Bush says ‘support the troops; send money to Mexico’

Fun with money…

The State Department is requesting $550 million to combat drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America […]
“We must provide our troops with the help and support they need to get the job done,” Bush said. “Parts of this war are complicated, but one part is not, and that is America should do what it takes to support our troops and protect our people.”

Confused? It’s just business as usual in Washington. Bush has put the Mexico drug war money in with the massive request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
You see, as soon as it’s part of the “support the troops” money, it’s free! Nobody questions it. Nobody asks how we can afford it. Nobody holds hearings*. To do so is to face the “you don’t support the troops” inquisition. So anything thrown into this pot of money — like funding mercenaries in Mexico — is… free. (Of course, we still have to pay for it.)
*(This would normally be the case with a war spending bill. But in fact, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs actually is holding a hearing: U.S. Security Assistance to Mexico on Thursday.)