Fighting Drugs and Terrorism- Parallels

A November, 2008, report by the Brookings Institute's Partnership for the Americas Commission concerns key challenges faced by the United States and the hemisphere’s other countries—such as securing sustainable energy supplies, combating and adapting to climate change, and combating organized crime and drug trafficking. The report concludes that these challenges have become so complex and deeply transnational that they cannot be managed or overcome by any single country.

Focusing on the "war on drugs", Tracy Wilkinson of the Los Angeles Times writes,"The problem, according to the report, is that the U.S. approach emphasizes law enforcement and neglects the problem of consumption." The same article Ernesto Zedillo, Co-chairman of the Brookings Institution's Partnership for the Americas Commission, is reported as saying that U.S. policy has been "asymmetrical" in demanding Mexico stanch the flow of drugs northward without successful efforts to stop the flow of guns south and that, in addition to disrupting drug-smuggling routes, eradicating crops and prosecuting dealers, the U.S. must confront the public health issue that large-scale [drug] consumption poses. Wilkinson further quotes Zedillo as saying, "If we insist only on a strategy of a criminal pursuit of those who traffic in drugs, the problem will never be resolved."

It occurred to me that the same proposition could be applied to the "war on terror". If we insist on a strategy of military action against terrorists, the problem will never be solved. You simply cannot kill all of the terrorists and, the more of them that you kill, the more terrorists you will face. The U.S. and its allies in the war on terrorism must address the conditions that create terrorists.

To protect the hemisphere from drugs and organized crime, the report recommends that the nations undertake a comprehensive, comparative evaluation of counter narcotics measures. Recommended actions, among others, include: (1)increase substantially the amount of federal and state funds available to drug courts and related treatment programs, (2) complement drug-prevention programs in schools with drug education outside the classroom, (3) customize the messages of drug-prevention campaigns to specific target groups, and (4) combine eradication efforts with policies to promote alternative livelihoods and more effective interdiction.

To protect the world from radical Islamic terrorists, the nations need to undertake a comprehensive counter-terrorism measures. Recommended actions include: (1) creating employment opportunities and job training through the investment of Middle Eastern oil profits throughout areas where Muslims predominate; (2) improving educational opportunities that supplant the religious training of Muslim youth and eclipse teaching of radical Islamic beliefs; (3) developing motion picture, television and other performance events, including professional sports, that are consistent with Muslim religious beliefs, (4) admitting to the adverse effects of colonialism and take actions to rectify any remnants of colonialism by making amends where possible; (5) showcasing Western life and values to counter misconceptions among the Muslim population about Americans and Europeans; 6) delivering medical assistance wherever it is needed to impoverished populations; and providing technical assistance and equipment to improve agriculture and food production and consumption. There are certainly other things that can be done to slowly, but surely, transform the Muslim world into a modern society with respect to tolerating other religions, diminishing corruption, and respecting human rights (particular those of women). Perhaps, with a new President, an effective counter to radial Islamic terrorism can be developed.