FBI RESHUFFLE SHOWS BANKRUPTCY OF WAR ON DRUGS

After reading May 29 of the FBI's plan to reassign many of its personnel
from drug war responsibilities to counter-terrorism duties, I couldn't help
but notice yet another of the untended consequences of America's insane and
futile war on drugs.

It is already old news that this modern version of prohibition fills our
prisons with hundreds of thousands non-violent drug offenders.

It is also self-evident that it creates an astonishingly lucrative market
for the criminal underworld--and helps anti-democratic guerrillas fund
their campaigns in Colombia and other neighbors to the south.

We recently learned that the profitable black market, made possible by
prohibition, has served as a funding source for the Taliban and other
sponsors of terrorism.

The drug war promotes inner city violence as gangs feud over drug
distribution territories. And it is a major cause of the spread of HIV and
hepatitis, as illegal drug users share dirty needles-- or resort to
prostitution to support their habit.

But now the FBI admits what many have long suspected: the war on drugs has
wasted and misused much of the FBI's talents and resources. These
resources should have been busy protecting Americans from attack by
hate-filled terrorists. Instead they were busy trying to protect Americans
from themselves.

When will this madness end?

Jeffrey A. Singer, Phoenix