HOW ABOUT JUST AN EFFECTIVE DRUG CZAR?

Drug czar Barry McCaffrey is a stand-up fellow when it comes to educating
children about the evils of drug abuse. And he is equally responsible when
he supports programs that help drug addicts kick the habit or when he
resists misguided demands for drug legalization.

But when it comes to staunching the flow of drugs across the U.S.-Mexico
border, the ex-four-star general who once headed U.S. forces in Panama is
proving to be feckless instead of fearless. It is particularly true with his
latest brainchild, the creation of a border drug czar.

That is too bad for American communities that are being inundated by heroin,
cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines - either in small shipments at
illegal crossing points or huge ones in so-called NAFTA trucks.

Let's be clear: Mr. McCaffrey is a patriot who served his country in uniform
for decades. He is an honest individual. But it is his intellectual
corruption and his incompetent service as President Clinton's drug czar that
must be confronted. For Texans, this is especially important, since his
passive approach undermines families along the border and drug-plagued
communities farther into the U.S. interior.

When told about outrages committed by Mexican drug smugglers near Eagle Pass
two years ago, Mr. McCaffrey replied that U.S. property owners in the area
would have to wait years before the problem could be resolved. And when told
about huge volumes of drugs smuggled through legal ports of entry, his
immediate response is to deny that inspecting more 18-wheelers will help
matters any.

Conceivably, a Southwestern drug czar may not be quite so bad, of course.
There always is the chance that the individual chosen will do a better job
of coordinating a meaningful challenge to drug smuggling than the national
drug czar.

Yet a truly effective border coordinator - one who oversees interagency
operations and balances cooperation with honest Mexican officials with a
strong challenge to corrupt ones - appears to be the very last thing Mr.
McCaffrey has in mind.

One has only to listen to the specific border czar criteria he is laying out
to grasp the point: In his view, the ideal border czar would be a lawyer, a
politician or perhaps a law enforcement official. He or she would be popular
in the region. And a knowledge of Spanish would be required.

There he goes again. For Mr. McCaffrey to mention lawyers and politicians
before thinking of law enforcement officials speaks volumes about his
views - and the administration's views - on drug enforcement.

A lawyer could do a good job in the post, to be sure. But isn't drug
smuggling the major issue at hand, and doesn't law enforcement experience
provide the United States with a significant edge in challenging the
smuggling? If a lawyer is to be preferred, why not hasten to specify that he
or she be a federal prosecutor?

Now consider Mr. McCaffrey's emphasis on popularity. Wouldn't it be better
to emphasize professionalism as a requirement, while viewing popularity in
the region as icing on the cake? After all, any number of drug lords on the
Mexican side of the border are popular. It isn't a virtue or a qualification
in and of itself.

Interdicting drugs is an issue of vital concern to the nation as a whole.
Since when do popularity contests in one region of the country count for
much in challenging drug thugs who spread harm everywhere?

And why must a candidate speak Spanish? Sure, that could be a plus. But why
should it be a requirement, especially if a candidate is strong in most
other areas and if many Mexican officials speak English?

Mr. McCaffrey and the Clinton administration once again are playing politics
gratuitously with drug enforcement, and that is irresponsible. The challenge
before the U.S. government is to energetically confront drug smuggling
rather than to appear to confront it.

From the beginning, the Clinton administration has portrayed Mr. McCaffrey
as a soldier's soldier. But the way in which he is championing the border
czar post signals that he is well along in his bid to become a bureaucrat's
bureaucrat.

If Gen. McCaffrey once was committed to winning wars, Mr. McCaffrey is
taking another tack in the civilian world. In Barry's world today, the U.S.
government must remain committed to appearing to be firmly inclined against
drug smuggling.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst