DOLE TAKES HARD LINE IN ANTI-DRUG FIGHT
Campaign: Gop Hopeful Calls For Tripling Of Border Patrol And A Halt In
Aid To Countries That Fail To Crush Trafficking. She Would Boost Military's
Role.

Elizabeth Hanford Dole, outlining a tough-talking anti-drug policy,
called Thursday for a dramatic increase in patrols along the border
with Mexico and vowed to cease aid to any country that fails to
cooperate with enforcement efforts.

As president, the GOP hopeful said, she would nearly triple the size
of the Border Patrol, boost the military's role in fighting drugs and
prod Mexico and Colombia to do more to stem the flow of illicit
narcotics into the United States.

"If all else fails, I will decertify countries that do not vigorously
combat the drugs that are destroying our communities and killing our
young people," Dole said, referring to the annual process of measuring
foreign cooperation with U.S. anti-drug efforts.

Last March, amid harsh criticism, the Clinton administration certified
Mexico as a drug-fighting ally, despite a falloff in heroin and
cocaine seizures and frustration among U.S. officials over the
corruption and inefficiency that persist in Mexico's law-enforcement
ranks.

Speaking at Imperial Beach near the U.S.-Mexico border, a favorite
campaign backdrop for candidates of all stripes, Dole said Thursday,
"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."

Mexico, she said, "needs to extradite drug lords to the United States
and make a concerted effort to reduce the flood" of narcotics crossing
the border. Colombia--which received roughly $300 million in U.S. aid
this year--should receive no further assistance until the government
regains control of cocaine-producing territory "controlled by . . .
narco-guerrillas."

Domestically, Dole said, she would boost the Border Patrol from 8,000
agents to 20,000, increase federal funding for anti-drug programs and
high-tech surveillance equipment, and "task the military to fully
engage in the war on drugs on land, at sea and in the air." She did
not elaborate, nor did she state how she would finance the additional
spending.

"That's a lot of what she's going to talk about in her next speech,"
said spokeswoman Chris Hawes, referring to an upcoming address on the
federal budget and taxes.

The sparsely attended speech Dole gave at Borderfield State Park was
the most recent in a series of broad policy addresses delivered as she
struggles to keep her campaign alive in the face of declining polls
and weak fund-raising.

Dole touted her record fighting drugs as secretary of Transportation
in the Reagan administration, saying she instituted random drug
testing of rail workers and made the department the first civilian
agency to begin random drug testing of employees in safety and
security positions, such as air-traffic controllers.

In contrast, Dole accused the Clinton administration of having
surrendered in the federal war on drugs, noting drug abuse has
increased since Reagan and President Bush left office. Dole's husband,
Bob, similarly sought to make drug abuse an issue in his unsuccessful
1996 campaign for president.

Echoing her husband, Dole earlier this week suggested the federal
government should be more concerned about controlling illegal drugs
than battling the tobacco industry.

"Where are they on drugs?" Dole said in Kentucky, on a campaign swing
through the heart of tobacco county.

" . . . That bully pulpit has not been used to really preach that
drugs aren't cool--they kill."