DRUG WAR IS FAILING

Why do journalists who usually look at issues with critical and insightful
eyes get blurry vision when the issue of the drug war is raised? Editors at
the Daily Herald seem to have strapped on blinders while presenting and
commenting on the recent U.N. drug summit. At the summit, world leaders
tried to convince each other that this war can be won by getting even
"tougher" on drugs. The summit participants then gave new names to the same
old failed strategies.

The real story of the summit, which was not mentioned in the Daily Herald's
article or its editorial, was that hundreds of leaders and thinkers from
around the world signed a letter to the U.N.'s secretary general explaining
why the drug war only makes drug problems worse and why it's time to try a
truly new approach. Those who signed the letter were not just bleeding
hearts. Among the signatures were former U.S. secretary of state under
Ronald Reagan, George Schultz; Nobel Prize-winning free-market economist
Milton Friedman; and Joseph McNamara, former police chief of Kansas City and
San Jose. From the rest of the world, there were signatures from former
presidents of nations, current law enforcement officials, and even an
Olympic gold medalist.

Many of these true leaders wanted to have more of a presence at the U.N.
summit, but organizers of the summit couldn't tolerate the slightest
challenge to their politically correct doctrine. While that was predictable,
it was truly frustrating to see many outlets of our supposedly independent
American press parroting the party line.

Stephen Young Roselle

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett