If you haven't yet noticed that things are getting worse in Mexico, you haven't been paying attention. The death toll from drug cartel-related violence now stands at more than 35,000 in the past five years, with no letup in sight.

If that pace keeps up, and there's little reason to assume it won't, the deadly tally will match U.S. losses in the Vietnam War within a little more than three years — maybe sooner.

At times, the carnage can be overwhelming. In 96 hours from Thursday through Sunday of last week in Ciudad Juarez, 41 people were murdered. That's one every two hours and 20 minutes. And each day seems to bring word of fresh horrors.

On Feb. 15, a significant and bloody milestone was reached when the drug thugs attacked two U.S. law enforcement officials while the pair were driving a vehicle with diplomatic license plates in central Mexico. ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata was killed, and ICE Agent Victor Avila was wounded.

It was the first attack on American law enforcement officials by the drug cartels, and it drew lots of attention, including that of Texas Congressman Michael McCaul. The former federal prosecutor, a Republican who represents Texas' 10th Congressional District, has asked for answers and action. We believe the nation deserves both.

McCaul, who chairs a House subcommittee that deals with oversight and management of homeland security, is convening hearings to discuss what seems to us a timely question: What is the United States' role in Mexico's war against the drug cartels?

One thing is self-evident: It cannot be passive acceptance of the status quo. As the congressman noted in a by-lined Outlook piece on March 30 ("Let's make a commitment to war on Mexican cartels"), Mexico is in danger of becoming a failed state controlled by criminals.

"If this happens," McCaul asserted, "Mexico could become a safe haven for terrorists who we know are attempting to enter through our porous border."

This argument has the ring of truth to it. And that truth rings even louder because of our lengthy, shared border, our many cultural and blood ties to Mexico and that country's position as our nation's third-largest trading partner.

McCaul has recommended consideration of a joint military and intelligence partnership modeled on Plan Colombia, the arrangement that has returned that country from the grip of drug lords to a normalcy that is the envy of many of its neighbors. Over time, Plan Colombia led to a decrease in heroin poppy production, a drop in homicides and dramatic declines in kidnappings and terror incidents, McCaul notes.

The congressman also proposes classifying Mexican drug cartels as foreign terror organizations, placing them in the same category as al-Qaida, the Taliban and Hezbollah.

These recommendations deserve thoughtful consideration. In order to be workable, the partnership with Mexico that McCaul proposes must recognize traditional Mexican sensibilities regarding sovereignty and interference from its powerful neighbor to the north. Cooperation with the government of President Felipe Calderon in the use of high-tech drone airplanes to track the movements of drug cartel operatives in Mexican territory offers strong reason to believe that such a relationship can be broadened in the ways McCaul suggests.

The bipartisan work that the congressman has done on related matters with his Texas colleague, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, suggests yet another reason for optimism.

The Texas experience in dealing with Mexico is long and, for the most part, characterized by mutual respect and good will. That, too, is a model for Washington to emulate. It should do so - pronto!