ortiz gained in Iraq qualifies him to make certain statements about American foreign policy there with a certain credibility. Ortiz doesn’t stop there, however. Instead, Ortiz applies the model of the Iraq war to other policies as well, and sometimes the ideas don’t translate very smoothly.

For example, Ortiz proposes doing to the Mexican border what the United States has done to Iraq:

“As a result of drugs coming into the U.S. and guns and ammo going from the U.S., the Mexican-U.S. border has become a civil war territory among drug cartels. It also can be a haven for terrorists to come to U.S. territory. We have to stabilize the area as we have done in IRAQ and in the Middle East.”

The premise of Ortiz’s border policy is that the United States has, in fact, stabilized Iraq. Actually, the United States created violent instability in Iraq. Six years after the American occupation of Iraq began, the violence continues. U.S. foreign policy more broadly in the Middle East has not been successful in creating stability either. So, why would Ortiz use American Middle East policy as a model for how to keep the U.S. border with Mexico crime free?

Specifically, how does Miguel Ortiz propose that the methods of the Iraq war be applied to our border with Mexico? Most of the fighting among drug cartels takes place on the Mexican side of the border. Does Ortiz suggest that the United States invades Mexico and occupies the border region? In the Middle East, that strategy has not brought Israel a lasting solution.

It’s great that Democrats in the 23rd congressional district in Texas are having a competitive election for their party’s nomination this coming year. However, in order for that contest to improve the quality of that district’s representation in Washington D.C., challenger Miguel Ortiz will need to do a great deal more careful thinking about the issues facing his district and our nation.