CNN's Wian, Dobbs falsely claim Obama silent on "Mexican drug cartels"

On the December 16 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN correspondent Casey Wian falsely claimed that President-elect Barack Obama has said nothing about Mexican drug cartels "since he was elected, and even before that." Dobbs responded: "Well, you know, he's certainly not alone in his -- well, in his lack of expression on the issue, because most liberals in the country simply do not want to discuss the reality that Mexico remains the source of the drugs serving this nation's extraordinary drug habit."

Wian said: "[Y]ou talk about the Bush administration and their failure to help Mexico or convince Mexico or urge Mexico to control the drug trade across our borders. It seems as if the Obama administration, the upcoming Obama administration, is not taking it very seriously either. We looked to see what President-elect Obama has had to say about Mexican drug cartels since he was elected, and even before that -- we couldn't find a thing, Lou."

In fact, Obama has made several statements on the subject of Mexican drug cartels. In a February 20, 2008 Dallas Morning News op-ed, Obama wrote:

The hard work of comprehensive immigration reform must be done at home; we will be a nation of laws and immigrants. But we also have to work with Mexico to crack down on both illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations that threaten people on both sides of the border.

This will take new investments and new partnerships. Here's some of what we need to do:

• Increase technology and real-time intelligence-sharing to allow U.S. and Mexican authorities to track and dismantle drug-trafficking cartels.

• Invest in anti-drug education on both sides of the border to reduce demand for illicit narcotics.

• Make a concerted effort to disrupt arms smuggling and money laundering from the United States that supplies Mexican drug cartels with weapons and funds.

In addition, on May 23, Obama gave a speech titled "Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas," in which he said, "Mexican drug cartels are terrorizing cities and towns. [Mexican] President [Felipe] Calderón was right to say that enough is enough. We must support Mexico's effort to crack down. But we must stand for more than force -- we must support the rule of law from the bottom up. That means more investments in prevention and prosecutors; in community policing and an independent judiciary."

Further, on November 7, the Associated Press reported that Calderón's office had issued a statement saying that Obama had pledged continued support for Mexico's fight against organized crime and drug trafficking. According to the statement, Obama told Calderón that he was "conscious of the difficulty of the battle," and offered "decisive" U.S. support.

From the December 16 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:

DOBBS: I disagree entirely with George Grayson at George Mason University. I mean, the idea that we can't do something about this until we stop all of the addicts in this country? That's the kind of thinking that certainly will propel us into the 21st century drug-free and addiction-free. My God. Why isn't there some urgency here?

WIAN: It's amazing, Lou, because -- I mean, you talk about the Bush administration and their failure to help Mexico or convince Mexico or urge Mexico to control the drug trade across our borders. It seems as if the Obama administration, the upcoming Obama administration, is not taking it very seriously either. We looked to see what President-elect Obama has had to say about Mexican drug cartels since he was elected, and even before that -- we couldn't find a thing, Lou.

DOBBS: Well, you know, he's certainly not alone in his -- well, in his lack of expression on the issue, because most liberals in the country simply do not want to discuss the reality that Mexico remains the source of the drugs serving this nation's extraordinary drug habit. The United States, with about just under 5 percent of the world's population, consuming about two-thirds of the world's illegal drugs, and this government and the American people, apparently without the political will to stop it, and -- continue to permit the devastation of millions of lives in this country.