Mike McCaul

I have declared war on these drug cartels which threaten the security of my nation.

You can't look at the crimes one-dimensionally.

I completely agree with you that that targeting, now, of U.S. law enforcement is a game changer, both in Mexico and in the United States.

I respectfully ask that this subcommittee continue to seek answers from the State Department and the heads of our Federal law enforcement agencies.

We don't ask our soldiers to go into combat unarmed, and we should not do the same to our Federal law enforcement agents.

This is growing into another Afghanistan right on our border, and unfortunately, as much as I would like to say, 'Don't send my guys there if we can't protect them,' we play a critical role there and we do need to be there.

I think there is a much larger phenomena that we need to take a look at because if we limit our scope to simply what is happening on the border then I think we are mentioning a much bigger picture.

I think she understands this, but the President needs to show leadership on this issue.

I know Merida is part of it and what you are doing, but who is in charge of this?

But with only 25 percent--you know, my judgment, the Department of State has not implemented this plan.

I think there are lessons learned from what we did in Colombia that we can be applying in Mexico to help win this war.

Are we going to help them win this war or not? It is a war, and President Calderon calls it a war.

What is our plan down there and what is our strategy down there?

I think the fact that 450 drug cartel associates were arrested in the United States directly after the murder of Agent Zapata signifies that spillover crime is, in fact, here, and they are here in the United States.

Thank you for your service and your colleagues who really put themselves in harm's way every day.

The Department of Homeland Security must have all the resources and authorities it needs to protect our border.

I look forward to working with you, Mr. Thompson, in a bipartisan way to increase resources for what I consider should be one of the highest priorities of the Federal Government...

I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address that issue.

I am disappointed, frankly, here today that a representative from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms did not make themselves available to testify.

While not driven by religious ideology, Mexican drug cartels operate in the same manner as al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or Hezbollah each sharing a desire, and using similar tactics to gain political and economic influence.

I think we need more of this down there, and I think we had a crisis situation down there and it is not getting any better.

Our focus must remain on common sense strategies that will aid Mexico in responding to this very serious problem...

Before I yield back my time I would like for all of us today here to remember Special Agent Jaime Zapata.

We must also secure our borders. We must intensify southbound inspections to seize weapons and cash that arm and fund Drug Trafficking Organizations.

It is time for the United States to show a serious commitment to this war that is right in our backyard and on our doorstep.