For American border cities, the most disturbing of the WikiLeaks documents revealed were those offering a snapshot of Mexico’s difficult and deadly fight against the monstrous drug cartels that threaten the security of our southern neighbor.

So far, only a small number of the estimated 2,600 U.S. diplomatic cables dealing with Mexico have been released. But they paint a grim picture.

In one, U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual, writing to the State Department last November, just three months after assuming his post in Mexico City, said, “Mexico’s use of strategic and tactical intelligence is often fractured, ad hoc, and heavily reliant on the United States for leads and operations.” He lamented the turf wars and “entrenched mistrust” between Mexico’s numerous security agencies. And he said the rival agencies “would rather hoard intelligence than allow a rival agency to succeed.”

Release of the correspondence sparked outcry in Mexico, prompting Pascual to issue a statement saying the cables merely reflected “a moment in time” and did not reflect U.S. policy.

But the truth often hurts, and Pascual’s correspondence to Washington was not the only revealing document. Another indicated a senior Mexican official was worried about his government “losing” control of territory to the cartels and warned that “pervasive, debilitating fear” was taking over the people in the countryside. Another revealed that cartel killers are targeting the intelligence sources and contacts of U.S. agents, murdering 61 of them over two years. A top Mexican official was quoted as saying that the violence “is damaging Mexico’s international reputation, hurting foreign investment and leading to a sense of government impotence.” Still another embassy dispatch described Mexican President Felipe Calderon as being emotionally “down” at recent meetings.

It is hardly our purpose here to further embarrass Mexico or its officials or the American officials who wrote the cables, none of which were intended to be made public. In fact, some of the criticisms, particularly those about turf battles among Mexican security agencies, have a rather familiar ring to them in terms of U.S. intelligence agencies.

But it is undeniable, in our view, that the documents represent more than just a snapshot in time. They signify ongoing realities that have plagued Mexico’s battle against the cartels from the beginning. Mexico must accept these realities, not just in private diplomatic meetings, but in its public statements as well.

President Calderon has done far more than any of his predecessors to defeat the cartels. He, more than anyone, knows the horrible toll that battle has taken on his country. He needs the support of the United States government and its people. But if he is to win the war, he also needs to address these difficult realities.