First, I think the "War on Drugs" is about as illusion-filled as the wars on "hate" and "poverty." I think drugs are scourge in modern society, but the gov't has used that to over-reach for at least a generation.
In an unintended result of the Sequester, it looks like the Navy is pulling out of drug interdiction:
Budget Cuts Could Pull Navy Out of The War on Drugs | USNI News
Several observations:
1 - The USN probably shouldn't have been involved in the first place. Yeah, yeah, posse comitatus only applies in CONUS, but the bigger picture is that the military isn't supposed to do civilian law enforcement.
2 - There's bunches of made-up numbers about what percentage of drugs were interdicted. I hate it when they do that.
3 - To me, this is really burying the lede:
Are we really that worried about sea-based military threats emanating from South America? Those Chileans, man... they are our REAL enemy. (Apply your own purple, as necessary.)
Don't get me wrong - I am all for a big umbrella to shield the US. But... is that REALLY the best use of those resources?
How about this... why don't we close useless bases like this one, that apparently ONLY has a role in the War on Drugs, and actually send CVNs to places that might actually have enemies.
Just a thought.
In an unintended result of the Sequester, it looks like the Navy is pulling out of drug interdiction:
Budget Cuts Could Pull Navy Out of The War on Drugs | USNI News
Several observations:
1 - The USN probably shouldn't have been involved in the first place. Yeah, yeah, posse comitatus only applies in CONUS, but the bigger picture is that the military isn't supposed to do civilian law enforcement.
2 - There's bunches of made-up numbers about what percentage of drugs were interdicted. I hate it when they do that.
3 - To me, this is really burying the lede:
Wait - what? We have P-3s based in... El Salvador?Flights of Navy P-3 reconnaissance aircraft based in El Salvador will continue for now, Barker said.
Are we really that worried about sea-based military threats emanating from South America? Those Chileans, man... they are our REAL enemy. (Apply your own purple, as necessary.)
Don't get me wrong - I am all for a big umbrella to shield the US. But... is that REALLY the best use of those resources?
How about this... why don't we close useless bases like this one, that apparently ONLY has a role in the War on Drugs, and actually send CVNs to places that might actually have enemies.
Just a thought.