FUEL TO THE FIRE

Rather Than Helping The Situation, The War On Drugs Adds To International
Problems

Last week Bogota, Colombia, was rocked by a series of explosions blamed on
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. According to
government sources, the bombings were part of FARC's decades-old insurgency
against the Colombian government. The bombings were the worst since peace
talks broke down in February. On Thursday, suspected guerillas stormed a
provincial parliamentary building and took several legislators hostage.

Although the Colombian government is in no real danger of being overthrown
any time soon, rebels operate quite freely in some areas of the country.
It's no secret that they get a large portion of their financial support
from dealing, directly and indirectly, in illegal drugs. For this reason,
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson believes the
United States should step up its support for Colombia's government in its
civil war.

Hutchinson noted in an address last week that "There's no distinction
between terrorists who kidnap presidential candidates and traffickers who
operate the labs." He's probably right. But that doesn't mean we should
give unlimited support to the Colombian government to fight the insurgents.
Haven't we learned our lesson about interfering with the internal affairs
of other countries?

The way things stand now, U.S. aid is limited to counternarcotics efforts
of the Colombian military. When the rebels are deeply enmeshed in producing
and protecting drug supplies the line between military and anti-drug
efforts blurs considerably. Hutchinson's answer to that is to remove the
restrictions and back the Colombian government in all aspects of its civil
war on the grounds that one effort aids the other. We'd argue that two
wrongs don't make a right and we have no business meddling in the politics
or the business of a sovereign state.

Besides, it's becoming clearer that right-wing paramilitary groups in
Colombia are also profiting from the drug war to finance its own
operations. Hutchinson said that Carlos Castano, head of Colombia's largest
paramilitary group, is under investigation by U.S. authorities for his
possible involvement in drug trading. The paramilitary groups historically
have had ties to the Colombian government and routinely battle the leftists
who are fighting the government. So, our drug war is financing both sides
in Colombia's decades-long civil war.

That's troubling. Our attempt to crack down on the supply of drugs -
despite our inability to curb our own demand - contributes to another
country's internal problems. Several countries', in fact.

Closer to home, Mexican authorities are continuing a crackdown on
corruption at all levels of government, much of it drug war-related. The
government, working on its own and with U.S. help, has broken up several
big drug cartels that have been able to operate fairly freely because of
bribes paid to officials. On Wednesday, federal police arrested 41 local
and state police officers, including the police chief of Tecate, on charges
of corruption. Absent the war on drugs being foisted on the Mexicans by the
United States, how many of these officers might still be unsullied?

In Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai's shaky government faces one of its first
major challenges as it tries to prevent poppy farmers from harvesting their
crop. Poppies from Afghanistan have historically provided about 70 percent
of the world's supply of opium. The government has offered farmers about
$500 per acre to rip up their poppies. Since that's about a quarter of what
they can make from their crop, they are not too willing to take the deal,
even though the Kabul government is threatening to destroy the crops anyway.

While the government has started plowing under some fields, the plan
doesn't have much support in the far-flung regions of the country. So why
would a regime with a tenuous grasp on its authority push its luck with the
people? Outside pressure, of course.

The United Nations, according to Afghan Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni,
has pressured Kabul to restrict the flow of opium if it expects to get the
international aid that war-torn country desperately needs. Last week, U.S.
officials backed off a plan to force Karzai's government to play hardball
with farmers because they realized the futility of the plan.

It's a pity they don't see that same problem with the drug war in general.