WINNING THE DRUG WAR?

As the violence of the brutal drug war ravages Mexico, it underscores
growing questions about the damage being done in the United States
under modern-day prohibition.

At the root of Mexico's problems is rampant corruption -- beyond
rampant. It has contaminated the police, the military, the judiciary
and the highest reaches of the Mexican government, including even a
former "drug czar" charged with fighting the drug war.

The Mexican drug lords have recently taken time out from their
internecine battles over "turf" to flaunt their power by killing
government officials, police and even members of the military.

Last week, in one of the most chilling episodes, gunmen broke into the
home of a Mexican Navy special forces member, who was killed during a
raid that resulted in the death of a drug lord, and murdered his
mother and three relatives.

The message was clear: No one is safe from drug gangsters so powerful
that they dare to attempt to intimidate even the military with
cold-blooded murder.

For years, critics of the U.S. war on drugs -- which has utterly failed
to stop the flow of marijuana and other illicit substances -- have
warned that the huge amounts of money generated by the drug trade will
fertilize corruption on this side of the border.

It's happening.

The New York Times reported last week that while the average pay for
border agents is $70,000, they can quickly make many times that in
bribes. Arrests of Customs and Border Protection officers is up 40
percent -- almost double the 24 percent growth in the agencies' size as
the government ramps up efforts to seal the border against illegal
immigrants and drugs.

One agent, after only months on the job, took in about $200,000 in
bribes to let drug-laden vehicles pass.

The Times reported that smugglers are even recruiting people to apply
for jobs as border agents to take advantage of the increased hiring.

According to the FBI, drug-related corruption is a national security
threat, because smugglers can also bring terrorism-related items into
the country.

Prohibition in this country failed because it tried to deny people a
product they wanted. But it also spawned crime organizations still
operating today.

It's time for an open debate in Washington over who, exactly, is
winning the war on drugs.