'DILIGENCE' DRUG BUSTS CELEBRATED

McIntyre Promises A Boost For Coast Guard's Budget

Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., received a private briefing Thursday aboard the
Coast Guard Cutter Diligence concerning the ship's latest activities, part
of which involved two cocaine seizures several hundred miles offshore of
Panama.

Rep. McIntyre, a member of the Armed Services Committee, praised the ship's
crew for its contribution to freedom and said the agency will be getting
more money in the next budget to carry out its missions.

The Coast Guard, which is part of the federal Transportation Department,
will be moved to the newly created Department of Homeland Security, Rep.
McIntyre said.

Dozens of crew members stood on the flight deck to listen to Rep. McIntyre,
who chatted with them afterward and had his picture taken with them.

When asked about a looming war with Iraq, Rep. McIntyre, who called Saddam
Hussein a madman, said the Iraqi president has had enough time to dismantle
his chemical and biological weapons.

Rep. McIntyre said the next two weeks are crucial as the United States
builds more support from its allies and gets the United Nations Security
Council to pass a second resolution supporting military action against Iraq.

United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is also expected to submit
a report to the Security Council on Feb. 28, he said, adding that report
could be a turning point.

"It is important that we have the support of our allies," he said.

Capt. Ed Daniels Jr., head of the Diligence, showed Rep. McIntyre the
housing from an outboard motor dotted with bullet holes. The equipment was
seized, along with 10,000 pounds of cocaine, during one of two drug
seizures on Jan. 28 and Jan. 31.

A total of eight people, all from Colombia, were turned over to federal
authorities in Cape Canaveral, said Lt. J.G. Colin MacInnes.

At the end of Rep. McIntyre's visit, the crew hoisted a member over the
side of the ship so he could place two more emblems on the ship to
represent the two successful cocaine busts.

Capt. Daniels also presented Rep. McIntyre with a framed photograph of the
Diligence on the Cape Fear River.

New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey accompanied Rep. McIntyre during his
tour of the ship.