COBLE OBSERVES DRUG WAR PLIGHT

TRIAD - Rep. Howard Coble's overseas fact-finding trip this week has
brought home to him first-hand the complexities and stakes of the
international drug war.

Coble, R-6th District, made the trip to meet top officials in Mexico
and Panama, including the presidents of both nations, in his role as
chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland
Security.

Coble said Thursday that he doesn't believe that the drug war can be
won in the way that many Americans expect. The combination of greed,
corruption and addiction in a global drug trade means that winning
involves victories in as many skirmishes as possible, the 11-term
congressman from Greensboro said.

"If we can diminish it in an ongoing way, I regard that as winning
it," he said. "Illegal drugs have the potential to bring this country
to its knees if we don't have some sort of control over it."

Coble said that he's concerned about the connection between
international drug dealers and terrorists. Drug money is being used to
fuel terrorists targeting U.S. interests, he said.

Coble said that drug enforcement officers estimate that 90 percent of
the cocaine from Colombia that reaches the United States comes through
Mexico.

"Panama has become a significant transit country as well because of
its location," he said.

His discussions with representatives of the FBI, U.S. Coast Guard and
Drug Enforcement Administration indicate that the Mexican and
Panamanian governments are cooperating with the United States in the
war on drugs, Coble said.

Officials in Mexico and Panama expressed appreciation that a senior
congressional member came to their countries to discuss drug
trafficking issues, he said.