...Congress suggests we give up and go home.
A certain member of Congress, upon discovering that violence
exists in Mexico, has decided that the best thing would be to abandon
diplomatic relations and evacuate everyone:
Expressing astonishment at border patrol arrests of criminals and violence in Mexico, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, called Wednesday for the United States to close all its consulates in Mexico.
Mica spoke at a meeting of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, during a hearing on Mexico violence and U.S. border security. He was responding primarily to testimony given by Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union affiliate of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Mica said he was astonished. He also expressed outrage regarding other testimony given Wednesday about specific acts of violence in Mexico, and concerns that it was spreading into the United States.
The committee chairman, U.S. Rep. Jason E Chaffetz, R-Utah, had called the hearing in part to discuss the prospect of closing three U.S. consulates in the most dangerous border crossing areas in Mexico. Mica upped that proposal.
"There has to be consequences. How many consulates do we have? I count about nine in Mexico. Is that right? I think we should close every one of those consulates immediately. Put the properties up for sale," Mica said. "I think you have to have consequences for actions. The place is out of control."
Now, without ignoring the very real issues of diplomatic security
that are essential to an effective Foreign Service, let's keep a few things in
mind.
One, while there is violence in Mexico, it remains far less
dangerous than plenty of other countries with an American diplomatic presence
even within Latin America (Honduras, Guatemala etc.)
Two, U.S. diplomats live and work in some of the most secure
places of even the more dangerous countries.
Three, there is no such thing as absolute security. You can be
stationed in Finland and slip on a patch of ice.
