Blaming The Law For Criminality

First, we have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton casting blame for Mexican drug violence in the direction of the United States' "war" on drugs:

The United States is at least as responsible as Mexico for the violent drug wars that are roiling its southern neighbor because of an insatiable U.S. market for narcotics, the failure to stop weapons smuggling southward and a three-decade "war" on drugs that "has not worked," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday.

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians," Clinton said.

"How could anyone conclude any differently? . . . I feel very strongly we have co-responsibility," she said....

Now comes the following:

American truck drivers operating near the U.S.-Mexico border are being warned of increasing violence among warring drug cartels and are being told to stay alert against attacks or hijackings.

"Violence amongst Mexican drug cartels in the border states, on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border, has exponentially increased in the past year," according to the alert from First Observer, a trucking security program funded by a Department of Homeland Security grant.

"Truck drivers carry a risk, as they are involved in operations that might interest these criminals," the alert said.

The alert cited the efforts of Mexican President Felipe Calderon to crack down on cross-border smuggling of drugs, which it says has hurt the cartels' operations.

"With these difficulties, the cartels' gangs have become more aggressive and dangerous with their tactics," the alert said. "Violent crimes have surged throughout border cities, and the violence that primarily occurred on the Mexican side has begun to spill into the United States."...

And the better approach is what, exactly?