Leveling the Playing Field in the War on Drugs.
Abstract
The 'war on drugs' has been a rhetorical and political challenge to do something about this nation's drug problem. The current threat and the drug traffickers' centers of gravity warrant a reassessment of national security priorities and the development of a coherent, long term strategic objective. The principles of objective, unity of effort, legitimacy and perseverance as they pertain to military operations other than war provide a framework that focus unilateral and multilateral efforts against the enemy's centers of gravity. In this context, the US military has not applied all necessary means authorized by the National Command Authority to combat the drug problem. In its role of detection and monitoring drug activities and supporting law enforcement agencies, the military has not depleted the availability of illicit drugs in the US, leading some exponents to suggest that the military should divorce itself from the drug war. The risks inherent in this implicit Fabian approach to the international theater of the drug war demand synchronous engagement of the five tenets to the National Drug control Strategy. Several initiatives are proposed throughout the body of this paper, but they do not infer a 'silver bullet' solution exists to neutralize the drug threat. The US military is but one among a myriad of players engaged in the drug war, and these players must play as a team and stay in the game in order to level the playing field in the war on drugs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA328099
Entities
People
- Paul F. Zukunft
Organizations
- Naval War College