BLAME U.S. POLICY FOR TERRORIST TRADE

The Feb. 2 "Weekly laurels and laments" on the Editorial Page warned
that the government was spending millions on a couple of Super Bowl
TV ads. The advertisements claiming that Americans who use illegal
drugs help finance terrorists were dishonest, outrageous and a waste
of taxpayers' money. For the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy to claim that drug users are to blame for financing
terrorists is like a maniac who kills his parents and then throws
himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.

It's the war on drugs that causes the very problem these ads complain
about. The war on drugs is a price support system for terrorists and
drug pushers. It turns ordinary, cheap plants like marijuana and
poppies into fantastically lucrative black market products.
Furthermore, the war on drugs makes America more vulnerable to
terrorists by misdirecting police resources.

The war on drugs created a black market that enriches terrorists,
finances violence and makes America less safe. The $3.4 million in
taxpayer money to run two 30-second advertisements was the largest
single government ad purchase in U.S. history and was unnecessary,
inappropriate and an insult to American taxpayers. Our government
should not be spending our money on advertising, especially false
advertising.

Jim Maas,
Stevens Point