From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW, Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The U.S., Mexico, and the War on Drugs.

Hello again, I'm on Analny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look of the issues. Americans care about most.

U.S. authorities are warning that an explosion of brutal violence by Mexico's drug cartels

could spread into Texas, Arizona, and California. President Bush is working with Mexico's

Felipe Calderon on what's called Plan Mexico, a reference to Plan Colombia of the 1990s.

Mexicans resist the comparison

and fear that U.S. dollars could lead to a repeat of past interventions

from north of the border.

On to the point, can Mexico control corruption?

Can the U.S. control demand?

Can the so-called war on drugs defeat a $25 billion industry?

On reporters' notebook later on, a UFO hoax and true believers.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. MacArthur

Foundation. Hello again. I'm Armin Alney, back with To the Point. President Bush and Congress may be willing

to spend a billion American dollars to help Mexico's President Calderon control drug traffic,

official corruption, and brutal violence. On To the Point, will U.S. aid come with strings attached?

Will it work? Is it time to

...