The Domestic Counterdrug Mission: Increase DoD Support?
Abstract
There is no question the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 changed our national security environment. The operational tempo of the United States military as a result of the Global War on Terrorism and other international contingencies and deployments is at an all-time high. At the same time drug trafficking and use inside our borders continue to have an extreme negative impact on our communities and neighborhoods. Although some experts argue the United States has made progress in the war on drugs illegal drugs continue to be a threat to our national security. In fact there are those throughout our country that believe drug trafficking and addictions pose a greater threat to national security than terrorists do. More importantly the two threats become closely related or integrated when terrorists become involved in drug trafficking both to gain addicts to raise profits to fund their terrorist network and to weaken our will to resist them. What more can our federal government do to combat this cancer to our society? Should the Department of Defense (DoD) increase its support to the domestic counterdrug mission or is DoD stretched to the point in which it cannot provide more support to this vital mission as it has done in the past? This analysis considers the alternatives and risks of whether or not the U.S. military should provide more support to the domestic counterdrug mission. It will also review the current U.S. national drug policy objectives as they pertain to DoD involvement and the employment of the U.S. military. It considers the methods the military can use in the domestic war on drugs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 19, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA423304
Entities
People
- John E. Dumoulin Jr
Organizations
- United States Army War College