DOLE PROMISES TO FIGHT FOR DRUG-FREE AMERICA

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Taking a stand at the Mexican border, Republican
presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole today promised a strong fight against
illegal drugs and an unhesitating cutoff of U.S. aid to any foreign country
that fails to cooperate.

"President Elizabeth Dole will lead a crusade with the goal of a drug-free
America," Dole said in remarks prepared for delivery at Borderfield State
Park on the California-Mexico border.

"I do not and will not -- under any circumstances -- support the
legalization of marijuana or any other drug," she said. As for Clinton, "he
lacks the moral authority to send a message that drugs aren't cool," Dole added.

The get-tough address is her third in a rollout of what aides call the four
cornerstones of her campaign: education, national defense, drugs and, still
to come, taxes.

Her campaign hoped Dole's focus on illegal drugs would earn her credit for
leadership on an issue that voters do not rank as a priority public opinion
polls.

"Pundits and pollsters tell me that drug abuse is not an important issue.
But I don't get my passion from polling," Dole said. She noted studies that
show a doubling of teen drug use since 1992, the year Clinton was elected.

On the international front, Dole said Clinton has rendered hollow the United
States' "certification" process, whereby foreign countries with lax
counter-narcotic efforts are supposed to be punished with economic sanctions.

In March, Clinton certified Mexico as an ally in fight against drugs despite
its disappointing record of extraditing of drug criminals and a declines
last year in cocaine and heroin seizures.

"It is time we throw down the gauntlet and cease timid negotiations with
foreign governments that cannot or will not put a stop to the production or
smuggling of drugs," Dole said.

"Mexico, long a close friend and important neighbor, needs to extradite drug
lords to the United States and make a concerted effort to reduce the flood
of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and crack across the border."

She opposed any increases in U.S. military aid for Colombia until it
reclaims a zone where Dole said the government has ceded control to
narco-guerillas.

Dole said she would meet personally with all foreign leaders in an effort to
foster counter-narcotic cooperation. But if all else fails, she pledged to
cut aid to countries that "do not vigorously combat the drugs that are
destroying our communities and killing our young people."

Trying to break through with limited cash in a Republican nomination race
dominated by Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Dole presented her drug-fighting
experience in a way that served to remind voters of her executive and
public-service credentials.

During her tenure as secretary of Transportation, Dole said she instituted
random drug testing of all rail workers after a deadly rail accident was
blamed on operators found to be using marijuana and alcohol. She also made
the department the first civilian agency to begin random drug testing of its
30,000 employees in critical safety and security positions, such as
air-traffic controllers.

On Wednesday in Kentucky, in the heart of tobacco country, she criticized a
Justice Department lawsuit against tobacco companies that seeks to recover
billions of dollars that taxpayers have spent on smoking-related health care.

She said the government should instead focus on making sure that more than
$240 billion cigarette-makers already have agreed to pay the states is spent
on anti-smoking education for children. She also called for an all-out
effort to prevent tobacco companies from selling cigarettes to young people.