U.S. DRUG CZAR TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT PORT'S SECURITY

SEATTLE -- The national drug czar toured Seattle's Port Cargo Inspection
Facility on Thursday and said defending Washington state is important in the
country's battle against illegal drugs and terrorism.

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"There are more than 300 small islands that provide Washington with over
3,000 miles of international shoreline," John P. Walters said.

"Tightening the mesh at our borders will help keep us safer from terrorists
and from the violence and addiction that come from illegal drugs. Our
efforts to disrupt the illegal market for drugs complement our national
efforts to reduce the demand for drugs in America."

Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, got an
on-site demonstration from U.S. Customs Service agents of a vehicle and
cargo inspection system -- a gamma-ray machine.

The agents used the X-ray-like device to scan a sealed container.

Customs officials added the machines to their arsenal in March and now use
them at the Port of Tacoma and at the Blaine and Sumas border crossings as
well as Seattle.

In December 1999, Ahmed Ressam was arrested as he tried to enter the United
States from Canada at Port Angeles with explosives in his car. Ressam was
convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during
millennium celebrations.

Walters, who was sworn into office about a year ago, said he was impressed
by the demonstration.

"I think the Port of Seattle is in a similar place with some of the other
ports I've seen," he said.

Walters, who also served in the Reagan administration, noted the huge
security issues that face the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks.

"We've made enormous changes," he said. "But we're all acutely aware that
the fundamental problem is a needle-in-the-haystack problem. We face a
threat that can be very small against a vast array of people and cargo and
business transactions that are coming into this country.

"We have to depend on being both proactive and going after those who would
be a threat to us."

Walters said the United States still faces a possible serious attack from
al-Qaida terrorists.

"It's important to remember that many thousands of lives may be on the
line," he said. "Nobody wants to do the things that are unnecessary. But
nobody wants to face the tragic losses that we fear that these people would
like to inflict on the United States and that they've been boasting about
their desire to inflict."

Walters also delivered the keynote address to a higher education conference
at a downtown hotel later Thursday. He said he planned to ask educators for
their help on the issue of substance abuse.

"The usual attitude that people have on 'mind your own business, leave
people alone' is deadly when it comes to substance abuse," he said.

"We need people who are in education to work more aggressively to change the
tone. We need higher education institutions and their leaders to change the
attitude of people about looking the other way."

Walters noted that 5.6 million Americans suffer from illegal drug dependence
or abuse, saying 62 percent of those are dependent on or abusing marijuana,
and 23 percent are teenagers.