LINKING DRUGS TO TERRORISM

America is currently engaged in two "idea wars" - a drug war dating back to
1972, and a war on terror declared right after Sept. 11. The former is very
unpopular; 73 percent of Americans - according to a recent Pew Research
survey - reject government's claims of drug-war success and consider it a
failure beyond fixing. On the other hand, support for the war on terror is
still strong and seems to be sustaining President Bush's near-90 percent
approval.

As the Enron scandal generates heated discussions of conflict of interest,
it may be appropriate to suggest that the expenditure of millions for TV
ads, as witnessed during the Super Bowl, represent an attempt to link the
unpopular drug war to a winner. At what point should elected officials be
restrained from using tax dollars to defend their failures and forced
instead to seek policies that work?

Tom O'Connell, San Mateo, Calif.