The link between our failed drug strategies and the violation of our southwest border
A POSITION PAPER
Why is it that every time this country faces a very real threat, our elected officials always seem to show that proverbial "deer in the eye headlight? "Dates as of 7 May 1915, December 7, 1941, 26 February 1993, 19 April 1995, and of course September 11, 2001, are every day that will live in the collective memory of this country, however, these events and many other less publicized, seem to have captured our elected leaders, at least publicly, without a clue. Despite continuous warnings from several federal agencies and law enforcement, I dare to be accused of using an oxymoron, the intelligence community U.S., our elected leaders have shown a consistent tendency to be reactive rather than proactive in their efforts to protect our citizens. In fact, foreign drug traffickers currently threatening the sovereignty of our southern border, our leadership once again seemed bemused by the latest turn of events. However, in point of fact, this situation has been percolating for some time and is yet another example of the government itself misstep was criticized on several occasions after the events of 11 September 2001 – just because our leaders failed to address an imminent threat does not necessarily mean I was not, in fact, an imminent threat.
The omission of the usual statistics of number sense, and the perpetual self-serving political rhetoric How we got where we are today along our southern border? Arguably, it is more than coincidence that this country is wrapped in a war of "border" with drug traffickers pose a very real threat to the safety and welfare of innocent citizens on both sides of the border – In fact, was inevitable. Like the defenders of the Alamo revered story, which was occupied by men and women who knowingly put way damage defending a national principle, federal drug agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), and a host of other forces security are certainly experiencing some of the fear itself, while also continue their ongoing battle over the parapets metaphorical our southwestern border. Even traditional law enforcement critics agree that federal and state enforcement personnel have always stood bravely our proverbial walls of the invaders of the south and, in fact, always "full of rape" when asked to do so worldwide. Without But asking the question why these few dedicated professionals are not waiting for reinforcements crouching come riding over the horizon. Just as the brave at the Alamo, not his style.
By way of background, contrary to popular opinion, opium was introduced to this country long before the arrival of Chinese workers arrived to help build the transcontinental railroad, but drug use was somewhat limited in their use and availability. In the early heroin from 1970 injection, "bastard son of opium," began to proliferate the U.S., largely due to our involvement in Vietnam and the major European suppliers with catchy names like French Connection. At the same time, New York-based entrepreneurs heroin, as Frank Lucas, Nicky Barnes, and others fought the heretofore "controlled" the heroin market away from traditional Italian organized crime figures and began to flood the interior of the communities of the city with heroin cost high-grade/low thus precipitating the introduction of U.S. public opinion on the heroin problem is now very visible, and its myriad side issues, such as higher crime rates and violence that accompanied it. Interestingly, Russia experienced a close result social identity as a result of its military involvement does not (1979-1989) in Afghanistan.
In July 1973, in an effort to combat our post-war "epidemic", then President Richard Nixon signed an Executive Order establishing the DEA to combat the burgeoning drug trade. Despite being much more many (about 1,200 agents around the world) and very under-funded (about $ 75 million), the newly ordained DEA agents, as loyal soldiers, accused of the infringement found in the wall and immediately scored some impressive victories, while stopping the flow of heroin into this country. However, with all their limited human resources and funding focused on heroin from Asia and Europe, other international savvy entrepreneurs, such Bolivia, Roberto Suarez, and based Bismark Barrientos, were preparing for the violation of our unguarded southern border with an unlawful, albeit more socially acceptable, "party drug" called cocaine. As expected, very limited resources of the DEA were later changed to South America combat this new threat. DEA mantra quickly became and remains "do more with less."
In 1988, a table of all the volunteers DEA agents were specially trained by U.S. military and began operations to combat drugs (Operation Glacier) in the "countries of origin, such as Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. In 1991, the DEA opened combating drug operations in Central America (Cadence Operation) to stop the flow of drugs to Mexico by airplane and tractor-trailers that travel the Highway. Overall budget "bang-for-the-money" In comparison, these paramilitary operations required relatively few resources, however, had very impressive. DEA agents operating in the jungles of South America seized and / or destroyed hundreds of clandestine cocaine laboratories and destroyed thousands of gallons of chemical precursors. In fact, from the period 1988 to 1995, were seized thousands of kilos of cocaine as well as the many difficult to replace retrofitted in several million dollars of contraband such as the Beechcraft King / Queen aires, DC-10, and the coveted cargo long-range/heavy Aero-Commander. Seizures very impressive to be safe and superior to all cocaine seizures made by our combined national enforcement bodies of law, however, these impressive results are being made by a handful of dedicated Temporary Duty (TDY) Agents of the DEA in a very limited budget. Despite the marked success of these counter-drug operations, there was a possible political "determination of termination" of these DEA operations that cause the U.S. to lose one of its most effective weapons to combat drugs in Central and South America. Unfortunately, with ill-advised termination of the program, we have lost something far more valuable – the only cooperation and camaraderie that was built between our TDY agents and the various host countries forces who worked side by side with them. This worldwide unique bond law enforcement, police working with the police who transcends politics and even nationality. Finally, the loss of this special relationship, also lost a resource of valuable information that various entities benefited from U.S. government and most importantly, something that six (6) DEA agents devoted tragically lost parenting life – A special relationship that unfortunately may be too far gone to be used at this late date.
In any case, with the opening of our southern borders of NAFTA in January 1994 and the change of political motivation of the resources of law enforcement out of Central and South America mid-1990s, we experienced once again our government's inability (or refusal) to learn from his fingers mostly ineffective and continuous "in dam "errors strategy against drugs. With all our political and military attention (and budget) mesmerized with the Middle East and Afghanistan for more than eight years, the attention of national implementation (again) turned away from Central and South America for so long that the heroin began a inevitable resurgence, as methamphetamine, Ecstasy, Ice, and any number of other designer drugs. Moreover, as if the height, now not only have to deal with the Mexican / drug cartels in Latin America, which have flourished relatively unmarked in the last 8 years, but now we have to deal with multiple left-wing (anti-American) politics "Dictators" blackmail us with oil exports, which threatens our staff U.S. Embassy with deportation persona non grata, and even see some Latin American political "puppet" of chewing coca leaves at meetings of international politics. Today, frustrated career drug enforcement professionals who have more experience in these matters, have collectively come to terms with the fact that "It's déjà vu all over again."
Although the DEA is the only federal agency with a focus unique application and the international mission, the Congress, in its infinite wisdom, seems determined to exhaust the annual budget of the DEA, while at the same time, time, diffusion limited resources on drugs in the various authorities and federal law enforcement. In the absence of the same political force and the always effective relationships public machine of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the leadership of the DEA seems ineffective in preventing the routine of "violation" of its budget and resources. Stranger still, if one considers its traditionally limited resources of the DEA in the fight against drugs and capture success are staggering and, more important, irrefutable. However, our elected leaders, inexplicably, have insisted in disseminating anti-drug funding limited and precious resources in all the other federal agencies (no shortage of acronyms here), which are relatively free to continue practicing their "Jack of all trades, master for nothing ", while the philosophy of spending time, labor, and considerable financial resources in thousands of research projects to include the occasional "drug case" when the mood strikes them. Indeed, when drug investigations are merely a "collateral duty" one can easily suggest (and many do) that most recent cases of federal DEA drugs were simply selected for the increasingly important detention / statistics embargo and, more importantly, Andy Warhol's 15 minutes that usually generate.
Although in the past four (4) presidents in office have always ordered inter-agency cooperation, the appointment of a czar "drugs" as well as several other attempts to politically ineffective for all U.S. law enforcement on the same sheet of music, we still have multiple U.S. agencies investigating "cases of narcotics." Arguably, these uncoordinated efforts are for the most part, the compensation is only low-level offenders and filling our already over-crowded/over-funded federal prison system (over $ 5 billion per year) with young people who are having no real effect on the drug problem in this country. More importantly, these continuous ineffective "drug war strategies, or lack thereof, are providing ammunition to the media diary the growing number of "legalizing drugs" to supporters of this country. Indeed, how to justify, or even explain, hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers is being spent by various agencies of law enforcement in an uncoordinated, ineffective and unpopular "war" will never be won in such a disjointed effort. I do not think even the most experienced in Washington, DC "spin doctor" can evoke a rational answer for this. Imagine, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine (and its various reserve units), the U.S. Air Force, National Guard and Coast Guard all operators of independently in Iraq with their own chain of command. Obviously, chaos, the result would be ineffective. Maybe it's time to pay attention to Albert Einstein who suggested that it was "crazy" to do the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
In the Second World War, strategists agreed that States States could not effectively fight a war on two fronts. Consequently, it was decided to put all our efforts and resources to defeat the Axis powers in Europe and then turn our attention to Japan. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander of the successful effort. After the tragedy of 11 September 2001, President Bush and his closest advisers agreed that to effectively protect our borders, to consolidate multiple federal agencies and put them under Secretary National Security, the consolidation of funding, manpower, and most importantly, the leadership under a unified command structure. In any armed conflict that this country has been involved in, we have never developed a strategy that suggested that the line of our borders with sandbags. We have always taken the fight to our enemies. Applying this same logic, our leaders can develop a viable strategy against drugs today? The version of Reader's Digest – Yes, and by chance, there is no real need to re-invent the wheel in order to implement any number of viable scenarios.
A scenario possible, by Executive Order, it could have on the human resources allocated to all federal agencies for the implementation of "drugs" and make under the sole authority and unified DEA – with them would become the agency already assigned "drug budget." With these additional resources, the senior management of the DEA could be used to increase its overseas operations by 50% over the next 3 years. DEA operations consisting mainly foreign construction of foreign liaison, operations against drugs / verification, intelligence collection and active surveillance of the border – on both sides. At the same time, the U.S. Customs / U.S. Border Patrol could be restricted to cross-border cases, smuggling, and violations of our national borders – an obvious and it is not, obviously, there's plenty to keep them occupied. Despite the ridiculous, but inevitable, the objections of angry supporters of the NRA, the ATF can be addressed to initiate a concentrated effort in the implementation of certain weapons-of-the preferred choice for drug traffickers, as like the AK-47, Mac 9 / 10, Ruger Mini-14, AR-15, TEC-9, high-capacity, semi-automatic pistols. Finally, the FBI could be banned from working unilateral "drug cases" or spend its resources on any other stat "generation" research is best left to state and local authorities. Indeed, one might even suggest that focus in what is supposed to be doing – which should focus on more critical and real violations of Title 18, the collection of weather information, and protecting this country from abroad and / or religious fanatics obsessed with the destruction of this country. Finally, and most importantly, all hitherto "protected territory" of computer systems (NADDIS, TEC, OCIS, ISIS, Langley, etc.) should be combined and analyzed effectively (in the time) in a National Intelligence Center Integrated Resources for independent, multilingual, highly trained, yet law enforcement intelligence analysts Affiliate.
Although this is only one of several possible scenarios, most agree that a common thread that exists in the success of any scenario – our Elected leaders need to remove the blinders and at the same time ensuring that all our federal agencies working together for the common good. Now that is not an innovative idea?
About the Author
The author is a 27-year career law enforcement veteran. He has been adjudicated in both state and federal courts as an expert in myriad criminal investigations as well as both domestic and international drug enforcement matters. He is currently an independent consultant and author.
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