The authors are more sensitive to the risks of unilateral military force and do not display the unmoored confidence of some proponents, recommending US-Mexico joint action instead. Still, they nevertheless underestimate the tradeoffs that would emerge should the US commit troops to a cross-border war with the Mexican drug cartels.
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Brandan P. Buck
President Trump was elected in 2024 partly on his promise of ending “America’s endless wars.” The Trump administration says it doesn’t want new wars, boldly declaring that “[w]e will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end—and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.” While it is too early to judge his sincerity or ability to do so, in the early weeks of his second term it appears like the Trump administration is poised to breathe new life into America’s original “endless war,” that of the war on drugs.