Shifting the drug war

I'm not really sure what to do with all this sanity after the U.S. and Mexico had high-level meetings to discuss dealing with drug trafficking violence:

Responding to a growing sense that Mexico's military-led fight against drug traffickers is not gaining ground, the United States and Mexico set their counternarcotics strategy on a new course on Tuesday by refocusing their efforts on strengthening civilian law enforcement institutions and rebuilding communities crippled by poverty and crime. 

Wait a minute.  We put in a policy, see that it is not functioning well, so then we change it rather than keep it going for a decade while saying it works just fine?  Something must be wrong here.

Under the new strategy, officials said, American and Mexican agencies would work together to refocus border enforcement efforts away from building a better wall to creating systems that would allow goods and people to be screened before they reach the crossing points. The plan would also provide support for Mexican programs intended to strengthen communities where socioeconomic hardships force many young people into crime. 

Less military, more focus on the socio-economic conditions that help fuel poverty?  That's crazy talk.  A comprehensive approach that centers on communities?  No way.

If I'm not careful I might actually get optimistic.