Clear and present danger: Mexico, Pakistan cited by military for U.S. forces to prepare for collapse

The U.S. military has cited the countries of Mexico and Pakistan as in danger of collapse -- Mexico from the growing violence in which the government is losing the fight with drug lords to the Pakistan where the Taliban and anti-Americanism is gaining more control.

The military is preparing plans for how U.S. forces will respond to these upheavals.

Mexico poses the danger of the violence spreading across the border into our nation. In addition, its oil trade could ground to a halt, forcing U.S. gas prices higher. Then there is the threat of Hugo Chavez and his influence amid such upheaval.

Pakistan in turn is a nuclear power. So the fall of the government there would put nuclear weapons in the hands of Muslim fanatics, joining Iran as a new nuclear threat to the region. American troops in Afghanistan also would be under heightened danger.

While it is natural to focus more locally with the decline in the U.S. economy, these trouble spots could ultimately pose more danger in the long run.