Craig A. Deare

A Tale of Two Eagles

The US-Mexico Bilateral Defense Relationship Post Cold War

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The United States and Mexico share a history shaped in the 19th century by numerous US forces interventions into Mexican territory and US expropriation of considerable swaths of Mexican territory. However, in spite of structural impediments and a history of resentment by Mexico of US intervention into its affairs and territory, the levels of cooperation and understanding slowly began to improve following a series of international and domestic factors. The decline of the former Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall at a global level, coupled with major political and economic challenges and reforms within Mexico are a starting point from which to assess the evolution of the bilateral defense relationship between the United States and Mexico. The American and Mexican militaries have evolved differently over the past 100 years and they each have very different responsibilities, mission sets, orientations, and capabilities. Yet in recent years, the Mexican armed forces have cooperated more closely with their US counterparts. This may be due to explicit direction coming from senior levels of the Mexican government and to operational requirements of the armed forces themselves as they seek to increase their capability and capacity to confront the growing levels in drug trafficking related violence. Today, both countries are dealing with the effects of this increased violence and insecurity in Mexico. Relying primarily on one-on-one interviews with senior practitioners and analysts on both sides of the border, the text examines the evolution of the U.S.-Mexican bilateral defense relationship to better understand how and why this unique relationship has improved, in fits and starts, over the past 25 years. It offers a new understanding of how defense policymakers from each respective country perceive the other, as well as how the lack of trust and understanding between the two neighbors has delayed greater cooperation.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc/Bloomsbury
• Seitenzahl: 432
• Erscheinungstermin: 21. März 2017
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 30mm
• Gewicht: 850g
• ISBN-13: 9781442269422
• ISBN-10: 1442269421
• Artikelnr.: 47082053

Autorenporträt

By Craig A. Deare

Inhaltsangabe

Chapter One An Introduction Chapter TwoHistorical Overview Chapter Three
Mexican Armed Forces And National Security Circa 1990 Chapter Four The
Salinas De Gortari Sexenio Chapter Five The Zedillo Ponce De Leon Sexenio
Chapter Six The Fox Quezada Sexenio Chapter Seven The Calderón Hinojosa
Sexenio Chapter Eight Conclusion EpilogueInitial Impressions of The Peña
Nieto Sexenio Chapter Abstracts CHAPTER ONE AN INTRODUCTION The assault of
Major General Winfield Scott against Veracruz 1847 (and many others events
of less dramatic effect) continue to shape how the Mexican Army views their
counterparts to the north. Although the shared threat during the Second
World War led to a momentary period of relatively positive military
cooperation, the traditional suspicion by the Mexican military (primarily
Army) of their neighbors led to a cordial, formal, polite, but rather
distant relationship. Exacerbating these suspicions, very distinct
institutional defense structures in each country create additional
challenges for effective communication. This chapter introduces the
contemporary context in which the bilateral relationship interacts. CHAPTER
TWOHISTORICAL OVERVIEW An effort to begin to grasp the complexities of
Mexico requires a rudimentary knowledge of several key periods in Mexican
history, as well as an awareness of five key themes that run the length of
its relationship with the U.S. The chapter looks briefly at the indigenous
Indian civilizations inhabiting modern day Mexico, the Spanish conquest and
colonization of the 16th and 17th centuries, the independence movement of
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the liberal versus conservative
struggles of the 19th century, multiple and varied U.S. interventions in
Mexico (with the highlight of the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War), la
Revolución of 1910-1920 (Mexico's Civil War), and the phenomenon of the PRI
in the 20th century. CHAPTER THREE MEXICAN ARMED FORCES AND NATIONAL
SECURITY CIRCA 1990 The armed forces of every country in the world are a
product of a given nation's geography, history, and society. They have
often evolved over time primarily as a reaction to events thrust upon them,
rather than being the result of a conscious political decision to develop
identified capabilities to deal with specific threats. Mexico is no
exception to this generalized trend. Mexico represents a unique case within
Latin America in a variety of ways, and its armed forces are but one
example of that distinctiveness. The previous chapter attempted to
highlight the role of the military as the country developed over the course
of its history; the intent here is to address how the military fits in the
contemporary security environment which Mexico has faced over the past 25
years or so. CHAPTER FOUR THE SALINAS DE GORTARI SEXENIO (1988-1994) This
chapter describes how President Carlos Salinas began efforts to tie the
Mexican economy to the logical economic locomotive of the United States in
a more formal and effective fashion. Despite winning the election by the
narrowest of margins (one allegedly characterized by vote fraud), Salinas
effectively persuaded the Mexican Congress to enter into a Free Trade
Agreement with the U.S. and Canada. The surprise of the Zapatista rebellion
in January 1994 served as a contemporary example of the limitations of the
Mexican military to operate effectively to secure the country. This event
suggested to the political leadership that improvements in Mexican military
capabilities were in order. The bilateral defense relationship witnessed
the beginnings of an incipient reduction in coolness, although traditional
antagonisms and suspicion remained firmly in place. CHAPTER FIVE THE
ZEDILLO PONCE DE LEON SEXENIO (1994-2000) President Ernesto Zedillo
inherited two major crises as he began his second month in office in
January 1995 - the ongoing Zapatista uprising and the Peso Devaluation. The
U.S. reaction to these crises was mixed, much more helpful with the Peso
Devaluation than with the Zapatistas. To further improve Mexico's defense
capacity, a watershed event took place in October 1995 when Dr. William J.
Perry became the first U.S. Defense Secretary to ever visit Mexico. The
invitation by Mexican Defense Secretary General Enrique Cervantes,
certainly authorized by President Zedillo, represented perhaps the clearest
evidence of a conscious desire to strengthen the traditionally proper but
distant relationship. The visit led to the establishment of the U.S.-Mexico
Bilateral Working Group and the beginnings of greater efforts at
cooperation. Senior level policymakers in both countries were charged with
overseeing the process, ensuring that the shortcomings of the basic
structural interface could be overcome. This sexenio also contains perhaps
the best case study of how the two sides view U.S.-Mexico cooperation: the
saga of the 73 Hueys "donated" to the Mexican Air Force, and their return
within a few years characterized as "junk" by the Mexican Defense
Secretary. CHAPTER SIX THE FOX QUEZADA SEXENIO (2000-2006) After more than
70 successive years in power, the Partido Revolucionario Institutional lost
its grip on the Mexican presidency, and Vicente Fox of the Partido de
Acción Nacional ushered in the birth of true democratic alternation of
power in Mexico. President Fox attempted to change the status quo in
Mexico, to include pursuing a foreign policy of greater integration of a
North American community. On the military front, he selected the youngest
secretaries of Defensa and Marina in recent memory. Coinciding with the
election of President George W. Bush, expectations were raised for never
before seen levels of cooperation between the two former governors and
their administrations. U.S. reaction to the attacks of 9-11 had an
unwelcome effect on Mexico; for its part, Mexico's withdrawal from the Rio
Pact days before the one year anniversary of 9-11 sent a confusing signal
to the U.S., raising questions about Mexico's solidarity. This was the
context within which defense cooperation continued to move forward,
including the creation of U.S. Northern Command which managed to upset
Mexican defense authorities. Despite these setbacks, a major highlight of
this period was the unexpected but welcome offer of the Mexican armed
forces to provide unprecedented assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina in August, 2005, providing evidence of a better future. CHAPTER
SEVEN THE CALDERÓN HINOJOSA SEXENIO (2006-2012) Although successive Mexican
governments actively participated in the counternarcotics effort, President
Felipe Calderón was the one who most aggressively confronted the cartels,
declaring war on Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations. Increases in
drug-trafficking related violence raised concerns on both sides of the
border, leading to greater attention by U.S. policymakers. His commitment
to this fight, coupled with increasing U.S. concerns, led to the watershed
Mérida Initiative and an initial U.S. pledge of $1.4 billion over three
years to engage as well. Initial resistance by the Mexican Defense
Secretary to the creation of U.S. Northern Command subsided with his
retirement, and significantly greater security cooperation grew with both
the Mexican Army and Navy. A major blow to these improved relations was the
release by Wikileaks of classified State Department cables critical of the
Mexican government, leading to the departure of U.S. Ambassador Carlos
Pascual. CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSION This chapter analyzes the major
conclusions derived from the multiple case studies reviewed over the course
of the more than 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Salinas
initiatives. It provides recommendations with the intent of maintaining the
gains seen over the past 25 years, and with the hope of improving the
bilateral defense relationship in the immediate and long-term future.
EPILOGUEINITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF THE PEÑA NIETO SEXENIO- U.S. concerns that a
return of the Partido Revolucionario Institutional might represent a
significant retrenchment in the bilateral relationship, and in particular
the greatly enhanced military-to-military links, have been overcome by
President Peña Nieto's policy of continued cooperation with U.S. agencies.
Revelations of National Security Agency intelligence collection efforts
against senior Mexican officials, to include President Peña Nieto, appear
to have been dealt with as little antagonism as possible. Recent
acquisition decisions by both Defensa and Marina to pursue U.S. weapon and
transportation systems are suggestive of deepening ties.