Home pagePress CenterIn the Media Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by Reuters, "Gates Urges Congress to Avoid 'Slap' at Mexico."
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Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by Reuters, "Gates Urges Congress to Avoid 'Slap' at Mexico."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday urged Congress to approve a $500 million anti-drug program for Mexico, saying not to do so would be "a slap" against a crucial neighbor beset by drug violence.
Gates, only the second U.S. defense chief ever to visit Mexico, told reporters that U.S. congressional inaction on the program known as the Merida initiative would undermine Washington's ability to aid Mexico's counternarcotics fight.
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies agreed with Gates' position that U.S. congressional failure could insult Mexico.
"You'll have the president of Mexico looking like he had to walk away empty handed, and that could conceivably be seen as yet another snub," he said.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
