The Punitive Expedition and the Zimmerman Telegram

General Pershing and his punitive expedition continued to sit up in Chihuahua. It was thanks to this breakdown in relations between Mexico and the United States that the Germans spied an opportunity. German hardliners were now able to make the argument that even if the Americans do join the war, so what? They're a paper tiger. Look, they can't even control their own border or hunt down some dirty bandits.