Response from former ONDCP official to my China/death penalty post
On Friday I posted a piece on China's use of the death penalty for drug offenses, criticizing the UN, and secondarily the US, for programs that I believe are inadvertently feeding into this. My criticism of the US related to a drug enforcement cooperation agreement with China that was put in place in 2000 by then-Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Barry McCaffrey.
I got an email over the weekend from Bob Weiner, who served as ONDCP's Director of Public Affairs from 1995-2001, submitting these comments for the blog:
David,
Saw your piece… The arrangement with China never was intended to mandate or magnify their death penalty -- they are choosing their own enforcement tools, which as so many human rights abuses in China are excessive. The arrangement—and I was there and organized the news conference with US (including Gen. McCaffrey) and Chinese officials—was simply to get them to agree with us in enforcing international drug laws and treaties. What we saw there, including thousands of people in treatment factories but not getting real treatment, and the unbridled flow of methamphetamine and opium, was unconscionable.
digg
redditamerica gives worse than death penalty for pot
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 2:02amone paratroooper throws a flash bang grenade into your home, the other shoots your kid's poodle and the rest pump dad full of bullets for the remote in his hand... in front of the kids.
then mom is thrown in jail for not denying her wedding vows to God and turning in her husband, the kids are confiscated by dss and shipped to a loveless state home,then the house is found guilty.
after all that a public hanging isn't so bad.
The only good drug war
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/19/2007 - 9:13pmThe only good drug war was the Opium War.
We could use another one to teach those savages a lesson or two.