re: #190 brookly red

there was some guy on the radio today comparing the drug gangs in Mexico to AQ, & he made a good case.

They’re worse than Al-Qaeda, IMO, and for several reasons:

1. They’re highly organized and trained. A lot of the highest ranks in the cartels, especially in Mexico, belong to former military and police officers that have been extensively trained in combat and tactics. Read about Los Zetas sometime. It’s both enlightening and scary when you realize just how disciplined and mercenary they are. Some loser trying to blow up a plane by igniting his underwear is an amateur in comparison.

2. They’re well armed, sometimes even better than the governments they’re going up against, and they’re not afraid to use that power to destroy anyone who gets in their way.

3. They’re right next door and are already a very real threat that’s making inroads in this country. I see it here in Texas, especially in Laredo, where most of my family is, including a few cousins that are cops.

4. They’re motivated by power and profit, which is far deadlier than religious fanaticism. The nutbars in Al-Qaeda have delusions of ruling the world and of forcibly converting or killing unbelievers. That’s child’s play compared to the cartel terrorists who are motivated by money and their position of control.

So yeah. From my point of view, the cartels are much more of a threat. I’m not blind to the threat of radical Islamist fundamentalism, but in terms of proximity, weaponry, and motivation, the cartels have my attention far more.