Drug Trafficking and International Security

Robert Bunker

Dr. Paul Rexton Kan, a Small Wars Journal--El Centro fellow and professor of National Security Studies, US Army War College, has recently published the new book Drug Trafficking and International Security as part of the Peace and Security in the 21st Century series. A description of the 236 page book (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) is as follows:

Global drug trafficking intersects with a vast array of international security issues ranging from war and terrorism to migration and state stability. More than just another item on the international security agenda, drug trafficking in fact exacerbates threats to national and international security. In this light, the book argues that global drug trafficking should not be treated as one international security issue among many. Rather, due to the unique nature of the trade, illegal drugs have made key threats to national and international security more complex, durable, and acute. Drug trafficking therefore makes traditional understandings of international security inadequate.

Each chapter examines how drug trafficking affects a particular security issue, such as rogue nations, weak and failing states, protracted intrastate conflicts, terrorism, transnational crime, public health, and cyber security. While some texts see drug trafficking as an international threat in itself, others place it under the topic of transnational organized crime, arguing that the threats emanate from criminal groups. This book, on the other hand, provides a thorough understanding of how vast array of threats to international security are exacerbated by drug trafficking.

More information and purchase the book at Amazon.

In Mexico, Narco Films vs. Narco Reality by Ioan Grillo, New York Times

Mexico City — It was a television executive’s nightmare: Not only was someone threatening to sue over a TV series, but that person was reputedly the biggest drug trafficker on the planet and the head of a cartel behind a long string of mass executions and torture videos.

The first sign of trouble came in May, after Netflix and Univision released a trailer for their series “El Chapo,” based on the imprisoned Mexican kingpin Joaquín Guzmán. The trafficker’s lawyer announced through various media outlets that he would go to court if his client’s name and story were used without payment. “The señor” — Mr. Guzmán — “has not died. He is not a character in the public domain. He is alive. He has to grant them permission,” the lawyer, Andrés Granados, told a Mexican radio station.

The declarations put the show’s producers in a predicament. If they go ahead with the series, due in 2017, they could face a legal battle — and the possibility that, should he lose, Mr. Guzmán might seek retribution out of court. But if they get into negotiating with Mr. Guzmán, they face other problems. Would they be cooperating with organized crime? El Chapo’s lawyer suggested that he could help make the TV series better by giving details no journalist had yet dug up. But could that mean acting as a propaganda instrument for a crime boss?

The quandary reflects bigger dilemmas in the growing world of narco fiction. Dramatic portrayals of Mexican crime kings, which began as zany B-grade movies, have evolved into wildly popular soap operas, best-selling novels and major Hollywood productions. They are part of a wider narco culture, ranging from pop-music ballads to fashion trends. Meanwhile, from 2007 to 2014 more than 80,000 Mexicans were killed by cartel-related violence, according to a government count…

Read on.

A Homage To Half the Nation's Source of Grunts

Keith Nightingale

A Marine

I was born in a bar and filled many a tavern and tomb. But my Service shines since emerging from that womb.

I filled a Nation’s needs and bled where leaders led. The Sea, the Sky, the Soil, they are my constant bed.

I have a family of friends but we are and were so few. Then and now we gather in our memories to view.

I went where others feared to go and did what others could not do. I had no choice as I would not allow another.

I risked my all and paid the bills for our Nation’s greatest races, I asked nothing for my work but another day of grace and friendly faces.

I have seen the face of terror, the haunting look of fear.

And the solace of my presence-seen always through the tears.

I have seen the smile of a happy child and a parent’s thankful gaze.

My presence made a difference through the smoke and cloudy haze.

I have cried and laughed and bled and died, but I have my own reward.

My sword reflects my pride of Service, our history it honed.

I have gone where told by others with all my friends aboard. For a brief moment, I had and knew no others.

The Flag still flies, the race is won, my spirit flashes from the sword.

The residue of Service lights the fading mind.

I have lived with times and trials that others wish forsaken, as the razor’s edge of sword, my pride is not forgotten.

My uniform is dirty and my friends are less and less. But my life’s reflection is only of the blessed.

From the tavern to my bed, my friends through time all sadly keen, but I can smile and go away for once and always I will be a United States Marine.