GENERAL MCCAFFREY LOST WAR ON DRUGS

The farewell address by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, aka the Drug Czar, was as
hypocritical and misleading as his four-year crusade while leading the
failed war on drugs.

In leaving his post, he calls for drug prevention and treatment as the key
elements of dealing with substance abuse. Yet, during his four-year reign,
he consistently requested (and received) funding that heavily favored the
law-enforcement approach, with two-thirds of the budget going for
interdiction and prosecution, and one-third for drug prevention and treatment.

Has he finally seen the light or is this more of his doubletalk?

When the general claims that drug use by teen-agers has declined by 21
percent during the last two years, one must wonder what he has been smoking.

Surveys sponsored by his very own office tell a different story. Perhaps
this is a result of wishful thinking, but it is more likely an effort to
put a good spin on the outgoing administration.

McCaffrey had four years during which he could have honestly addressed the
fa iled war on drugs. Instead, he persisted in what he believed was the
politically (and militarily) correct thing to do, which was to ratchet up
the war through spending more and more on policing and incarceration.

Hopefully, the next administration will choose a wiser course, such as that
recommended by the outgoing general.

Donald M. Topping