Human rights wackos and the Mexican army

LA Times:

Citing alleged rights abuses by Mexican soldiers assigned to the drug war, Human Rights Watch urged the Obama administration Monday to not release tens of millions of dollars in withheld security aid unless Mexico allows such abuse cases to be tried in civilian courts.

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S.-based group said Mexico's military courts had failed to bring to justice troops whom Human Rights Watch holds responsible for a "rapidly growing number of serious abuses."

Under the $1.4-billion multiyear aid package known as the Merida Initiative, the U.S. government is to withhold a 15% portion until the secretary of State reports that Mexico is meeting certain human rights conditions. One condition is that civilian authorities are investigating and prosecuting alleged abuses by troops and federal police "in accordance with Mexican and international law." Withheld funds so far amount to more than $100 million.

The conduct of Mexico's soldiers has attracted growing scrutiny since President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led crackdown on drug traffickers 2 1/2 years ago. He has dispatched 45,000 troops to the country's most violent trafficking zones. In places such as Ciudad Juarez, they carry out basic police duties.

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This is exactly the wrong response to the reports of abuses. What the Mexican army needs is intensive training in counterinsurgency warfare. They are suffering the frustration of dealing with insurgents who camouflage themselves as civilians while they engage in mass murder of competitors and civilians who get in the way.

The army needs to get better at protecting the civilians so they can get the intelligence they need to find and destroy the criminal insurgents. What these Human Rights wackos are suggesting would lead to less protection for the people and would destroy the army's ability to function.

Punishing soldiers who need better training is counterproductive in the extreme.