Mother, Do You Think We'll Drop the Bomb?

Another day, more frightening news from our good neighbor to the south.

Another day, more frightening news from Pakistan and India.

Mexico and Pakistan have both haunted my dreams of late. Both seem to be grappling with problems beyond their control, and both seem to be enlisting the help of the U.S. in order to get their territory back under control from their respective "insurgents."

In the case of Mexico, it's drug cartels that are better funded and armed than the national forces. Mexico is understandably turning to to the U.S. for help, since we consume the drugs they produce and sell and since we share a border with them. We've answered their pleas for help, not simply to prop up the Mexican government, but also t protect ourselves. I personally live a mere 135 miles from Tijuana, a place that once was the drunken swaying grounds of American servicemen and college students, but by all accounts is now like a bad day in Sarajevo.

Meanwhile, halfway around the world in Pakistan, a religious-based insurgence threatens not only Pakistani territory, but also territory the U.S. army currently patrols -- Afghanistan. So in a way, another border we have interests in is beset by groups that seem to have the upper hand. All we need now is for some Quebecois liberation movement to gain traction up north and we'll be getting it from all sides.

Moreover, Pakistan is a nuclear state and borders another nuclear state, with whom they also have ongoing and serious disputes.

In short, things are looking rough for some places in which we've become heavily invested.

I'm not offering any solutions here. Instead, all I'm trying to point out is how unstable two close neighbors -- one geographically, one geopolitically -- are in this time of unrest, and you can bet that things will get worse before they get better.

And it scares me. I've made known before my interest in the concept of "faultlines" -- places where cultures, ideologies, or religions collide geographically, making these places ripe for conflict. It used to seem like the U.S. was immune to such shifting plates. But now, with our global presence, economy, and outlook, it seems that we can't help getting involved.