DRUG WAR SOLUTION?

Given that the major casualty in our war on drugs is and has been the
civil rights of Americans, this war should never have been started.

Having been unfortunately started, it should long since have been
stopped.

However, bureaucratic empires built around the war on drugs have made
stopping it difficult, perhaps impossible. Legitimate efforts to
cease this foolishness should continue.

As to Mexico's problems spilling over into the United States, Mexican
criminals should be sent back to their own country.

There is no requirement for the United States to send them back with
their shoes shined and their trousers pressed, however.

On other aspects of this situation, Mexico has problems with the
corruption of some of its officials. Same thing happens here, in case
you haven't noticed.

Unfortunately, the customers for illegal drugs, should those drugs
continue to be illegal, are a separate question and are in the United
States -- a situation that our government seemingly has failed to
address for too many years, which has brought us to the point we now
find ourselves in.

By the way, a possible solution to this "spillover" of Mexican-based
criminal activity and violence into this country, as mentioned in a
Trib editorial (""Mexico's drug violence: U.S. in the cross hairs,"
March 3 and PghTrib.com), might be the following: Rather than
interfering with American citizens' right and ability to protect
themselves, the government should arm those who wish to be armed for
their own protection, for government obviously is not up to the task
and never has been.

The individual's personal protection is, has been and remains the
individual's responsibility.

About this, government talks a good game. Unfortunately, it doesn't
play a good game.

Alan Schultz

McCandless