PROFESSOR EXAMINES HOW WAR ON DRUGS FAILED

Tony Payan concludes that the United States has spent billions since
1969 fighting what he describes as a flawed campaign against drug
smuggling. "The war on drugs hasn't paid off for many reasons," Payan
said. "Part of the failure has been bureaucratic politics."

He explores the role of bureaucratic politics in the war on drugs in
his new book, "Cops, Soldiers and Diplomats: Explaining Agency Behavior
in the War on Drugs" (Lexington Books, $65).

Payan is an assistant professor of political science and international
relations at the University of Texas at El Paso.

"It's really a book about bureaucratic pathologies and how not to make
the same terrible mistakes of fraud, waste and abuse again in the
Homeland Security Department," he said.

Payan's inspiration for writing the book emerged from his graduate
studies in American foreign policy at Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C.

He stumbled across Harvard University professor Graham T. Allison's
1971 book "Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis"
and decided to test the same model of bureaucratic politics on the war
on drugs.

"My book is quite relevant. It should be looked at by Congress, the
Department of Homeland Security and others who may just want to learn
the lessons," Payan said.

Payan does not condemn bureaucracies, though he acknowledges that
government agencies can be inefficient.

"Bureaucracies are the bloodline of government. A government without
bureaucrats does not work," he said. "Because they are so
indispensible, we must then understand them."

Payan has another soon-to-be published book exploring drugs,
immigration and homeland security on the U.S.-Mexico border. He also
plans a closer look at bureaucratic politics within the Department of
Homeland Security.

The book is available at the UTEP Bookstore, booksellers such as
Barnes & Noble, and through the publisher's Web site,
www.lexingtonbooks.com.