It seems that I'm not the only one to equate the situations in Mexico and Pakistan to each other, and to a larger, furture picture of global unrest and regime and state collapse.
In a February 21 article, the Wall Street Journal noted that both countries seem to be teetering on the brink of collapse, mainly due to threats from within their borders. In the case of Mexico, it's from drug cartels, and in Pakistan, the militants that have long been tolerated are turning their ire towards their erstwhile sponsors in Islamabad.
I don't know about anyone else, but unrest in both places scares the hell out of me.
Let's tackle Mexico first. This country sits less than 200 miles from where I now write this, and it's already known that the drug violence currently tearing Mexico apart has bled across the border. Phoenix is now the kidnap-for-ransom capital of the U.S., and it's not like the kidnappings are for hundreds of thousands of dollars. No, it's more like the kidnappers are asking for a couple thousand dollars in ransom. That means literally anyone could be targeted, not just the scions of wealthy bankers or famous aviators. Scary stuff, and it's no major leap to think that places like San Diego and Los Angeles could see an uptick in violence or, at the very least, people feeling violence soon.
Now granted, Pakistan is a little farther from home, and it's a bit more of a stretch to consider how its impending implosion affects us, but when you think about it, the threat is just a dire in a more "apocalyptic, roving bands of outlaws" kind of way. Pakistan is one volatile, nuclear-armed country. They've tolerated Islamic militants for years, and for just as long have used them in proxy wars in countries along their borders. Now, apparently, the Islamists are no longer satisfied to carry out attacks in Afghanistan or Kashmir. They're turning inward to Pakistan, and that country's fledgling, foundering government is going to go down to an army coup soon, mark my words. There may soon be another war between Pakistan and India (another nuclear power, by the way), and who knows what comes next?
Like I said, this is scary stuff, and in my opinion, a lot of it has to do with the global financial downturn.