Army official says U.S. troops might be needed in Mexico

Army official says U.S. troops might be needed in Mexico

2011-02-09 03:28:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (BNO NEWS) -- Undersecretary of the Army Joseph Westphal compared Mexico's drug cartels to an "insurgency" and said U.S. troops could be called to the border, or even across it, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

"As all of you know, there is a form of insurgency in Mexico with the drug cartels that's right on our border," he said on Monday during a lecture at the University of Utah.

"This isn't just about drugs and about illegal immigrants. This is about, potentially, a takeover of a government by individuals who are corrupt," Westphal added.

The official said he has shared his concerns with the White House because he doesn't want to see the Unites States in a situation in which it has to send armed troops to the borders or even into Mexico.

Westphal is the most senior U.S. official to publicly compare Mexico's drug cartels to an "insurgency" since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a similar assessment last September.

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