THE DAMAGES OF WAR

Regarding "Harm reduction strategy won't work" by General (Ret.) Barry R.
McCaffrey Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy, the good
general seems to believe that the War on Drugs causes no damage by itself.
How silly.

Wars always cause collateral damage. Who keeps track of it? Or does anyone?

The damages are multifaceted, deep and reach into the future. Harm
reduction is about accessing the damage of drugs use, abuse and trafficking
against the collateral damage caused by the effort to stamp it out.

General McCaffrey's tactic of impugning the motives of the harm
reductionists and legalizers, thus far, has allowed him to avoid addressing
these important issues.

How many more villages will the general's drug warriors burn before he
starts counting?

Gerald M. Sutliff
Emeryville, Calif.