Christopher Sloan

What would happen if the events of October 7th took place in the United States? Picture the scenario: some 6,000 Mexican cartel operatives cross the U.S.-Mexico border. They raid Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California—traveling in pickup trucks, on motorcycles, and using paragliders—armed with advanced, lethal weaponry including RPGs, machine guns, Kalashnikovs, grenades, and more. They block major roads and intersections, gunning down any American who approaches. They storm border towns like El Paso and Nogales, as well as major cities like San Antonio, Phoenix, and San Diego; going house to house and neighborhood to neighborhood, they slaughter every American they encounter and burn their bodies in broad daylight. They storm a music festival—perhaps even Burning Man—and murder, in cold blood, thousands of young people who had come to celebrate, dance, and have a good time. They hurl grenades into shelters and tents, brutally rape women, and shoot them in their genitals. They abduct thousands of American citizens, dragging them into terror tunnels located within Mexican territory. They film all of this gleefully, uploading countless horrific videos of torture, violence, chaos, destruction, and mass death to their media channels—all while thousands of Mexicans cheer, rejoice, and celebrate the massacre. Now, let’s assume a scenario where the cartels are holding Mexican citizens hostage within a small area in the north of the country, refusing to let them hide in tunnels or escape to safety. Tell me: if such a scenario were to actually unfold, how would the United States of America respond? Would the U.S. response result in more or fewer than 75,000 Mexican civilian deaths? Would the U.S. military drop leaflets, make phone calls, and conduct precision strikes to avoid harming innocent civilians in Mexico? Would the United States be accused of genocide, ethnic cleansing, democide, or war crimes within the very first month of its response—while American hostages were still being held in the cartels' tunnels? To those who are skeptical or raising an eyebrow, let me tell you exactly how the United States would likely respond: The United States would declare total war on Mexico on day one. It would have brought the full weight of the U.S. military—Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy—to bear in a multi-dimensional invasion of Mexico. It would have deployed all the most advanced, sophisticated, and destructive weaponry developed in its laboratories and military production lines over the course of decades. It would have wreaked havoc and destruction on a scale unseen since Germany in 1945, showing no mercy. It would have seized territory after territory, city after city, mountain after mountain, without pause. It would have applied overwhelming military pressure. It would have demanded the cartels' unconditional surrender and the return of all American hostages, refusing to even consider negotiating with the cartels. And the Mexican government that enabled the massacre? The United States would have completely disregarded it. And what of the American public and the international community? Aside from the progressives within the U.S. administration, you wouldn't have heard a whisper of protest from American citizens. The American public—by an overwhelming majority—would have rallied around the flag in full support of the operation in Mexico. Even the U.S. media would have largely fallen into line—at least for the first few months. The UN, human rights organizations, and the ICC might have voiced criticism or protest. But they wouldn't have dared issue arrest warrants against the President of the United States or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They would have sat quietly and kept their mouths shut, fearing they might end up like Maduro. And how would that story have ended?