Drug Trafficking and Genocide in Mexico

[Magda Hassan]

From an email from Tosh

Drug Trafficking and Genocide in Mexico

by Kathleen M. Acklin

According to a recent article in the Mexican daily El Universal, 4,001 drug war-related deaths occurred in the first seven months of 2009. These deaths are directly attributable to drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) operating in Mexico. Many of these deaths, especially those of women and children, have been of collateral victims—innocents who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, one might ask whether there is any right place in northern Mexico—especially in Chihuahua, which borders the biggest DTO customer, the United States, and accounts for 1,626 (40.6 percent) of the DTO-related deaths.
How is this genocide? After all this is not a government carrying out torture and murder in order to wipe out an ethnic or religious group. The killings are being carried out by criminals, either for financial gain, to control territory, or to terrorize the population. These are valid questions, of course, and to address these points, it is important to understand what constitutes genocide and who can and does perpetrate this horrific crime.
According to Article 6 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute, genocide involves, acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The definition of genocide victim has been expanded to include groups identifiable through political affiliation or economic class. Similarly, besides motives such as dealing with a perceived threat to the government or its policies, destroying those one hates, and pursuing an ideological transformation of society, another common motive for genocide is to achieve financial or material gain. It is important to note that the perpetrator need not be a state's government or its military, but may be an international organization, such as a United Nations peacekeeping force, or a terrorist or insurgent organization.
To determine whether the violence in Mexico constitutes genocide there are three components to identify and define:
the perpetrator(s);
the perpetrators’ motive(s); and
the victims.
In the case of Mexico, the genocide perpetrators are drug trafficking organizations that are often classified as criminal insurgencies—much like the FARC in Colombia and their predecessors, the Medellin and Cali cartels. Based on their activities, including kidnapping, rape, torture, beheading, and, of course, murder, Mexican DTOs can also be classified as terrorist organizations. Their motives are clearly financial gain and control over territory. Consequently, Mexican DTOs, based on their motives and the widely-accepted definition of genocide perpetrator outlined above, clearly belong in the category of genocide perpetrator. But, what about the victims—can these murdered men, women, and children be considered victims of genocide? If the above-stated expanded definition of genocide victim is applied, then without a doubt the casualties of the drug war in Mexico are also victims of genocide. Why? The reason is that these victims derive almost exclusively from the lower economic strata of Mexican society. In other words, they are poor indigenous or mestizo people. Consequently, the victims of Mexico’s drug war, on the bases of both their ethnicity and their economic class, fit within the definition of genocide victims.


QUESTIONS


FARC and COL cartels perpetrated atrocities and genocide. Why did we recognize this and help the GOC, but we do not do the same in Mexico?


If this is genocide, why isn’t the U.S. taking action? Bosnia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, etc.
Could it be because we (or powerful and/or large groups in the U.S.) are complicit with (or dependent on) the perpetrators?
We sell them guns
We buy their drugs
[size=12]Kathleen M Acklin NDIC Latin American Specialist (202) 231.3410
















[/SIZE]

[Jan Klimkowski]

This is disinformation in the sense of perpetrated by an agency

FARC guilty of genocide?

The NDIC is presumably this mob:

The National Defense Intelligence College, (formerly known as the Joint Military Intelligence College), is an accredited education and research institution serving the United States Intelligence Community by preparing personnel for senior positions in the U.S. Armed Forces and the national security structure. The College offers degree and certificate programs in intelligence at the graduate and undergraduate level. Since 1963, over 80,000 military and civilian students have completed courses or participated in the College's varied academic programs. The College, located at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC, currently is authorized by the United States Congress to award the Bachelor of Science in Intelligence and the Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degrees.

Background
It was established by DoD Directive and attached to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The United States Congress authorized the MSSI degree in 1980 and the BSI degree in 1997.


[edit] Student eligibility
All prospective full-time NDIC students must meet the following requirements:

Be U.S. citizens who are members of the U.S. Armed Forces or are federal government employees
Be nominated by their parent organization, and
Possess a TS/SCI security clearance prior to enrollment

[edit] Vision and mission
The vision of the NDIC is to "be the Intelligence Community Center of Excellence for educating military and civilian intelligence professionals in the 21st century."

The mission of the NDIC is to "Educate military and civilian intelligence professionals who are able to satisfy intelligence requirements as full partners in safeguarding and advancing the nation’s interests. Conduct and disseminate relevant intelligence research."


[edit] History
The United States Department of Defense established the Defense Intelligence School in 1962 to consolidate existing U.S. Army and Navy academic programs in strategic intelligence. In 1980, the U.S. Congress authorized the School to award the Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degree. In 1981, the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the School. That same year, DoD rechartered the institution as the Defense Intelligence College, placing additional emphasis on its research mission.

Since then, the College has added an off-campus program at the National Security Agency and has encouraged a steady increase in enrollment from civilian agencies. On campus, it has also added two part-time graduate programs, one designed specifically for military reservists. Students from throughout the Intelligence Community attend the College, and they include active duty and reserve military personnel from each of the services (including the Coast Guard), DoD, and other federal civilian employees.

Renamed the Joint Military Intelligence College in 1993, it is today educating the future leaders of the Intelligence Community into the 21st century by offering a demanding and dynamic undergraduate and graduate curriculum. In addition, the College sponsors research and publication opportunities for students and faculty, attracts noteworthy individuals as distinguished speakers, and provides field trips to key intelligence activities. Its students also participate in field exercises and simulations in partnership with their peers at the military staff and war colleges. Through the innovation of its faculty and staff, and the support of senior Intelligence Community leaders, the College seeks continuous improvement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_De...ce_College

Here's their website:

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/