COAST GUARD NEEDS MEANS TO FIGHT DRUG SMUGGLING

The Sun's article "Speedboat drug trade on Chesapeake feared" (Nov. 15)
clearly pointed out two essential truths about the war against drugs: No
shore in America is impervious to smuggling, and the Coast Guard, the
nation's lead maritime agency in drug interdiction, is hard-pressed to keep
up with smugglers.

While drug lords invest huge sums of money on the latest craft and weapons,
the Coast Guard is forced to give chase in cutters nearing 30 years of age
and aircraft that are chronically short on spare parts.

The $4 billion in drugs the Coast Guard has seized already this year
matches the service's entire annual budget.

As the threat of drug smuggling draws closer to America's shores -- and it
will -- giving the Coast Guard the means to fight it should become a
national imperative.

Phillip Thompson, Arlington, Va.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Lexington Institute, a nonprofit
public policy think tank.