Wednesday, September 19, 2007

More on the Annual Report on Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries A very surreal presentation by Christy McCampbell , Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, where it appears that success is measured by wishing it. QUESTION: You threw out a bunch of countries where there are extenuating circumstances. I understand Afghanistan being one of them, but a few of the other ones are close U.S. allies and in some cases, this is what Plan Colombia has been going on for many years. Why are there extenuating circumstances in these countries beyond the fact that they're U.S. allies? [...] MS. MCCAMPBELL: Okay. Well, first of all, let me go back to your questions about -- you mentioned Plan Colombia. Plan Colombia has absolutely been a success and a lot of that is because of the assistance that the United States has put in there. Now they are on the -- what we're -- Colombia is going on a downhill -- gradually moving downhill to take over all the eradication and the counternarcotics activities themselves. We call it nationalization. They have done a great job down there and because of Plan Colombia, they have amazing statistics. Their kidnappings are down by 76 percent. Their homicides are down by over 40 percent. There has been a great success rate there. So when you talk about extenuating circumstances, they still are growing cocaine -- or coca. They still are producing cocaine. But in the overall picture, over the last years that we have helped them and worked with them as partners on Plan Colombia, it has been nothing but a success. So that's what I would say to you on Plan Colombia. [...] QUESTION: Well -- but just to follow, I mean -- in addition to Plan Colombia, I mean, your whole Andean Regional Initiative, which was launched several years ago -- why are these countries still the major drug transit or producing nations? I mean, I understand that you say that there's been some success, but how can you claim it's a success when out of all the countries in the world, these are still the most major producing and transiting countries? MS. MCCAMPBELL: Well, my answer to that is they are a success because they are absolutely working with the United States. Those governments are trying their best to keep the coca and the cocaine out of our country, and that's what we're striving for. 1:48:05 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

The Farce of Drug War Certification It's that time again, and President Bush has issued his memorandum -- Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2008 -- identifying which countries have been naughty and nice to see whether they get a lump of coal in their stocking (or a pile of cash and Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters). Of course, it has nothing to do with drug war success. It is, to an extent, public bribery to toe Washington's absurd drug war line, but it's mostly a way to reward and punish regimes based on other political goals. Now you might well ask what the United States would do about a country that had suddenly vaulted into producing almost all of the world's opium in just a short time under a particular regime. Wouldn't the country in charge of that be up for some strict sanctions? Of course, the country is Afghanistan and the ones in charge... well, that's kind of... us. So the President necessarily spends some time talking about Afghanistan, but I have absolutely no idea what was said. It's a fine piece of obfuscation and doublespeak. Although President Karzai has strongly attacked narcotrafficking as the greatest threat to Afghanistan, one third of the Afghan economy remains opium-based, which contributes to widespread public corruption, damage to licit economic growth, and the strengthening of the insurgency. The government at all levels must be held accountable to deter and eradicate poppy cultivation, remove and prosecute corrupt officials, and investigate and prosecute or extradite narcotraffickers and those financing their activities. We are concerned that failure to act decisively now could undermine security, compromise democratic legitimacy, and imperil international support for vital assistance. In Afghanistan, one model for success can be drawn by comparing the marked differences in cultivation between the northern and southern provinces. Several northern provinces contributed to a decline in poppy cultivation resulting from a mixture of political will and incentives and disincentives, such as public information, alternative development, and eradication. Furthermore, several northern provinces with very low amounts of poppy are well on their way to becoming poppy free. Despite the significant progress made in Afghanistan since 2001, the country continues to face tremendous challenges. Our struggle to win hearts and minds, while confronting the insurgency, continues to directly hinge on our ability to help the Afghan government produce visible results. We need to encourage a firm belief among the Afghan people that their national government is capable of delivering an alternative to the preceding decades of conflict. Our reconstruction assistance is an essential instrument to achieve that goal. Ah. Yes. There's a clear road-map. [Thanks, Allan] 9:28:39 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Members of Congress write a letter Link Washington, D.C. -- A letter signed by 45 members of the U.S. House of Representatives will be delivered today to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) demanding an end to the obstruction of scientific research aimed at developing marijuana as a legal prescription medicine. Good for them. Here are the 45 members (including two Presidential candidates), in case you want to thank any of them. John W. Olver, Dana Rohrabacher, George Miller, Howard Berman, Ron Paul, Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, Sam Farr, Jim McGovern, Steve Rothman, Maurice Hinchey, Raúl M. Grijalva, Henry A. Waxman, Jerrold Nadler, Lynn Woolsey, Dennis Kucinich, Mazie Hirono, Michael Capuano, Jim Moran, James Oberstar, Barbara Lee, Julia Carson, Robert Wexler Jan Schakowsky, Steve Cohen, Danny Davis, Zoe Lofgren, John Lewis, Fortney Pete Stark, Michael M. Honda, Ed Pastor, Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Gary L. Ackerman, Neil Abercrombie, Donald M. Payne, John F. Tierney, Lois Capps, Rosa L. DeLauro, LorettaSanchez, James R. Langevin, John Campbell, David E. Price, Peter A. DeFazio, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Edolphus Towns 12:08:10 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []