Military Involvement in the Drug War -Just Say No

Abstract

The "War on Drugs" has, for three decades, been the term used to refer to the efforts to rid the United States of the scourge of illegal narcotics use and all the attendant problems which flow from this horrifying social problem. But who should fight this war? Past Presidents have engaged the military to halt the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, the rationale being that if you can limit the supply of drugs, use will drop significantly. But is the military the right instrument to use in this "war". This paper posits that it is not. The paper will detail the background of military and DOD involvement in narcotics interdiction, address the impact that interdiction efforts have had on illegal drug use in the United States, present reasons why the military should not be involved in the interdiction effort, and suggest possible alternative means to combat the drug problem in the United States.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA441104

Entities

People

  • Linda Fourmer

Organizations

  • National War College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Center Of Gravity
  • Department Of Defense
  • Drug Abuse
  • Drug Trafficking
  • Government (Foreign)
  • Governments
  • Interdiction
  • Law Enforcement
  • Narcotics
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Social Problems
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies