Mexican President Felipe Calderon has staked vast treasure, military resources and his own reputation on a battle against the country's drug cartels, but few Mexicans believe he can win, the Dallas Morning News reported June 7.

Two out of three Mexicans polled said they believe that the drug cartels are winning the battle against the government despite Calderon having thrown the Mexican army into the fray. Rising and often gruesome violence has helped undermine the government's contention that the cartels are being defeated.

"The wave of attacks against police has been so overwhelming in the last weeks that people are in shock," said political columnist Juan Jose Huerta.

Hundreds of police have been killed by heavily armed cartel members, some using assault weapons and grenades, and images of the killings have become a staple of the evening news.

"The Mexican war is not so different from the Iraqi one," said columnist Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez. "Both interventions served the presidents to show determination and courage to face a fearsome enemy. ... But beyond the determination shown by president Calderón at the beginning of his term, it's not clear what he's seeking nor how he can evaluate the effect of his policies."

One side effect of the drug war has been rising support for legalization or decriminalization of some drugs as a means of weakening the cartels. A majority of Mexicans polled now say they support such a move.