Pubdate: Tue, 19 Aug 2003
Source: International Herald-Tribune (France)
Copyright: International Herald Tribune 2003
Contact:  http://www.iht.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/212
Note: Originally published by the Boston Globe Tuesday, August 19, 2003

DRUG WAR DISTORTIONS 

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's acknowledgment that opium production is on
the rise in Afghanistan is most welcome if it spreads to others in the Bush
administration. For more than two decades, Washington's war on drugs has tilted
heavily toward supply-side strategies: arresting drug smugglers and dealers,
attempting to squeeze off the production and availability of narcotics. But
this approach has failed in Afghanistan, where U.S. forces and the U.S.-backed
government have been less effective than the Taliban in controlling the
production of opium and heroin.

"My impression is that in a very real sense it's a demand problem," Rumsfeld
said last week in a question-and-answer session with civilian and military
employees of the Pentagon. "It's a problem that there are a lot of people who
want it, a lot of people with money who will pay for it, a lot of people who
will steal from others to pay for it."

In the end, Rumsfeld characterized drug use as "a whale of a tough problem."
"And I'm afraid that the ultimate solution for that," he added, "is going to be
probably found by attacking it in all directions, not just the supply side but
the education and demand side as well."

Rumsfeld's candid assessment should be a lesson to those leading the war on
drugs. Will Glaspy, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration, insists
the overall policy is balanced, "combining strong enforcement with education
and treatment."

Yet the proportion of federal drug funds going to treatment was cut in half
during the Reagan administration and has never recovered. And with nearly all
50 states slashing budgets in response to revenue shortfalls, state and local
drug treatment facilities have been hard hit.

Afghanistan's blooming opium poppy fields are a deserved embarrassment to the
United States. But Rumsfeld is right in pointing to the other side of the
market. There will be few victories in the war on drugs until effective
treatment and education lower demand.
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MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk