Drone

“It was President Nixon who first declared the War on Drugs over forty years ago. That was also at a time when we were winding down from a decade-long war on the Asian continent. For forty years, American law enforcement personnel at the national, state, and local levels have fought valiantly against drug dealers despite limited resources and imposed legal restraints. Billions have been spent. But the sad truth is that hundreds of thousands of Americans have either died or have been incapacitated mentally or physically over the decades as a result of our failed attempt to win the War on Drugs.

“But it doesn’t stop there. Even as I speak, over half a million people are incarcerated for drugs and drug-related offenses, including violent crimes and property crimes. Incarceration, in turn, imposes its own burdens and costs on inmates and their families, as well as an enormous cost to the society as a whole. Over half a million Americans will visit an emergency room this year as a result of drug abuse, costing billions to taxpayers and insurers. And more Americans will die this year as a result of drug overdoses than they will from car wrecks. That’s about the same number of soldiers who were killed in three years of combat during the Korean War.

“Simply put, illegal drugs are destroying too many of our citizens, our families, our neighborhoods, our communities. Illegal drug use crowds our prisons, floods our health care system, cripples our schools, and robs the futures of millions of people. We lose tens of billions of dollars each year in tax dollars and personal income that should otherwise have been spent on our families and our communities for schools and housing and retirement.

“And in the spirit of full disclosure, let’s admit our complicity in the horrific violence that has torn apart our neighbors to the south. Over fifty thousand Mexican citizens have been killed in the last several years as a result of the Mexican government’s attempt to battle the drug cartels on our behalf. Today, Mexico earns more American cash from illegal drug sales in our nation than from legitimate exports to our country. Mexican cartels produce the preponderance of hard drugs that are the primary sources of that revenue, and the great sums of money they generate have been the catalyst for the bloody turf wars that have also been the cause of many innocent Mexicans’ deaths. Mexican society has suffered greatly because of our addictions and we bear some of the responsibility for that suffering.

“To be perfectly clear, I believe it’s time to end the so-called War on Drugs.”

* * *

Diele couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did she really just say that? He quickly rewound the DVR.

Yeah, she did.

* * *

Myers continued.

“Wars can be ended by quitting the battlefield—or by defeating the enemy. The reason why we’re losing the War on Drugs is because we have never really fought it like a real war. We must change course.

“While the future of the Middle East remains quite uncertain, what is positively clear is that we have not suffered another attack on U.S. soil like the one we suffered on 9/11 because of the sacrifices we have made and continue to make waging real war on our enemies in the War on Terror. In that sense, we’ve won that war—and continue to win it—and will always guard against Islamic terrorists who would destroy our nation.

“But there is another kind of terror. It takes more lives, causes more destruction, costs more money. We haven’t won the War on Drugs because we haven’t fought it like a real war. That has been our failure. We have two choices. Quit the war or really fight it. I choose to fight. Tonight, I am asking Congress to join with me to fight a real War on Drugs. It must be fought with the same intensity and clarity as any other war and in compliance with the Powell Doctrine I discussed earlier. Here is what I propose.

“First, is a vital national security interest threatened? The answer is yes. The extraordinary human and financial costs have just been explained. But let’s not miss the obvious, either. The recent attack on the Houston oil facility was conducted by members of the Bravo drug organization. The drug lords have long waged a war of terror on their victims—fear is one of their chief weapons. Burnings, beheadings, torture, kidnap, rape—these have all been used by the Mexican narcoterrorists against Mexican citizens. Increasingly, they’re being used against American citizens on American soil as well. As the commander in chief, I am responsible for the protection of American lives and property, and I intend to carry out my responsibility in full. It is my considered judgment that the narcoterrorists pose a national security threat. This is not a war on the government of Mexico or the people of Mexico. It is a war against the narcoterrorists, wherever they may be found.