No, not seriously send the SEALs. Posse Commitatus (spelling?) prevents that and it isn't a reality based solution. It is a tongue in cheek response to the assertion that gangs "can't be stopped". They certainly can, but the people in power lack the spine and wherewithal to do what needs to be done. Instead they cry and say thaht the gang bangers are "misguided youth" who need more midnight basketball and afterschool programs. The misguided part has some truth to it indeed, but the solutions are more often than not laughable. The hand of law enforcement needs to be brought to bear on gangs with swift and inescapable effect. Make the lure of easy money pale in comparison to the prospect of life with no parole or other harsh and non-negotiable sentences.
I know what you are saying and I agree. However, there are cultural differences that may mute the intended effect of such an action here in the U.S. I don't think that stand alone, such a policy would be the "silver bullet" to deal with the gangs in the country. Harsher sentences that are actually applied and not plea bargained away would serve to remove those individuals who "beat tha' rap" from coming back into the community and infecting more young and impressionable minds with the idea that you gain "street cred" by doing time. If, instead of gaining "street cred", they are removed from the streets for good, puts an end to their example of how to be a thug. The prisons in South and Central America are run by the cartels and gangs, so the comparison is flawed. Here, the gangs do have considerable influence on the inside, but the correctional system of the U.S. is so far removed from that of South and Central America as to not even be on the same scale. It is a complex problem, and no one approach will make it magically go away. Education, opportunity, law enforcement, community based approaches, drug policy, responsible parenting and family structure all have to have a seat at the table. As long as the politicians are more worried about being PC and getting re-elected, this issue will never be resolved.
