Here is an update on the Israel-Palestine situation on Juan Cole's blog. It provides a good historical framework with new information, at least for me. Cole concludes that possibly the only way to bring some kind of end to the conflict is for public opinion to finally turn against Israel which he foresees might happen as Israel continues to create an apartheid situation with Palestine. Israel is just overwhelmingly powerful compared to anyone else in the region, and as long as the US contines to provide arms and support, it will continue to be.
It occurred to me as I read through Cole's post that both Hamas and Hisbullah built their strength in large part by providing much-needed social services and rapport with their communities. As I keep saying, giving people reason to like you rather than hate you seems a much better weapon in the war vs. narcotraficantes as well. It is really hard to develop any kind of fondness for foreigners and hated government forces who are shooting you up (Afghanistan, Colombia) and it might be easier in Mexico if fellow countrymen competed with narcos by providing better access to a meaningful life which should include social connections and some social status and pride and meaningful ways of spending one's time as well as basic social services.
I have just finished two novels by George Pelecanos who was one of the main writers for The Wire. The ones I've read, Right as Rain and Hell to Pay, have Derek Strange, a black private investigator as the hero/lead character and Terry Quinn, a white guy who killed a black cop as his not-quite-partner. (This duo in itself sets up all kinds of interesting dynamics.) Pelecanos's descriptions of Washington DC and nearby Maryland -- of the poverty-stricken neighborhoods infested by drugs and drug lords -- remind me of situations in Mexico and in Afghanistan and in Rio and probably a hundred more cities in the US. Pelicanos's characters are righteous men who give purpose to young kids. It's worth reading his books and taking his examples to heart when considering what to do in the infamous war on drgs. His books, by the way, are certainly not overly optimistic, sentimental or do-goody. All of this struggle is terribly hard. War, which is what military action is, is the easiest, most destructive way to go about dealing with it and the hardest way to get any good ending.