Labeling Mexico
I may be alone in this, but I am already tired of the "labeling Mexico" game. It all started with the the question of whether Mexico was a "failed state." Samuel Logan at Security in Latin America disagrees and makes an argument for a "hollow state."
Given how large and diverse Mexico is, I am really resisting any labels. At this point, it would be like calling the United States the place where everyone drinks Cheerwine.
And now we also get new acronyms. Boz mentioned Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO). Shannon O'Neil refers to Drug-Trafficking Organizations (DTO). Maybe I am getting old, but the good old term "drug trafficker" always referred to a transnational presence and to a broad range of economic activities. So I am a bit Tired of Acronyms (TOA).
3 comments:
There really is a downside to living in DC, particularly working on defense or foreign policy, that turns people into acronym machines. I write e-mails that are essentially strings of acronyms that might as well be a different language to anyone outside the beltway. I try to tone it down on my blog.
But I like TCO. I think it helps describe the issue more accurately than "drug trafficker," and defining the problem is important to getting to the right solution.
Well, at least these acronyms don't create brand new multi-syllabic words like the military uses.
What? You have a problem with SOLIC through TSWG funding PSYOP CONOPs at the JIATF? That's FUBAR.
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