Skirball

Building on three sold-out years, the vibrant Oxford-style public policy debate series, Intelligence Squared U.S., arrives at the Skirball Center for ten provocative and informative live debates on hot-topic issues of the day.

America is to blame for Mexico's drug war

Nearly 10,000 people in Mexico have died in drug-related violence since January 2007. Who, or what is to blame? Some say it is America’s insatiable consumer demand for illicit drugs and the constant flow of our guns, which arm the cartels. Others believe that Mexico’s own government is ineffective in controlling the trade of the drug cartels because of rampant corruption in law enforcement in the country. The US Congress, unable to ignore the rising violence spilling over the border, has approved $700 million in security aid for Mexico, and has promised hundreds of federal agents and intelligence analysts devoted to the problem. Officials on both sides wonder whether this will make a dent in the problem. Has our own “war on drugs” been ineffective, or even counterproductive? Should Mexico’s government take full responsibility for what goes on within its own borders? Should the very idea of criminalization of drugs be re-examined?

Panelists for the motion:
Andrés Martinez, Jeffrey A. Miron and Fareed Zakaria
Panelists against the motion:
  Jorge Castañeda, Chris W. Cox and Asa Hutchinson

Andrés Martinez directs the New America Foundation’s Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program. He was the editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times from 2004-2007, and presided over the newspaper’s op-ed page and Sunday opinion section. Martinez previously served as assistant editorial page editor at The New York Times, was a 2004 Pulitzer Prize finalist and is the author of 24/7: Living It Up and Doubling Down in the New Las Vegas. He is a native of Mexico. Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer and director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Miron holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T.. Miron has published more than 25 articles in refereed journals and 50 op-eds in the Boston Herald, Boston Business Journal, Boston Globe, nytimes.com, CNN.com, and other outlets. Miron’s commentary on economic policy has appeared on CNN, PBS, and Fox television, BBC radio, and other media around the world. Fareed Zakaria was named editor of Newsweek International in October 2000, overseeing all Newsweek’s editions abroad. The magazine has an audience of over 24 million worldwide. He also writes a regular column for Newsweek, which appears in Newsweek International and the Washington Post. Additionally, he hosts CNN’s show Fareed Zakaria GPS, which airs worldwide. From 1992 to 2000, he was managing editor of Foreign Affairs, the widely-circulated journal of international politics and economics. Jorge Castañeda was foreign minister of Mexico from 2000 to 2003. Castañeda is a renowned public intellectual, political scientist, and prolific writer, with an interest in Mexican and Latin American politics, comparative politics and US-Mexican and U.S.-Latin American relations. He taught at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM), at Princeton University, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 1997, he was appointed Global Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Latin American Studies at NYU. Chris W. Cox is the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA), the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America. Cox oversees seven ILA divisions: Federal Affairs, State & Local Government Affairs, Public Relations, Grassroots, Finance and Administration, Research & Information, Conservation, Wildlife & Natural Resources; as well as the Office of Legislative Counsel. Prior to joining the NRA, he served as a legislative aide for a member of Congress, managing judiciary issues, including criminal justice reforms and firearms-related matters. Asa Hutchinson has been elected three times to the United States Congress and has been confirmed by the United States Senate both as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and as the nation’s first undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security after the 9-11 attacks. Hutchinson was also appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the nations youngest U.S. attorney at the age of 31. He now practices law in Arkansas and is CEO of Hutchinson Group, a homeland security consulting firm.

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John Donvan, correspondent for ABC News Nightline, returns to moderate the IQ2US series. The debates can be watched on the Bloomberg Television ® network, are aired by NPR® on more than 185 stations and podcasts are available from iTunes. Newsweek is the IQ2US media sponsor for the 2009/2010 season.