War on Drugs Policy Paper
War on Drugs Policy Proposal
John Cox
POL 300
June 5, 2011
Benjamin Webb
Proposed Policy for Mexico and the United States
The United States and Mexico are fighting what could be called a never-ending war, the war on the illegal drug trade. Drugs flow across the US-Mexico border seemingly unrestricted, even though both countries spend billions of dollars each year attempting to halt the flow of drugs. Drug cartels in Mexico operate with impunity, and have little regard for laws, regulations, and human life. Over 35,000 people on both sides of the border have been killed by these drug cartels since 2006, a number that continues to grow each day (Military, 1988). The flow of illegal drugs into our nation represents a major risk to our national security, not only from the drug themselves, but also in that the technologies and methods used to transport drugs can also be used to transport people and weapons into the country, giving terrorists another way of striking the United States. Terrorist organizations also use money generated through drug trafficking to finance terrorist activities here and abroad, further increasing the likelihood of a terrorist incident within our borders. This policy paper will identify what military forces are used in the drug war, new technologies available to increase border security, political options to assist the United States and Mexico in stopping the drug trade, and options for reducing the demand for drugs in the United States.
The War on Drugs
The first step in fighting and winning the war on drugs is to give the war on drugs the same status and support as the war on terrorism. Drug traffickers are no different from terrorists, they just use different weapons. Our nation is at grave risk from both groups, therefore both groups should be treated equally. While a number of Acts and Directives have changed the way military forces are used in the war on drugs, room exists for further change, increasing the role of the
John Cox
POL 300
June 5, 2011
Benjamin Webb
Proposed Policy for Mexico and the United States
The United States and Mexico are fighting what could be called a never-ending war, the war on the illegal drug trade. Drugs flow across the US-Mexico border seemingly unrestricted, even though both countries spend billions of dollars each year attempting to halt the flow of drugs. Drug cartels in Mexico operate with impunity, and have little regard for laws, regulations, and human life. Over 35,000 people on both sides of the border have been killed by these drug cartels since 2006, a number that continues to grow each day (Military, 1988). The flow of illegal drugs into our nation represents a major risk to our national security, not only from the drug themselves, but also in that the technologies and methods used to transport drugs can also be used to transport people and weapons into the country, giving terrorists another way of striking the United States. Terrorist organizations also use money generated through drug trafficking to finance terrorist activities here and abroad, further increasing the likelihood of a terrorist incident within our borders. This policy paper will identify what military forces are used in the drug war, new technologies available to increase border security, political options to assist the United States and Mexico in stopping the drug trade, and options for reducing the demand for drugs in the United States.
The War on Drugs
The first step in fighting and winning the war on drugs is to give the war on drugs the same status and support as the war on terrorism. Drug traffickers are no different from terrorists, they just use different weapons. Our nation is at grave risk from both groups, therefore both groups should be treated equally. While a number of Acts and Directives have changed the way military forces are used in the war on drugs, room exists for further change, increasing the role of the
References: Carlsen, L. (2007, July 11). Militarizing mexico: the new war on drugs. Retrieved from http://www.fpif.org/articles/militarizing_mexico_the_new_war_on_drugs Depireux, D. (2000, March 21). Vehicle classification using acoustic data based on biology hearing models and multiscale vector quantization http://www.isr.umd.edu/~baras/publications/papers/2000/DeprireuxVBSP_2000.html Military (1988), Drug Interdiction and the Military Wilkenson, W. (2008). A New Underwater Threat. Retrieved from http://www.military.com/forums/0%2C15240%2C177265%2C00.html