POLICY TO BLAME

Martha Byrd [Letters, Jan. 12] seems to have fallen for the red herring
that NAFTA is to blame for US drug problems. In her bid to overturn NAFTA
she states that "no amount of money lost ... is worth one single young
life."

One might ask Ms. Byrd, "what about the life of Esequiel Hernandez, an
innocent 18-year-old, mistakenly shot and killed by US Marines on a drug
patrol?" Or what about the countless innocent inner-city youths killed
every year in the crossfire of gangs warring over drug turf? Are these
lives less valuable than those of the youths who dabble in drugs and lose?
Rather than scapegoating NAFTA, let's place the blame where it belongs: on
a drug policy where drug dealers, drug warriors and prison builders profit
from a never-ending game, subsidized by American tax dollars and American
lives.

Craig Schroer
Austin