Relooking Domestic Counterdrug Strategy: Is There an Increased Role for the Military?
Abstract
Illegal drugs continue to have negative effects on the American way of life. Are drugs a threat to the security of the United States? There have been proposals from several segments in America to increase the role of the military in the nation's domestic counterdrug strategy. Should the domestic role of the military in the nation's counterdrug strategy increase? The current law prohibits the domestic use of active component military forces without the expressed approval of Congress. This paper discusses a brief history of drug policy in America, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (which is crucial to the role of domestic active military component employment), the congressional amendment to the Posse Comitatus Act in 1981 that clarified the role of the military in supporting federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additionally, the paper reviews Gallup Polls about who Americans think is responsible for stopping illegal drug use and if Americans agree with statements about drug strategies. Viable alternatives to the employment of active military forces are reviewed. The paper concludes that the nation's current counterdrug strategy is effective and that sufficient reasons to increase the domestic role of the military do not exist.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 30, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA327277
Entities
People
- James W. Whitehead Jr
Organizations
- United States Army War College