Lou Dobbs is Smoking Crack Again

My drug war roundup this weekend will be about Lou Dobbs. I've already compiled enough evidence of his drug war insanity from old links to write up a good post, but he showed up on Anderson Cooper's show last night and once again made an ass of himself.

COOPER: Lou, the new Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, promised that he would get tough on drug traffickers. Thus far, he's seized, destroyed thousands of pounds of drugs, extradited a couple of drug lords to the country.

How's he doing?

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I think, Anderson, this may surprise some people. I think he may be doing pretty darn well, certainly in his early two months in office.

This -- this president, Calderon, has already done since taking office on December 2nd of last year -- so we're really at three months -- he has really done more than Vicente Fox in his entire five-year term as head of Mexico. Whether this is public relations posturing, it is a great beginning and something that could be built upon if the Bush -- and I have less problem, frankly, with the Mexican president than I do the U.S. president.

If they could work together, then sensibly they can actually create border security, they could actually go after the drug cartels that are shipping, you know, up to $100 billion worth of illegal drugs into the country. I think it's very encouraging, frankly.

COOPER: You've argued in the past the U.S. hasn't really had the will to win the war on drugs. What are they doing wrong?

DOBBS: Well, a number of things that they are doing wrong. They're acting like this border, which is -- Mexico is the principal source of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines into this country. The numbers rise to $125 billion, that's the highest estimate. It's low is $25 billion going across that border.

But the fact is, a million lives are at stake every year in the country. And if for no other reason, forget there's a small item called a war on terror that we're waging, forget that there are issues with illegal immigration, to stop the drug traffic alone is all that should be required of this government to insist on securing that border and securing our ports.

So does Lou's buddy, Felipe Calderon, agree that the problem can be solved by securing the border? Of course not!

Calderon has lambasted the U.S. decision to build the new border fence — a mix of physical barriers and high-tech virtual fencing. He likens it to the Berlin Wall, and argues that both countries need to improve Mexico's economy to lessen the desire to seek work in the United States.

Calderon also is critical of the Bush administration's efforts to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. The Mexican president says threats his administration has received from drug traffickers will not stop the government's nearly nationwide military crackdown, and he is calling on the United States to do more to help.

"We are, at the end of the day, putting our lives on the line in this battle, and the United States has to come up with something that is more than symbolic gestures, much more," Calderon said in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press.

"Mexico can't diminish the availability of drugs while the U.S. hasn't reduced its demand."

Maybe one day Dobbs (and the rest of America) will figure this out. Felipe Calderon would like for it to happen as soon as possible.