Anyway, I apologize to FR libertarians for the insinuation.
What's to spin? If widgets were illegal you could trade them for arms.
Learn some supply and demand econimcs before making such absurd allegations.
(Liquor running on the Great Lakes was a ma-and-pa operation with very little violence associated until stiff enforcement handed it to Capone's gang.)
I myself am a moderate on the issue: if the social harms of the prohibition of a certain drug outweight the social harms of its increased use under a legalization regime, it should be legalized, if the balance is the other way, it should stay illegal. I just wish people would have the clarity of mind to distinguish which socal harms are cause by drug use and which are caused by giving the trade to criminals.
The administration makes a big deal about having made a few arrests in a single "drugs for arms" deal, while ignoring the fact that is is their own War on Drugs that made that deal possible at all.
Ashcroft praised the agents for the great personal risk that they faced, to bring these criminals to justice, while ignoring the fact that it is his own administration's policy that required them to be put at risk in the first place.
Not only has the War on Drugs been an absolute and unconditional failure, but it creates an artificially high price for those drugs, which makes the profit for drug dealing so high that the bad guys often use drugs as currency in such deals. In fact, for every drug bust headline that we see, there are many other deals that the government never finds out about. If drugs were legitimized and put under the control of licensed clinics, the price of street drugs would plummet to such a level that the terrorists would not be able to use drugs to even buy a truck load of sling shots, let alone missiles and we would not be uselessly putting put our brave agents at risk. Those agents could then be retasked to handle crimes that could not be prevented.
It's time that Dubya and Ashcroft open their eyes and accept that it's their own War on Drugs that makes such headlines possible. On the other hand, it's probably the desire for those headlines that's driving the War on Drugs and they could care less for the agents that they put at risk.
After all, headlines are the politician's drug.
THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!...........Afghanistan is 'OUT of the Drug-Poppy-Heroin BUSINESS'!........We Won the War and Occupy!
'Arms'?.......They have NOTHING to 'deal' with!
The Media Lies Again!
THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!
'Just say NO'.
The Islamic U.N. would NEVER allow this!
/Sarcasm
FOX NEWS.com (AP): "DRUGS FOR ARMS, AL-QAEDA PLOT UNCOVERED" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "...It is the second such plot U.S. officials said they uncovered in recent weeks. In September, four men were arrested in Hong Kong on charges of attempting to sell heroin and hashish to finance the purchase of Stinger missiles for the Al Qaeda terror network.In the Colombia case, dubbed "Operation White Terror," undercover agents secretly videotaped meetings in London, the Virgin Islands and Panama City at which the defendants allegedly discussed exchanging drugs for weapons that would be sent to the Colombian United Self Defense Forces, known as the AUC...") (ARTICLE NOTE: The suspects are identified as Uwe Jensen, age 66, Carlos Ali Romero Varela, age 43, Carlos Lopez, and a subject known as "Commandant Emilio." ARTICLE NOTE 2: Three of the suspects in the Hong Kong case are identified as Syed Mustajab Shah, from Pakistan Muhammed Abid Afridi, from Pakistanboth of Pakistan, and Ilyas Ali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from India.)(110602)
ATLANTA FBI.gov - Press Release: "TOP TEN FUGITIVE JAMES SPENCER SPRINGETTE ARRESTED" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Theodore Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Atlanta Division, and Robert M. Gattison, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Customs Service, Atlanta, Georgia, announce today the arrest of Top Ten Fugitive, James Spencer Springette. Springette was placed on the FBI's Top Ten list on April 25, 2002, and U.S. Customs Most Wanted list in September of 2001. The arrest occurred on Tuesday, November 5, 2002, at approximately 1:00 p.m., EST by Venezuelan authorities near the city of Caracas. The arrest was made on the basis of information provided by Georgia authorities to include the FBI, U.S. Customs Service, DEA, and Richmond County Sheriff's Office. Also, continued investigation by the FBI's Legal Attaché (LEGAT) in Caracas, U.S. Customs Attache, DEA Country Officer, and the Venezuelan authorities resulted in Springette's arrest yesterday.") (110602)
DEA.gov - Congressional Testimony: "Statement of Asa Hutchinson, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information" (TESTIMONY SNIPPET: As the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001 so shockingly demonstrated, terrorist organizations are a threat to the national security of the United States. One of DEA'S priorities is to target the powerful international drug trafficking organizations. Some of these groups have never hesitated to use violence and terror to advance their interests, all to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. While DEA does not specifically target terrorists, we will target and track down drug traffickers and drug trafficking organizations involved in terrorist acts...") (March 13, 2002)