Time to invade this so-called ally?
[Y]ou may have heard that the US is operating drones down on the Mexican border. But now it turns out the Mexicans are running their own drones along the US border. And one of them crashed this week into a backyard in El Paso.
Expect more Churchillian rhetoric from the right:
In 2013 and beyond, though, all bets are off. If the Mexican government cannot contain the violence in that country, or more bloodshed occurs on the U.S. side of the border, either the Mexican government may request humanitarian aide, or the U.S. would be justified in acting unilaterally to go into Mexico to end the drug cartels’ brutal terrorism (it’s not like it hasn’t happened before). In fact, if the violence on the U.S. side of the border does not cease, or escalates further, whomever is sitting in the oval office will be hard pressed not to go into Mexico.
Nation Build or Annex Mexico?
The question then become what to do afterward. Is the U.S. ready for another protracted foray into nation building? Or, in the alternative, does Mexico enter the United States as the 51st state?
Cain
I hope we annex Mexico. Those fuckers will suddenly will understand what it means to have a “white minority” then.
assholes.
cain
General Stuck
Is Woodrow Wilson available?
Corner Stone
Who do these idiots think sold Mexico the drones?
DroneCor, INC. Registered in Utah or Kansas or some other Real American district.
BGinCHI
Where’s Randinho?
We’d move up in the FIFA rankings for sure.
dmsilev
Invade Mexico, huh? Somebody get General Tyler there a rifle and a one-way ticket to the Rio Grande.
dms
handy
Annexing Mexico would certainly be one way to solve the whole illegal alien question.
Although I’m guessing Red State and the like would continue to insist they would still be illegal, even those inside former Mexico.
freelancer
So is Teddy Roosevelt not a progressive or a sociaIist anymore? Have they re-reclaimed him again?
PeakVT
whomever is sitting in the oval office will be hard pressed not to go into Mexico.
I’m hard pressed not to say this is the dumbest thing I’ve read all week.
Zam
They will be the new Puerto Rico, they get to vote sorta, but it doesn’t really count.
Ripley
Marshall at TPM sounds prissy/panicky on this one: “I was, like, they have drones too?”
Mexico’s all like, “si bitches, we jacked ’em from all y’all!”
Facebook the nation….
Jim C.
Annex Mexico!
Talk about the one action that would secure a permanent Democratic majority.
I mean, sweet Zombie Jesus. Hispanics already vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. Now imagine adding millions and millions more of them.
dmsilev
Now I’m trying to visualize the “51st state” with its 110 million (roughly) inhabitants.
All thoughts of morality and so forth aside, don’t these morons have any idea of how big Mexico is?
dms
steviez314
Burritos with refried beans=weapons of mass destruction.
Dos Equis man= Saddam Hussein.
The water=biological weapons.
What am I missing?
cathyx
If we annex Mexico, does that make all the illegal immigrants legal?
Zam
@dmsilev: Dirty poor Mexican’s don’t count as people…
dmsilev
Also, too, it’s like we’re living through a bad remake of the 19th century. If we’re going to do that, can we at least build some steam trains? I like steam trains.
dms
Jim C.
@Zam:
Maybe a new 3/5ths compromise could be worked out where Mexicans are concerned. :-)~~
freelancer
@steviez314:
I’m all for this. I hate that fucking ad campaign.
Cheryl from Maryland
Now that’s a “Dream Act.”
gwangung
@dmsilev:
That was a rhetorical question, right?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
“Like it or not, Mexico is America’s next Afghanistan” he says. He has no idea how true it will be. A continuation of a war we cannot win. Watch the Empire crumble at an accelerated rate.
Alex S.
Well there’s got to be some war after 2014.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@freelancer: Those ads are funny. I especially like the one where he’s asked to comment on manscaping, and he says “I don’t even know what that means.”
dmsilev
And of course, we all know that if this particular right-wing wank came about, the wingnuts would immediately start clamoring to invade Honduras (again).
Since this *does* seem like a farcical reprise of the 19th century, I’m reminded of a bit of rhetoric about the Crittenden Compromise, that it “would amount to a perpetual covenant of war against every people, tribe, and state owning a foot of land between here and Tierra del Fuego.”
dms
merl
they sound more Walter Mittyish to me than Churchillian.
bobbo
If we invade Mexico, doesn’t that just bring us closer to Lou Dobbs’ dreaded North American Union? Shouldn’t every rightwinger’s head be exploding?
Rommie
Oh goody – does that mean 16 years later, we finally have Civil War II? Of course, things nowadays move so much faster, so maybe just one election cycle later.
I found out Mayan clothing is not practical for northern winters. Maybe the appropriate designs and colors will have to do.
Why stop at Mexico? The Monroe Doctrine works tons better if the entire hemisphere is the United Lots of States of America.
Zam
@Jim C.: If Mexico did become a state that would most certainly come up. The massive shift in electoral politics it would create would ensure some Senator from a tiny ass state demands that their 500,000 person home state would no longer have fair representation if Mexicans get to vote like white people.
Davis X. Machina
Why, when these guys hate Woodrow Wilson so much, do they want to emulate his first great foreign policy adventure?
BGinCHI
Countdown till the “most interesting man in the world” guy from the Dos Equis commercials becomes President.
Zam
Also aren’t we supposed to invade Haiti soon?
Pangloss
“Annex Mexico? Now you’re talking amnesty for illegals!”
*** grabs popcorn for an entertaining series of head explosions ***
Pangloss
@Zam: It’s going to be a full dance card of invasions under Presidente Palin.
dms
@PeakVT: not least of which is the fact that it should read:
WHOEVER is sitting in the oval office will be hard pressed not to go into Mexico
Tonal Crow
So now Republicans want amnesty for ALL Mexicans? I thought they were 100% agin amnesty for ANY Mexican!
gene108
51st STATE!!!!
The best way to solve our nation building problems should be to make nations we occupy states.
If we did this with Iraq and Afghanistan, we’d not have to worry about their Constitutions, laws, governments not functioning, etc., because they’d have U.S. laws; the laws of the greatest country God every allowed to be created in the history of the planet Earth (as Sean Hannity likes to say) would be there laws.
How can you make those people lives any better, than to incorporate them into such greatness?
Mexico the 51st State? It’s a no brainer!!! It’d cut down on illegal immigration in a heart beat and clear up all the back log from the USCIS overnight. Win-win.
Pangloss
I’ll bet you 50 Ameros it never happens.
dmsilev
Also worth noting that the actual incident wasn’t really all that big a deal, and was treated as such by the people on the scene:
“Their thingy crashed. We gave them their thingy back.”
dms
srv
I suspect the cartels have their own stealthy drones also, for transport.
Let’s just carve out AZ and the border area and call it Dystopia. Wall it off and move all the teabaggers there.
Bnut
On the flip side, at least, for once, we’d be invading a place with some nice R&R. East Africa and AfPak suck in that regard.
liberty60
Wait- What?
The TPM article mentions that they bought them from Israel-
Are we talking about invading Israel?
Y’know, not differentiating between terrorists and their suppliers?
Jennifer Rubin, standby for commentary….
dmsilev
@Bnut: Hmmm. So, what if we arm all of the spring-break college students heading for various beach spots along the Gulf coast? Given how badly they behave *without* the benefit of fully-automatic weapons, I’m sure the Mexicans would surrender within a week.
dms
Linda Featheringill
@freelancer:
I think that the Dos Equis man is cute. And the ads are so over the top that they are funny.
Maybe it’s a chick thing.
Zifnab
As a resident of the Glorious Free Republic of Texas, I simply cannot wait for a massive military confrontation a few hundred miles away from my house.
Boy howdy, wouldn’t that be awesome.
Bnut
@dmsilev: Tell all the frat boys that Cabo and Cancun are a no go. Give them some boom vests and a handle of Jack. Problem solved.
Cain
@gene108:
Yah, but man, our corn subsidies are going to be unwieldy when we extend them to the mexican farmers. Hell, I bet the midwest will have to start growing something else since corn is going to be waay waay easier to grow over there. Cuz all the mexican labor they utilize now are gonna go back to the mexican state!
cain
liberty60
OK, a bit off-topic-
But today alone, I have read two wingers (Geo. Will & RedState) quote Wikileaks solemnly, in order to bolster whatever narrative they are making.
Seems pretty damn convenient to have raw unvarnished truth to use in your journalistic endeavors.
Too bad the poor bastard who gave it to them is being tortured for his troubles.
dmsilev
@Bnut: By “problem”, I assume you mean the excessive frat-boy population problem?
I think we’re on to something here. Bonus points for attracting chapters of the Young Republicans. Definitely need to thin *that* herd.
dms
Svensker
@liberty60:
Heh. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. If only.
jl
As long as California gets the Bajas, I am cool with it.
And, if possible the whole Pacific coast down to Oaxaca would be nice too.
Or we could just do the sensible thing and try decriminalizing drugs first.
But war should be first option, I guess. That is the way patriots are supposed to think now.
Geeno
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): My personal fave is “He lives vicariously … through himself”
Actually
@Corner Stone:
I think they were Israeli…
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/unmanned_mexican_drone_crashes_near_el_paso_texas.php?ref=fpa
bcinaz
Mexico as the 51st State? Well that would certainly create the biggest Congressional delegation not named California, and OMG they already have socialized medicine. I can see how this appeals to Wingnuts, anything to drive down wages and labor costs is worth doing.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
All I can say is that if I get an invitation to be in an El Paso wedding party the answer is “no thanks, I feel safer up here in El Norte”.
Martin
I love how it’s dawned on nobody from the right why the drug cartel problem only seems to be happening against the US border. Problems near Belize or Guatamala? Nope. Problems in the middle of the country? Nope.
Tip: When things get worse the closer they get to you, the problem is you.
gnomedad
@dmsilev:
No, no, no, just Mexico, not the Mexicans. We’ll deport ’em. Much shorter border between Mexico and Guatemala / Belize. We’ll build that wall; no sweat.
Bob L
You would think reforming the drug laws in this country would be vastly cheaper than another war. But I guess I don’t have my head up my backside to the point I am incapable of self criticism like a Red Stater to see why another protracted, futile war of occupation isn’t a grand thing.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@gnomedad:
Poor
MexicoUnited States, so far from God, so close to Canada./Porfirio Diaz
joes527
@dmsilev:
… and the same number of senators as North Dakota.
Donald G
Assuming we manage to annex the whole country and assuming we allow them to keep their currently extant division into states and assuming that we grant those territories statehood in the US, Mexico would be 51st through 81st states of the United States.
Calouste
@joes527:
Mexico has 31 states at the moment. I don’t think they’re going to settle for just two Senators.
Bnut
@dmsilev: Something about 2 birds and 1 stone. I used to a be a frat boy. I’m like the Julian Assange of fraternity life.
Donald G
On the plus side, it should mean the effective end of the English as the Sole Official Language of the US movement.
MattR
It’s like these idiots were listening to Ron White without realizing it was a joke.
joes527
@Donald G:
Getting 98 senators all pointed in the same direction at the same time in order to get ANYTHING done … that shouldn’t be too hard, should it?
Donald G
And another thought: Could you imagine the reaction of the Malkinites with their pervasive fear of Hispanic reconquista of the American Southwest. If the wingers attack and annex Mexico, and the Mexicans don’t fight back, they end up winning Aztlan without having to fire a shot.
Anglo Arizonans would crap their pants.
Roger Moore
@steviez314:
Illegal immigrants = al Qaeda
MattR
@Donald G: I would love to see the Mexicans greet our soldiers with flowers and treat them as liberators, like the Right was expecting the Iraqis to do. Not that it would actually happen, but it would be quite hilarious if it did.
Donald G
@MattR: You know, Matt, there just might be the makings of a satirical film in this concept.
Punchy
What the hell would we do with the fence that’s there? Move it to Canada?
scav
ah, the thought of Feliz Navidad being entered into the war on Christmas affray . . .
MattR
@Punchy: You obviously didn’t watch the Ron White clip I posted. We’re gonna keep buying up countries and moving that wall south until we get to Panama.
Stefan
I realize I shouldn’t even give this teenage-level reverse-“Red Dawn” masturbatory fantasy the slightest credence, but…..how many people are in Mexico? About 150 million? Right now the US is stretched to the limit occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, which combined have about half the population Mexico does…..
Glotones!!!!
Jody
…all this talk of the sudden influx of Hispanic voters due to theoretically annexing Mexico does not take into account the numerous camps into which suspected Hispanics would be concentrated. You know, to protect them from themselves, and separate potential Hispano-islamo-terrorists from the general public. For their own good.
Fuzz
This is too ridiculous to even make fun of. You know what the real shame is though? The Mexican people are killing and dying all for the sake of getting us stoned, and killing each other with our weapons. They don’t sell military grade M4s in Mexico, but they have dozens of gun shops across the border on our side within driving distance. The cartels actually buy a lot of their weapons legally in the US, or buy them from corrupt cops, who got the guns from us to start with. Plus the Mexican police and military are so corrupt they’re almost at Afghan/Iraqi levels. The whole thing is really sad and complex, and much like every sad and complex foreign policy/security issue (Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, now Mexico) the right wingers want to solve it by sending in the military.
AAA Bonds
If we attempted to hold Mexico, we’d fail miserably, especially now. It would be Iraq times a million in terms of insurgents’ access to military hardware and the training to use it.
If you don’t believe me . . .
keestadoll
I’ve been for just buying off/annexing Mexico for ages. Amenesty–? Dead issue. Drug cartels—? Try decapitating a hippie Humboldt grower–their heads grow back and they’ll out fox you with superior product!
Hell, you could even give an decent argument to the Right: a WHOLE COUNTRY full of conservative Catholics!
Svensker
@Bnut:
Not sure exactly what that means, but I like it.
Ken
@Donald G: But why would Mexico want to remain only 31 states? They could divide themselves into two or three thousand states, under the terms by which all the other states were admitted. Heck, by population the Mexico City metropolitan area could become over five hundred states. You’d never see a Presidential candidate north of the (former) border again.
Sleeping Dog
I’m waiting for the shit-storm when Mexico goes to the UN or the World Court and demands that the US stop sheltering gun running organizations.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Zifnab: I’m sorry to hear that. That is truly frightening.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Bob L: Not for the people who benefit from the drug war machine and fund their operations via property forfeiture. They stand to lose a whole bunch. And for a bonus, they often get paid quite handsomely to wage their war on minorities.
Menzies
Two things:
1) “Whomever” is incorrectly used. It’s “whoever.” Whoever wrote this forgot that whomever is an objective form.
2) Mexico is huge. It’s divided as it is into nearly a dozen states. The whole thing entering as the 51st state would make about as much sense as France annexing Spain as a single département.
Idiots.
mclaren
Don’t be so quick to dismiss this lunacy as “absurd.” No president has ever won re-election with unemployment above 8%, and Obama will lucky to have unemployment that low in the fall of 2012. Indeed, if we get a collapse in the commercial real estate market (likely) or a double-dip recession (possible) or a major Dien Bien Phu-type military defeat in Afghanistan (unlikely) or a default on U.S. treasury debt (given the teabaggers in congress, possible) or a major terrorist attack (unlikely) Obama will become entirely unelectable. That leaves the field to fringe lunatics like Palin, and under a Palin presidency, invading Mexico would probably qualify as the moderate policy option.
Since America has now become the land of forever war, the only question involves “Where’s the next war?” Syria? Lebanon? Yemen? Somalia? Mexico? So many choices, and all of them conveniently bad.
None of you seem to have realized that ever since the military-industrial complex captured the American government and wound up in control of American society, losing endless wars is a good thing. That’s not a bug, that’s a feature. The American military-industrial complex loves endless unwinnable wars — it means an endless gravy train of unlimited funding. We’re bogged down so we need more tanks, more drones, more missiles, more jets, more bombs.
A Mexican invasion has everything the U.S. military-industrial complex wants: we’ll never win, the war will go on forever, attacking Mexico will make things worse so the escalation will go on and on and on… What’s not to like? The money spigots will open wide and the funds will gush. Pure heaven.
Evolved Deep Southerner
@Menzies: I’m assuming your handle is a cross between “Mensa” and “menses?”
Li
#84 When the people in charge are in Heaven when they are creating Hell on Earth, then aren’t we being led by demons and devils?
That strikes me as kind of a bad. Do we need elections, or an exorcism?
Nick the Australian
Or, in the alternative, does Mexico enter the United States as the 51st state?
Mexico — full name the United Mexican States — consists of 31 states plus a federal district.
I’ll bet the dumb fuck at RedState didn’t know that. Didn’t know such a basic fact about the country he thinks the USA should totally invade and take over — a country, I might add, which is right next to his. Hell, I live on the other side of the world and even I knew that about Mexico.
J. Michael Neal
@Evolved Deep Southerner: I just thought he was an Australian history buff.
Viva BrisVegas
@Evolved Deep Southerner:
More like “Mingus”.
Phoenician in a time of Romans
Here’s an idea – declare war on Mexico and lose. As part of the peace treaty, cede them the South.
And then laugh your arses off when they realise they got the shitty end of the deal.
NonyNony
@bcinaz:
I don’t think it would drive down wages and labor costs, since annexing Mexico would mean that everyone in Mexico would fall under US minimum wage laws and anyone who comes up to the Northern 48 to work would be a US citizen … and also covered under US minimum wage laws. Not to mention that lawmakers in Mexico would immediately begin requesting aid to rebuild their newly minted state or territory after the war – including some farm subsidies to rebuild all those farms. Invading Mexico would make the money we’ve spent in Iraq so far look like chump change.
I’ve been hearing right-wing nutjobs talking about “annexing Mexico” for close to 25 years now. I’ve never exactly understood why they wanted to annex Mexico – for some it is clearly about some kind of modern-day “Manifest Destiny” campaign for the US to control all of North America (same nutjobs want to annex Canada! WTF?). Others seem to think it’s the “only way to stop illegal immigration” (yeah, making everyone who could potentially come into the country illegally a citizen certainly is ONE way to stop illegal immigration, but it’s kind of a weird one).