NYU 2009 commencement speaker and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted to American responsibility for the heinous drug wars plaguing Mexico. As she embarked on a two-day trip to the country, she told reporters:

“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police, of soldiers and civilians.”

Mexican cartels earn an estimated $15-25 billion a year from drugs sold in America. Clinton pledged a further $66 billion to assist Mexican policemen to fight gangs with helicopters. All this news was warmly met by Mexico’s foreign minister.

After an ingloriously arrogant Bush administration, concepts like “accountability” and “cooperation” seem a little unfamiliar. The humility that the Obama administration has embraced will definitely help transform an American image tarnished by eight years of haughty devil-may-care foreign policy.

But I’m not too sure how successful even a revitalized assault on Mexican drug gangs will be. Clinton herself said, “Neither interdiction of drugs nor reducing demand have been successful.” Perhaps legalization is the best way to bring the booming drug industry under control.

Photo via Boston.com