U.S. Drug Fight in South America

As the so-called “drug war” heats up, I fear that our government will turn to increasingly barbaric and simplistic strategies, including increased incarceration of drug users, heavy-handed domestic police tactics, vilification of drug addicts, and state-sponsored preemptive military strikes against suspected drug suppliers. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s (D-Conn.) advocacy for allowing the President of the United States to order the murder of what he calls “narco-terrorists” (Op-Ed Page, Sept. 18) as a way to “signal the seriousness with which we view their acts” represents the first dangerous step down this misguided path.

State-sanctioned terrorism, which is exactly what Lieberman is advocating, is a foreign policy employed by desperate nations which lack the sophistication, financial resources and commitment to democratic ideals required to formulate truly workable solutions to complex problems. Until our nation commits whatever resources are required to find nonviolent, non-punitive solutions to the underlying social problems of poverty, domestic violence, illiteracy, racism, mental illness, and hopelessness which plague large segments of American society, the drug problem will remain with us.

Sending government hit men to foreign lands telegraphs a message to the world that others are responsible for the problems in American society which have created our current drug problem. Before we start throwing stones into other people’s yards, we ought to find some enlightened ways to clean up our own internal mess. Creating a society where participation in America’s opportunity system is perceived by all citizens as obtainable and more desirable than a life of drug-dealing and drug use should be this nation’s priority.

JED SHAFER

Executive Director

San Gabriel Valley Mental

Health Education Foundation