US military assets moving into Mexico.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

One for Sandy: US unarmed drones track drug gangs in Mexico

The US has been sending unarmed drones over Mexico since February to gather intelligence on major drug cartels, the New York Times reports.

Useful information has already been turned over to Mexican authorities, US officials told the paper.

The missions had been kept secret because of Mexican legal restraints and sensitivities over sovereignty.

Mexico's northern border areas have seen much of the violence that has left more than 34,000 dead since late 2006.

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration began sending high-altitude, unarmed drones over Mexican territory in February, aiming to collect information to turn over to Mexican law enforcement agencies.

The paper quotes both American and Mexican officials as saying that Mexico had asked the US to use its drones to track suspects' movements.

Unnamed US officials said drones had gathered intelligence that led to the arrest in Mexico of several suspects in connection with the murder of a US immigration agent, Jaime Zapata.

US President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, formally agreed to continue the surveillance flights during talks in Washington on 3 March, which included a frank exchange of grievances, Mexican and US officials said.

In state department cables released by Wikileaks and published by The Guardian newspaper last December, the US ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, painted an unflattering portrait of the Mexican security forces, and questioned whether President Calderon could win his war on drugs.

Foreign military and law enforcement agents can only operate in Mexico under extremely limited conditions, according to the Mexican constitution.

"It wasn't that long ago when there was no way the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) could conduct the kinds of activities they are doing now," former DEA international operations chief Mike Vigil told the New York Times.

"And the only way they're going to be able to keep doing them is by allowing Mexico to have plausible deniability."

But the rising violence in Mexico has seen the US and Mexico deepen their co-operation to tackle a common threat, officials from both countries told the paper.

[Clinton Huxley]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

I think it's time to invoke the power of the wank fnoglet. Merkins => Absolute Evil Ones.

[Clinton Huxley]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

I think it's time to invoke the power of the wank fnoglet. Merkins => Absolute Evil Ones.

Damned straight!

You are just after all that Mexican oil, probably.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

I think it's time to invoke the power of the wank fnoglet. Merkins => Absolute Evil Ones.

Damned straight!

You are just after all that Mexican oil, probably.

Hey, North Merka. That says it all. It's Merkin oil by rights, mangled festered destiny and all that rot.

[klr]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

I think it's time to invoke the power of the wank fnoglet. Merkins => Absolute Evil Ones.

Damned straight!

You are just after all that Mexican oil, probably.

You still haven't forgiven those uppity colonials for 1776, have you?

[Clinton Huxley]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

I think it's time to invoke the power of the wank fnoglet. Merkins => Absolute Evil Ones.

Damned straight!

You are just after all that Mexican oil, probably.

You still haven't forgiven those uppity colonials for 1776, have you?

I'll forgive when they apologise and admit their mistake.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"We're sorry, we should have done it sooner."

Happy now?

[egbert]

One for Sandy: US unarmed drones track drug gangs in Mexico

The US has been sending unarmed drones over Mexico since February to gather intelligence on major drug cartels, the New York Times reports.

Useful information has already been turned over to Mexican authorities, US officials told the paper.

And rest assured that, given the almost total absence of corruption in Mexican authorities, that none of the intelligence gathered will be passed on to the drug cartels.....

[Clinton Huxley]

"We're sorry, we should have done it sooner."

Happy now?

Not entirely. Hand over a few states you don't want and we'll call it a draw.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"We're sorry, we should have done it sooner."

Happy now?

Not entirely. Hand over a few states you don't want and we'll call it a draw.

You have a use for Alabama?

[Don't Panic]

Damned Yankee Imperialists etc etc etc!

I think it's time to invoke the power of the wank fnoglet. Merkins => Absolute Evil Ones.

Damned straight!

You are just after all that Mexican oil, probably.

You still haven't forgiven those uppity colonials for 1776, have you?

I'll forgive when they apologise and admit their mistake.

Stop and think about this for a minute; do you really want them back?

[Clinton Huxley]

"We're sorry, we should have done it sooner."

Happy now?

Not entirely. Hand over a few states you don't want and we'll call it a draw.

You have a use for Alabama?

Once it's been cleared of the natives.

[Clinton Huxley]

Stop and think about this for a minute; do you really want them back?

Fancy myself as Governor-General of the United Colonies of North America...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I for one welcome our Huxleyian overlords.