DRUGS AND TERROR

I was baffled by Robert Novak's column on the alleged need to tie the drug
war to the war on terror [op-ed, Dec. 10]. The drug war helps to finance
terrorists -- they would not be drawn to drug sales as a funding source if
prohibition had not made drugs so profitable.

While Novak calls drugs "weapons of mass destruction" and lists several
official U.S. enemies that have profited from the illegal drug trade, it is
crucial to remember that some official allies (including the Northern
Alliance in Afghanistan) are no strangers to drug trafficking. Are our
friends also using weapons of mass destruction against us?

In reality, if we wanted to hurt terrorists, we would end the war on drugs.
Such a move would stop the flow of black-market narco-dollars to terrorists
and slash the power of drug gangs here in America. If we do as Novak
suggests and link the war on drugs to the war on terror, the only result
will be to prolong both indefinitely.

Stephen Young