ANOTHER KIND OF TERRORISM

Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, there has been a
concentrated effort on identifying, searching out and destroying the
terrorists believed to behind the ghastly acts.

The focus of the search has been for Osama bin Laden, the suspected
mastermind in the catastrophes at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a
cornfield in Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives were lost that day when
terrorists commandeered four commercial jetliners - all of which crashed at
the three locations.

While we support the Bush administration's approach to handling the war on
terrorism, we have to wonder what is happening on another battle front.

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of these outrageous acts of September has been
a war in which the United States has been fighting a losing battle for years.

The conflict of which we speak is against illegal drugs.

Not much has been said in recent weeks about the battle we have been
involved in for as long as we care to remember. It has been a fight which
has cost this nation billions of dollars and countless lives.

The war on drugs - we believe - also involves highly organized "terrorists"
who stop at nothing to reap the benefits of their illegal and deadly
activities.

Known as "drug lords," the leaders of these ruthless organizations have
assassinated political leaders and judges in the foreign nations in which
they are based.

Once smuggled into the United States, the frontlines of the war become the
very streets and neighborhoods we live in.

Illegal drugs are sold on the street corners in virtually every community,
and when drug dealers stake their claim in a neighborhood dwelling, the
structure becomes known as a "crack house."

Police officers and Drug Enforcement Agency agents have been slain in the
line of duty when confronting drug dealers and users.

Children have been used as human shields when gun fights between rival drug
gangs have broken out in our large cities.

And much of the crime - especially robberies and burglaries - we see
occurring across the nation can be attributed to illegal drug use.

Terrorism? Certainly it is.

Every time a store clerk or bank teller is confronted by a gunman, it's an
act of terrorism.

When innocent people die on our streets in the crossfire between drug
gangs, it's an act of terrorism.

When we're afraid to drive through certain sections of a town or city after
dusk because of illicit drug use, it's an act of terrorism.

What bothers us the most is that after paying such a high cost in lost
lives and resources, there still is no sign of victory in sight in the war
on drugs.