-Caveat Lector-
The Drug War Intensifies
John Walters: Drug Warrior
by Jeff Elkins
With his proposed appointment of John Walters as head of the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy, President Bush has sent
a strong signal: Cry Havoc and let slip the Dogs of War!
Waters, a disciple of former "Drug Czar" and Washington talk show
clown, William Bennett, will be in charge the White House effort
to intensify the Federal anti-drug focus on law enforcement and
interdiction. Translation: more militarized police, more loss of
personal liberty, an increased military presence in South America
and more prisoners in American Gulags.
Let’s examine some quotes from Mr. Walters, taken from a PBS
program, "Think
Tank," hosted by Ben Wattenberg. Quoting Mr. Walters:
"I actually think that interdiction is an important part of affecting
consumption, particularly heavy users. If you drive up the price
significantly, they use less, they get sicker less, they’re likely
to go into treatment more, it makes treatment more effective."
Really?
While higher prices might discourage marginal drug users from
indulging, it’s doubtful that they will have the effect of discouraging an
addict. Any hard core cigarette smoker can testify to this. Higher
prices will have the effect of making the market itself more attractive
to criminals from the top to the bottom of the drug chain. This
of course will result in more children using drugs, not less, more
blood on our streets as criminal gangs battle for turf, and more
military masquerading as peace officers, overseeing (and contributing
to) the mayhem.
"We can do something here, and I think the way to think about this in
part on my side is the way we think about countering terrorism…"
Really?
The measures instituted thus far to "counter terrorism",
which is a largely illusory problem domestically, have had a net
effect of drastically reducing our liberties as citizens of a free
republic. They run the gamut: the dehumanizing processes required
to board an airplane; the "Know Your Customer" laws imposed
on banking; reporting "suspicious banking transactions"
to the IRS; all of which place the print of the jackboot on our necks.
I find these quotes to be frightening. They don’t bode well for our
liberty and they display a shocking ignorance of the Constitution
of the United States. Let’s look at some further implications of
active interdiction and an increase in so-called law enforcement.
Interdiction: Interdiction does not just involve guarding our borders
against incoming foreign drug shipments. Interdiction involves actively
interfering in the internal affairs of other nations as we are seeing
in South America.
War-torn Colombia now has United States military advisors "on the
ground" playing an active part in both training and participating in actual
combat missions against groups such as the leftist narco-guerillas
of FARC.
Aiding our active military and also providing a cover of deniability
are hired mercenaries from companies such as Vinnell
Corporation of Fairfax, Virginia. Vinnell, by the way, boasts
as stockholders and directors, such luminaries as former Secretary
of State, James Baker and Frank Carlucci, former DDI of the Central
Intelligence Agency.
As we have seen, the warfare is not restricted to Colombia. The recent
tragic murder of an American missionary and her infant child in
Peru illustrate one consequence of what is inevitable: regional
warfare. More American deaths have occurred than manage to slip
through the Media/State news conglomerates. Thousands of locals
have died. Perhaps when the deaths reach Vietnam levels, we’ll hear
more. Perhaps.
Law enforcement: Increases in domestic anti-drug enforcement efforts
without question mean a further decrease in your personal liberties
as an American citizen. Those liberties are already dangerously
eroded; perhaps beyond the point of repair. Already, we have sustained
losses that would shock a citizen of not even two decades ago.
Per capita, we imprison more of our citizens than any other Western
culture. This has had the very real effect of worsening racial conditions,
as more of those convicted and imprisoned are of minority status:
at this point, middle-class white children rarely serve time for
simple possession, members of the underclass rarely walk free. The
heavy hand of the drug warriors hit them hardest. Additionally,
examine the disparity of sentencing for powder cocaine vs. crack
cocaine. Powder cocaine is a middle-class drug.
The racial disparity is lessening though. As the drug warriors get bolder,
they widen their nets. And no-knock raids are color blind. Quite
literally, you or your children could be next, drug users or not.
The war on drugs is eating us alive. Almost every day you can read
about another dynamic entry or police murder. Will John Walters make
things worse? I think the answer is yes.
May 11, 2001
Jeff Elkins is a freelance consultant and writer living in North Central
Florida.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--
Best Wishes
Conspiracy's now the favorite charge
For putting drug suspects away.
A person can do some serious time
>From what somebody might say.
But conspiracy's played by two sets of rules,
At least that's what I feel.
Applied to the powerful it's always a theory,
To the rest of us it's real.
~~DC Dave
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