Let's Hope We Don't Start "Winning" the Drug War, Too

The Wall Street Journal reports that three politically conservative former heads of state in Latin America have declared the U.S.-led drug war on that continent a failure that is "putting the region's fragile democratic institutions at risk and corrupting 'judicial systems, governments, the political system and especially the police forces.'"

But it's U.S. officials' reaction that's mind-blowing.

[Former U.S. Drug Czar John] Walters said increased violence in border areas of Mexico was partly a result of criminal organizations compensating for reduced income from the supply of drugs by turning to other activities, such as people-smuggling, and continuing to fight over turf.

U.S. law-enforcement officials — as well as some of their counterparts in Mexico — say the explosion in violence indicates progress in the war on drugs as organizations under pressure are clashing.

"If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence," a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. There is violence "because these guys are flailing. We're taking these guys out. The worst thing you could do is stop now."

Awfully big of Walters to so boldly sacrifice Mexican lives in order make it marginally more difficult for Americans to get high.

Comments

[Ska]

They're only Mexicans Radley. Jeez, you make it sound like they're actually people.

And think of all the jobs that'll open up here in the states without so many damn illegals taking them away from fine aspiring Americans.

[Condi Rice]

"If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence," a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. There is violence "because these guys are flailing. We're taking these guys out. The worst thing you could do is stop now."

Birth pangs, people, birth pangs. Give Mexico an epidural and it will all work out.

[Stupendousman]

Couldn't that quote be applied to the drug warriors themselves? The steady, constant, increase in violence they apply to US citizens seems to me to be a sign they are and have been flailing for some time now.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov, Salvor Hardin in "Foundation"
US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 - 1992)

[Curious George]

Balko perhaps you're unaware that the standard chorus in Latin America is that the drug violence wouldn't exist if there wasn't a demand for drugs in the US.

So you and the other self satisfied druggies here are directly responsible for not only the drug violence but the corruption that has turned so many states in strongholds of drug lords.

Aren't you proud of what you have done to Columbia, Mexico, Boliva, Ecuador, and the Carribean? If only we allowed this in the US.
Why look at the paradise that free drug use produced in Amsterdam!

[ktc2]

Violence is up! We're winning, give us more money!

Violence is down! We're winning, give us more money!

[Xeones]

Yo, fuck John Walters.

[Jozef]

Yeah... The war on drugs is going so well that cocaine is cheaper than beer. Once we win the war on drugs, cocaine will be free.

[Juice]

Beer is much more than ?20 per gram.

[Citizen Nothing]

Clueless George is harshing my buzz.

[Citizen Nothing]

And what's up with you and The Man With the Yellow Hat, George? As if we didn't know...

[billhilly]

So what happens when the folks south of the border say screw it, we're tired of our folks dying in the vain attempt to keep the gringos from getting high? What happens if they legalize drugs down there?

[P Brooks]

So you and the other self satisfied druggies here are directly responsible for not only the drug violence but the corruption that has turned so many states in strongholds of drug lords. quoth the cartoon monkey.

[P Brooks]

What happens if they legalize drugs down there?

The Mexicans were talking about it, a while back; as I recall, American "diplomats" came down on them like a ton of bricks.

[Tyler]

Yes, demand in America is the whole reason for drug violence. Couldn't have anything to do with artificially high prices and the fact that the black market has the monopoly.

Guess we'd better get out the propaganda and mind control, that'll show those damn hippies.

(Fun Fact: The CIA experimented with LSD for mind control purposes. Their test subjects? Government employees in addition to unwilling participants from the general public)

[P Brooks]

the drug violence wouldn't exist if there wasn't a demand for drugs in the US.

The question is, are you really that clueless, or are you being intentionally obtuse?

There is a demand (I know not why) for Corona beer, in this country; it is satisfied successfully without bloodshed. How can this be?

[Nick]

In another post, Curious George was upset that the government is not allowing markets to be free. So, why is he arguing that the drug market should not also be free?

Oh yeah. He's a dumbass.

[R C Dean]

The Mexicans were talking about it, a while back; as I recall, American "diplomats" came down on them like a ton of bricks.

And as the cost of their drug war escalates, their concern about American diplomacy will decline.

I find it fascinating that about the only American "interest" that the State Dept. seems to get exercised about is the drug war. Weird.

[J sub D]

These protestations that lawlessness in Latin America, shootouts on the street to increase market share, indicates that we're winning the War on Drugs Brown Skinned People would be laughable if were not so fucking evil.

[Drug Consumer Apologist]

When you cannot win people over through the power of persuasion, use force. That is the ideology of the Drug War. And when even that doesn't work, it means you're not using enough force. Asking for self-introspection from the Drug-Warrior mentality? Pulling teeth.

Once they face the fact that people take drugs, have always taken drugs and will find any way to take drugs despite efforts against it. Only then will they fold. I await that day, but unfortunately remain not-so optomistic.

[bill]

Isn't the exact opposite true? There is so much violence because there is so much money being made by the dealers. The small players are being squeezed out by the big boys.

[Federal Dog]

""If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence,"

Completely illogical. Violence by, e.g., Al Capone in no way suggested that alcohol prohibition was effective.

Quite the contrary: When prohibition was repealed and gutted black market profits, violence deceased accordingly.

[J sub D]

Isn't the exact opposite true? There is so much violence because there is so much money being made by the dealers. The small players are being squeezed out by the big boys.

Well, duh!

[Curious George]

Good to see what drugs do to people's ability to reason. Of course violence is due to black markets, which is why violence is most noticeable in nations dominated by drug trade. Of course such examples bear no weight with the witless of those whose drug use precludes clear thinking.

Drug useage is so wonderful that how many nations encourage it?

Its so wonderful that which nations encourage its cultivation?

As I say drug use has its obvious effects on society.

So we see the usual people yearning for the Sodom of their dreams. Yeah and how many want the government to pay for their rehab, welfare, to end drug testing?

Yeah drugs have no effect, how many of you want your baby sitter to be a user, your pilot, your lawyer, your spouse.

The toxicity drug use breeds is seen in the happy homes it creates. Not to mention the creativity it inspires.

It was great to see McDonalds using retards/duggies in their outreach program. It was great for that Ramirez guy to ask Hussein those questions.

Duggies like him need special help. After all he's our hope, our future.

Hope, change, unicorns, free drugs.

[Cyto]

How about we try "none of the above. No prohibition of drugs, no pubic funding of rehab, welfare or drug related heath care.

Then people can freely choose whether to participate or not. And folks who no better, like Curious George, can advocate for responsible behavior on their part.

[Cyto]

know.

dang. I gotta put down the pipe... (or stop posting while sitting on a conference call... whatever)

[Ska]

Drug useage is so wonderful that how many nations encourage it?

I'm going to do a shot of bourbon, then reply with pretty much all of them except the arab states.

Unless there are a lot more dry countries that I don't know about.

[Doobie]

"Yeah drugs have no effect, how many of you want your baby sitter to be a user, your pilot, your lawyer, your spouse."
I don't want my babysitter, pilot, lawyer, or spouse to be a raging alcoholic, but I manage to avoid that without calling for Prohibition 2.

"Not to mention the creativity it inspires."
I'm with you there. Appetite for Destruction and Sticky Fingers were well worth at least 100 crack babies.

[Citizen Nothing]

Now I get it. Curious George is drunk.

[Bill Hicks]

"You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years - rrreal fucking high on drugs. The Beatles were so fucking high they let Ringo sing a few tunes."

[Bongzilla]

"Yeah drugs have no effect, how many of you want your baby sitter to be a user, your pilot, your lawyer, your spouse."

or your Olympians

[R C Dean]

Drug useage is so wonderful that how many nations encourage it?

Who said anything about encouraging it?

What kind of person is so in thrall to the Total State that they believe that anything not prohibited by the Total State is encouraged by the Total State?

"Yeah drugs have no effect, how many of you want your baby sitter to be a user, your pilot, your lawyer, your spouse."

I am totally indifferent to what anyone, including my physician, does when they are not working for me.

Seriously. If I saw my physician putting a dent in a bottle of Scotch after hours, I wouldn't care. And in fact I have, and I didn't. If I saw my physician sparking up at jam band festival, ditto.

[bruce]

i've already built the sodom of my dreams, george.

are you telling me that every time i take a bong hit, a mexican dies? well now, that's a harsh moral dilemma. should i or shouldn't i?

compromise! i'll wait until 4:20.

[ev]

This whole thing is fucked.

[J sub D]

I'm going to do a shot of bourbon, then reply with pretty much all of them except the arab states.

Nope. Ever had the coffee in that section of the world?

[Gabe]

billhilly | February 13, 2009, 1:21pm | #
"What happens if they legalize drugs down there?"

That is easy, the CIA helps get the presidents assasinated if they make efforts to legalize it. You don't expect Oliver North and his buddies to give up a revenue stream do you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgMvy9Adwbc

[ev]

Yet again, an amazing Orbach-era Law and Order.

The FBI is using a criminal informant, a high-up mob guy, to bring down other mob families.

They end up keeping him, allowing him to murder people...

I'm sure this was written a bit sensationally. But I also remember that bullshit in Mexico with that guy brutally killing 12 people or being somehow involved. Craazy.

[jtuf]

America's war on drugs is a disgrace. I'm amazed that so many anti-American protestors rally to complain about our banks and so few rally to complain about the Drug Enforcement Agency.

[StupendousMan]

jtuf,

Off topic. Every time someone writes "disgrace" I think of this post on Normal Bob Smith: http://normalbobsmith.com/hatemail187.html

[Rimfax]

Hey, maybe we'll win it so well in Mexico that a terrorist organization with an ideological anchor will take it over and make the damage even worse? Nah, that can't possibly happen twice,...or would that be three times? (Colombia [FARC] and possibly Afghanistan [Taliban])

[Orange Line Destroyer]

You can always tell the stupid from the really clueless. If you have ever travelled to the Middle East or lived there you'd know drugs are available everywhere. The same in Africa and most of South America. One can buy just about anything. Governments do not stop it because they control its flow and prfoit from its distribution. Lebannon was essentially a drug state where rival drug lords fought over processing and distribution till the 1980s. Hamas uses it as a prime source of their revenues as gdoes the Taliban and insurgent groups in the Phillippines, southern Thailand, and South America. Remember the Shining Path?

We need look no further than drug neighborhoods in our cities to sell the effect of the drug trade. Strange that gangs that deal in drugs grew during the baby boomer generation. One is to assume this was the result not of demand but of advertising?

So the brain damaged till us it is their right to indulge regardless of the broken families, destroyed lifes, destroyed communities.

Yes there is much merit to drug useage.

Interesting I saw not one of the drug proponents here respond to the heart of the issue which is does libertarianism mean indulging ones whims regardless of the consequences on oneself or others?

The one thing one can safety assume is none of the people advocating free drug use has a responsible position in society.

[LibertarianBlue]

Just to point out none of the Latin American leaders are Conservative. The Mexican and Brazilian politicians are Socialist while the former Colombian president is just a Liberal.

[Pablo Escobar]

Gabe:

That's absolutely correct the CIA runs the drug trade down here and do not want it legalized because it would cut into their profits. They also control George Soros, the World Bank, the World Court, Wall Street and the Mother Ship.

Now here's your shipment and remember cash only no checks. And you might try some of the lithium with your usual coke hit.

[Pablo Escobar]

Nick:

I need someone of your intelligence to be a mule. Besides the Haitians are asking too much.

[Timon19]

I'm going to do a shot of bourbon, then reply with pretty much all of them except the arab states.

Nope. Ever had the coffee in that section of the world?

Or the shisha?

Or the qat in the Horn of Africa?

[Juice]

Jenkem?

[Adidas Jeremy Scott online]

why they think only stop the drug war can stop the violence in border areas?why the government can not carry out the regulation to fight with these criminal?