America's Dopey Drug War
By Alan Burkhart (12/28/06)
Since 2001, the phrase "War on Terror" has become a part of the English language. That we are a nation at war and at risk, there can be no doubt. This is not the first time the United States has entered into a war with a shadowy, ill-defined opponent. We've done it at least two other times in the past half-century, and those wars, still being fought on many fronts, have a lot in common with our present conflict.
Other Wars…
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the War on Poverty. At that time roughly 35 million Americans were living below the poverty line. Johnson’s push for anti-poverty legislation led Congress to pass the Employment Opportunity Act. The legislation created the Office of Economic Opportunity, the primary intent of which was to funnel federal money to local authorities to assist needy Americans.
After more than 40 years and untold billions of dollars, there are still 35 million Americans living at or below the poverty line. Sure, the percentage of the population is lower, but if the goal was to end poverty, one must conclude that the War on Poverty is not winnable. It doesn't help that the cost of living has increased from thirty percent of individual income to fifty percent of household income. If ever a war deserved to be called a "Quagmire" it is the War on Poverty.
As to the War on Terror, it didn't have to be a quagmire, and there's still time to turn it around and get us back on track to win the thing. While the loss of even one American life is too many, the war in Iraq is still among the least-costly in terms of American lives.
But there is one war we've been fighting almost as long as the War on Poverty and far longer than the War on Terror: The War on Drugs.
President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1969, five years into the War on Poverty. The idea was to create enough obstacles to the production and distribution of illegal drugs to make the industry unprofitable.
One could make the case that the Drug War actually began in the late 1800's when the US and China undertook to stop the shipment of opium between the two countries. This was followed by the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 and the ill-conceived alcohol prohibition of the 1920's and 1930's.
In 1937 Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act which levied a "nuisance tax" of one dollar on anyone known to distribute America's Favorite Herb. In the years that followed, grossly exaggerated accounts of non-existent side-effects from marijuana use led to it being added to the list of Stuff You Go To Jail For Using.
Predictably, a black market for marijuana sprang up almost overnight. What had once been the buzz of choice for poor immigrants and struggling musicians took on a new aura of desirability. It was no longer just a backyard weed that got you dizzy if you smoked it. It became an exotic and forbidden herb. Thanks largely to prohibition, marijuana use has skyrocketed to the point that it's now America's largest cash crop, outpacing all legal agricultural products. If current estimates are to be believed, up to thirty-seven percent of Americans use marijuana to one degree or another.
But nowadays marijuana is a back-burner issue. The market for hard drugs (which marijuana isn't) has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. And anytime that much money is involved, those who are making that money will stop at nothing to protect their interests.
Mexico is a major supplier of illegal drugs to America. A few years ago, the United States government trained a group of Mexican commandos to combat the drug trade on the Mexican side of the border. Those commandos promptly sold out to the same drug cartel they were trained to combat, and there is documented evidence of Mexican military incursions on American soil. That's right, folks... not only are our Border Patrol agents in danger of being attacked by desperate illegal immigrants, but from the Mexican military as well.
One could make the argument that these Mexican soldiers are renegades. It's doubtlessly true that they are operating without any "official" sanction from the Mexican government. That does nothing, however, to alter the fact these are Mexican soldiers. We are being invaded by a foreign military. That foreign military is actively supporting those who bring deadly drugs into our country.
Is this not a form of chemical warfare? Are we not under attack? Add to this the well-established fact that Muslim terrorists have also been crossing into the US from Mexico, doubtlessly with the knowledge and probably with the assistance of Mexican drug lords and their puppets in the military.
The War on Terror and the War on Drugs have become one and the same. All the while, our government plays with the notion of granting amnesty to millions of people who have insulted our sovereignty and violated our laws. The elected leaders of the greatest nation on the planet play head games with their own people while Mexican methamphetamine labs churn out tons of poison each year to be sold on American streets to American teenagers.
The remnants of Johnson's War on Poverty, long-ago swallowed up by other parts of our top-heavy bureaucracy, are now heavily engaged in providing healthcare, housing and education to illegal immigrants. And those illegals are often brought to our country by human smugglers who are no less dangerous than the drug cartels. The War on Poverty has also become a part of the greater war.
What to do?
Thanks to decades of inaction by the US Government, there is no simple solution. Ultimately, our southern border must be secured against unlawful entry. Our Border Patrol should receive immediate and long-term armed support from our military, and all foreign aid to Mexico should be suspended until the Mexican government has done its part to solve the problem.
The issue of illegal immigration is certainly a part of the equation, even if most of those here illegally are only seeking work. Our laws must be enforced, and it's high time we ceased to handle these people gently. Children of illegal immigrants should be followed home from school, their parents arrested, and the entire family deported. Proof of citizenship should be a requirement for receiving any assistance aside from emergency medical treatment. American businesses that employ illegal aliens should be summarily run out of business and their assets confiscated. English should be mandated as the official language of American commerce.
And most importantly, our own government must be brought into account for its utter failure in regards to border security. None of the above can happen until our so-called "leaders" show a willingness to enforce our laws and provide the security Americans need and deserve.
Related Reading:
Marijuana: America’s Biggest Cash Crop
http://www.economylive.org/entry/marijuana-americas-biggest-cash-crop/
War on Poverty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Poverty
War on Drugs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs
Mexican Soldiers Freelancing for Drug Cartels on US Soil
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200612/NAT20061221a.html
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