
Good News: Crime is declining in the U.S., see chart above.
Bad News: Crime is increasing dramatically in Mexico, especially for murders related to drug traficking (5,637), which more than doubled in 2008 from the previous year. To put Mexico's murders in perspective, consider that there have been "only" American 4,224 war causalities in Iraq during the almost five years since the war began in 2003 (see chart below). Becoming the "Murder Capital of the World" is the price Mexico is paying for the U.S. "war on drugs" (see WSJ journal article here).