JUAREZ VIOLENCE: COOPERATION, AS ALWAYS, IS THE KEY

In case you think that drug violence in Juarez is all gone now that
the Mexican army is there, think again. This past weekend proved how
adaptable the perpetrators of violence are.

Even with army troops and additional law enforcement officers
blanketing the city, at least 20 people were slain during the
three-day weekend, including a return to the gruesome beheadings that
have marked violence in the past.

This time, however, the violence touched El Paso in a very personal
way as a 15-year-old girl, a student at Coronado High School, was
shot at a birthday party Saturday night. She later died at a Juarez
medical facility.

It is painfully apparent that Juarez remains an extremely dangerous
place and that there's a good reason for travel warnings. And the
violence continues to touch the U.S. side of the border.

In Chihuahua over the weekend, Mexican troops took the battle to the
bad guys when they were fired upon and then stormed a house.
Unfortunately, that's what it's going to take, at least in part, to
quell the drug violence.

The past weekend was also another indication to the U.S. government
that border security remains a top issue and must be dealt with
effectively and expeditiously. This, of course, involves working
closely with the Mexican government.

The violence hurts both sides of the border and it's in the interests
of both Mexico and the United States to stop the violence. Bilateral
cooperation is the key.