Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 430
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-4422-6942-2 • Hardback • March 2017 • $117.00 • (£90.00)
978-1-4422-6943-9 • Paperback • March 2017 • $59.00 • (£45.00)
978-1-4422-6944-6 • eBook • March 2017 • $56.00 • (£43.00)
Craig A. Deare is professor of International Security Studies at the College of International Security Affairs (CISA) at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He is a retired Army Intelligence and Foreign Area Officer.
Chapter One An Introduction
Chapter TwoHistorical Overview
Chapter Three Mexican Armed Forces And National Security Circa 1990
Chapter Four The Salinas De Gortari Sexenio
Chapter Five The Zedillo Ponce De Leon Sexenio
Chapter Six The Fox Quezada Sexenio
Chapter Seven The Calderón Hinojosa Sexenio
Chapter Eight Conclusion
EpilogueInitial Impressions of The Peña Nieto Sexenio
Chapter Abstracts
CHAPTER ONE AN INTRODUCTION
The assault of Major General Winfield Scott against Veracruz 1847 (and many others events of less dramatic effect) continue to shape how the Mexican Army views their counterparts to the north. Although the shared threat during the Second World War led to a momentary period of relatively positive military cooperation, the traditional suspicion by the Mexican military (primarily Army) of their neighbors led to a cordial, formal, polite, but rather distant relationship. Exacerbating these suspicions, very distinct institutional defense structures in each country create additional challenges for effective communication. This chapter introduces the contemporary context in which the bilateral relationship interacts.
CHAPTER TWOHISTORICAL OVERVIEW
An effort to begin to grasp the complexities of Mexico requires a rudimentary knowledge of several key periods in Mexican history, as well as an awareness of five key themes that run the length of its relationship with the U.S. The chapter looks briefly at the indigenous Indian civilizations inhabiting modern day Mexico, the Spanish conquest and colonization of the 16th and 17th centuries, the independence movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the liberal versus conservative struggles of the 19th century, multiple and varied U.S. interventions in Mexico (with the highlight of the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War), la Revolución of 1910-1920 (Mexico’s Civil War), and the phenomenon of the PRI in the 20th century.
CHAPTER THREE MEXICAN ARMED FORCES AND NATIONAL SECURITY CIRCA 1990
The armed forces of every country in the world are a product of a given nation’s geography, history, and society. They have often evolved over time primarily as a reaction to events thrust upon them, rather than being the result of a conscious political decision to develop identified capabilities to deal with specific threats. Mexico is no exception to this generalized trend. Mexico represents a unique case within Latin America in a variety of ways, and its armed forces are but one example of that distinctiveness. The previous chapter attempted to highlight the role of the military as the country developed over the course of its history; the intent here is to address how the military fits in the contemporary security environment which Mexico has faced over the past 25 years or so.
CHAPTER FOUR THE SALINAS DE GORTARI SEXENIO (1988-1994)
This chapter describes how President Carlos Salinas began efforts to tie the Mexican economy to the logical economic locomotive of the United States in a more formal and effective fashion. Despite winning the election by the narrowest of margins (one allegedly characterized by vote fraud), Salinas effectively persuaded the Mexican Congress to enter into a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and Canada. The surprise of the Zapatista rebellion in January 1994 served as a contemporary example of the limitations of the Mexican military to operate effectively to secure the country. This event suggested to the political leadership that improvements in Mexican military capabilities were in order. The bilateral defense relationship witnessed the beginnings of an incipient reduction in coolness, although traditional antagonisms and suspicion remained firmly in place.
CHAPTER FIVE THE ZEDILLO PONCE DE LEON SEXENIO (1994-2000)
President Ernesto Zedillo inherited two major crises as he began his second month in office in January 1995 – the ongoing Zapatista uprising and the Peso Devaluation. The U.S. reaction to these crises was mixed, much more helpful with the Peso Devaluation than with the Zapatistas. To further improve Mexico’s defense capacity, a watershed event took place in October 1995 when Dr. William J. Perry became the first U.S. Defense Secretary to ever visit Mexico. The invitation by Mexican Defense Secretary General Enrique Cervantes, certainly authorized by President Zedillo, represented perhaps the clearest evidence of a conscious desire to strengthen the traditionally proper but distant relationship. The visit led to the establishment of the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Working Group and the beginnings of greater efforts at cooperation. Senior level policymakers in both countries were charged with overseeing the process, ensuring that the shortcomings of the basic structural interface could be overcome. This sexenio also contains perhaps the best case study of how the two sides view U.S.-Mexico cooperation: the saga of the 73 Hueys “donated” to the Mexican Air Force, and their return within a few years characterized as “junk” by the Mexican Defense Secretary.
CHAPTER SIX THE FOX QUEZADA SEXENIO (2000-2006)
After more than 70 successive years in power, the Partido Revolucionario Institutional lost its grip on the Mexican presidency, and Vicente Fox of the Partido de Acción Nacional ushered in the birth of true democratic alternation of power in Mexico. President Fox attempted to change the status quo in Mexico, to include pursuing a foreign policy of greater integration of a North American community. On the military front, he selected the youngest secretaries of Defensa and Marina in recent memory. Coinciding with the election of President George W. Bush, expectations were raised for never before seen levels of cooperation between the two former governors and their administrations. U.S. reaction to the attacks of 9-11 had an unwelcome effect on Mexico; for its part, Mexico’s withdrawal from the Rio Pact days before the one year anniversary of 9-11 sent a confusing signal to the U.S., raising questions about Mexico’s solidarity. This was the context within which defense cooperation continued to move forward, including the creation of U.S. Northern Command which managed to upset Mexican defense authorities. Despite these setbacks, a major highlight of this period was the unexpected but welcome offer of the Mexican armed forces to provide unprecedented assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005, providing evidence of a better future.
CHAPTER SEVEN THE CALDERÓN HINOJOSA SEXENIO (2006-2012)
Although successive Mexican governments actively participated in the counternarcotics effort, President Felipe Calderón was the one who most aggressively confronted the cartels, declaring war on Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations. Increases in drug-trafficking related violence raised concerns on both sides of the border, leading to greater attention by U.S. policymakers. His commitment to this fight, coupled with increasing U.S. concerns, led to the watershed Mérida Initiative and an initial U.S. pledge of $1.4 billion over three years to engage as well. Initial resistance by the Mexican Defense Secretary to the creation of U.S. Northern Command subsided with his retirement, and significantly greater security cooperation grew with both the Mexican Army and Navy. A major blow to these improved relations was the release by Wikileaks of classified State Department cables critical of the Mexican government, leading to the departure of U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual.
CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSION
This chapter analyzes the major conclusions derived from the multiple case studies reviewed over the course of the more than 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Salinas initiatives. It provides recommendations with the intent of maintaining the gains seen over the past 25 years, and with the hope of improving the bilateral defense relationship in the immediate and long-term future.
EPILOGUEINITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF THE PEÑA NIETO SEXENIO-
U.S. concerns that a return of the Partido Revolucionario Institutional might represent a significant retrenchment in the bilateral relationship, and in particular the greatly enhanced military-to-military links, have been overcome by President Peña Nieto’s policy of continued cooperation with U.S. agencies. Revelations of National Security Agency intelligence collection efforts against senior Mexican officials, to include President Peña Nieto, appear to have been dealt with as little antagonism as possible. Recent acquisition decisions by both Defensa and Marina to pursue U.S. weapon and transportation systems are suggestive of deepening ties.
Both Deare’s in-depth experiences and the interviews provide valuable access to the history of the bilateral defense relationship.... For anyone interested in the recent history of US-Mexico defense relations, this book does not disappoint. Deare provides new insight into an abstruse and vital topic of North American military history.
— H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online
A Tale of Two Eagles is the first book to examine in detail the military relationship between Mexico and the United States. Only a handful of authors can claim to have first-hand knowledge of this critical component in understanding their broader relationship; Craig Deare is one of those individuals. His extensive research and analysis draws together numerous, original insights based on personal interviews, and a military and civilian career deep within the heart of this little-understood relationship. Anyone with an interest in grasping the national security linkages between these two countries in the last three decades should read this fascinating, enlightening account.
— Roderic Ai Camp, Philip McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim, Claremont McKenna College
The U.S.-Mexico defense relationship has long been correct, but distant. This book is an in-depth analysis of the steps since the late 1980s to maneuver U.S. defense institutions and their Mexican counterparts into a closer, more effective relationship. A career U.S. Army officer with deep roots in Mexico and strong academic credentials, Craig Deare is superbly qualified to tell the story from the U.S. perspective. He paints the big picture and then guides us through the labyrinths of the two countries’ defense establishments, in a lively narrative with wry asides and on-target personal anecdotes drawn from extensive interviews with key players. This is a rich vein of gold for students of U.S.-Mexico relations and of bureaucratic politics.
— John Bailey, emeritus professor of government, Georgetown University
Craig Deare’s outstanding work fills a vacuum in the study of US-Mexico relations. There is simply no other work that provides with such detail an examination of the complex but growing US-Mexico defense relationship. Deare interviews all the key policymakers on both sides responsible for the expansion of defense ties during the last twenty years. This book will be the primer on US-Mexico defense relations for years to come.
— Frank O. Mora, Florida International University
Craig Deare’s outstanding work fills a vacuum in the study of US-Mexico relations. There is simply no other work that provides with such detail an examination of the complex but growing US-Mexico defense relationship. Deare interviews all the key policymakers on both sides responsible for the expansion of defense ties during the last twenty years. This book will be the primer on US-Mexico defense relations for years to come.
— Frank O. Mora, Florida International University
There are few—if any—nations that share such a complex, profound and strategically important relationship for one another's wellbeing, prosperity and security as the U.S. and Mexico. In the context of the 2016 presidential election, its fallout and impact on the narrative of U.S.-Mexican ties, and the challenges that lie ahead, Craig Deare’s timely book fills a huge gap in underscoring a little known, but prescient, story of how two neighbors have slowly transformed a fraught, distrustful and difficult interaction into one of greater traction and convergence. Much has been written on how NAFTA transformed U.S.-Mexico economic ties, and the future of North America. Deare now tells the story of that second pillar of paradigmatic change in our relationship: how, after 9-11, our security cooperation has also transformed a crucial partnership for American interests and national security in the 21st Century.
— Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican Ambassador to the US (2007-13)
Explains and analyzes how the US-Mexican defense relations have slowly improved since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Explains the challenges of more effective interaction and cooperation between the U.S. and Mexican military for national and bilateral security.
Based on personal experience and interviews with US and Mexican practitioners, such as William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton; Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow; former assistant secretary of defense Brian Sheridan; John D. Negroponte, Ambassador to Honduras and Mexico; Jorge Carrillo Olea, Mexican General and Politician; Jorge Castañeda, Secretary of Foreign Affairs to Vicente Fox; former President Vicente Fox; Eduardo Medina Mora, Ambassador of Mexico to the US and former Attorney-General in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón.
Study of a key national security policy issue for the United States as it seeks to more effectively engage with a traditionally standoffish neighbor.