For The Record

FROM REMARKS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO YESTERDAY AT THE DRUG
ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM IN ARLINGTON:

Being in the State Attorney's Office and state attorney in Dade County
during the late '70s gave one the best perspective to view what the
dedicated agents in DEA did for that community as the drug wars threatened
it and violence really created havoc. . . .

I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to see DEA from the
perspective that I now enjoy. . . .

I have been to local communities, to small towns, where the sheriff will
come in and say: "The DEA . . . team has been here. They haven't claimed
credit. They did it quietly. But they came in, they've helped, they've made
a difference. They've reduced violence in this community, and we are deeply
grateful."

I have been out West, to more rural areas, where a sheriff will say: "We
have got a real problem coming up this highway, but DEA has helped. DEA has
made a difference."

I have been on a sailing ship of sorts, in the middle of New York Harbor,
with DEA agents who were spending their Saturday morning reaching out to
Explorers, to give young people something to say yes to. I have been in
capitals around the world where the country attache has represented this
nation with distinction and with honor. I have watched DEA and FBI agents .
. . as they worked together to exchange information and to see that a drug
gang was prosecuted without anybody claiming credit except credit for the
final solution -- a conviction that stood up on appeal.

© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company

Checked-by: Richard Lake