The case for focusing on Mexico

I am very glad that Gideon Rachman wrote this comment piece: "Why Mexico is the missing Bric." The title speaks for itself. Mexico is a huge country with a vibrant economy, but most importantly from the American perspective it is our neighbor. There is simply no comparison between Mexico's importance to the US and Afghanistan's. Shockingly, the article points out that there is a comparable problem with violence: "Last year, the death toll in Mexico’s drugs war was more than 6,500. By comparison, over the same period the conflict in Afghanistan claimed the lives of some 2,400 civilians. Drug-related violence killed 238 Mexicans in the first 10 days of this year alone." One of the greatest and least mentioned strengths of the US is the blessing of close and peaceful ties with huge neighbors to its north and south, and yet our aid to Mexico is laughably small in comparison to the money we lavish on our corrupt "partners" in Central Asia.