Media
Alert:
The
Wall
Street
Journal
hits
the
nail
on
the
head
with
regard
to
the
Drug
War's
destruction
of
Colombia's
society
8/29/97
On Thursday, 8/28, the Wall Street Journal checked in with a provocative editorial titled, "Whose Drug Problem?" The piece notes that American leaders find it very convenient to point toward outside influences, namely the Colombian government's inability to reign in its narco-criminals, for America's drug use, and, in so doing, create false operative questions such as how much more firepower we should send to the Colombian army. But, they write, "the real problem is that cocaine users in American society are doing such a good job of funding the bad guys in Colombia that a few more helicopters to help the good guys is not likely to make a difference." The editorial goes on to outline some of the more horrendous consequences of America's Drug War on Colombian society. "The army is locked in a timeless struggle against exceedingly well-armed guerillas... equipped with the best technology money can buy.... In 1996 more than 180,000 Colombians were made refugees by the violence. Some 33,000 people were killed last year alone. In the past month scores of peasants have been murdered and at least five mayors were kidnapped. Colombian President Ernesto Samper's own party asked him to shut down congress and adopt emergency powers in order to end the violence." The journal concludes by saying that at some point, the Colombians, tired of existing in a U.S.- mandated state of chaos, will finally tell the Americans to deal with their own drug problem. We agree. And we are asking our membership to take a few minutes to send a letter (or email) to the Journal focusing on the arrogance and immorality of destroying one democratic society in an unachievable and politically disingenuous quest to save another from its self-destructive tendencies. We would also add that just as an unenforceable Prohibition is destabilizing source countries, so it is in America, with exploding prison populations, the erosion of civil rights, and the creation of a culture of violence, especially among the non-affluent young. As always, we would love to get a copy of any correspondence you send. And if your letter gets published... by all means let us know! WSJ e-mail: [email protected] or by mail: Wall Street Journal
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