Drug Cartels: A Threat to National Security
Abstract
Recent history shows that concentrated efforts by the United States to counter the use of illegal drugs in this country is by no means a new phenomena. Each President since Nixon has targeted this problem in their own way. It was President Nixon, in 1969, who launched the war on drugs by significantly increasing the budget and by bringing in other agencies to help in the drug enforcement effort. President Reagan declared his war on drugs shortly after taking office and paved the to way for military involvement. Reagan targeted efforts against the cartel bases operating in Colombia, thinking these efforts would defeat the growing drug problem. President Bush s strategy called for increased drug enforcement efforts against the Andean countries of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. To fund this increased military involvement, the military funding for drug enforcement increased from $357 million in 1989 to more than $1 billion by 1992, according to Eva Bertram in her book Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial. Drug use in America had fallen dramatically; however, drug enforcement agencies still faced a daunting task. President Clinton did not believe a high-profile war on drugs suited his political agenda. He initially took efforts to deemphasize the drug war, favoring a social policy of drug addiction treatment, believing this would decrease demand. However, demand instead increased, especially amongst the teenage population of the US. This increased demand lead President Clinton to stepup efforts abroad to fight the war on drugs. The policy of the United States government toward the war on drugs has been inductive; however, a deductive strategy is necessary. Colonel John Warden, the architect of the Gulf War campaign, has developed a five ring model as a way to analyze a complex system and target specific sections, or rings to induce paralysis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA398699
Entities
People
- Steven J. Sample
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College