U.S. Foreign Policy On Counter-Narcotics Essay, Research Paper

The U.S. Foreign Policy on Counter-Narcotics

One of the biggest problems in the United States today is the widespread use of narcotics. Currently, the United States has a very stern policy regarding the use, distribution, and trafficking of drugs. However, it is clear that the current U.S. policy is failing, and the supply of illegal drugs as well as the demand is increasing. The U.S. government has focused for years on dealing with the demand aspect of this issue. Through government programs directed towards education and national awareness of the harm that drugs cause, the government has been attempting to severely reduce the demand for narcotics. In all actuality, the demand may be higher now than ever before. To prevent the supply of illegal drugs from increasing, the government has relied on strict boarder patrols along Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard, the cooperation of foreign governments, and several U.S. agencies designed to locate and aid in eliminating drugs. This policy on decreasing the supply is also failing. It is probably easier now for drug traffickers than ever before. It is clear that the current U.S. policy on drugs is failing and that a new policy is needed. In order to win the war on drugs, the U.S. needs to decrease the supply, because the demand will always be high as long as there is a supply to back it up.

The question then, is how to decrease the supply when our current policies are clearly failing. The best solution to this is very harsh, but it needs to be done. If the U.S. government is willing to spend a significant amount of money on this issue, then we have to be willing to rely on a solution that will lead to positive results. The only course of action that can accomplish the goal of significantly reducing the supply of narcotics is to target the cartels themselves by using the U.S. military in some form. By using our military, we can directly target the supply problem by destroying narcotics before they even leave the factory. If you take the drug war directly to the cartels, they will have no choice but to back down.

The biggest problem with using this method is that by involving the U.S. military, we are basically declaring war and using force that will no doubt create international outrage against the U.S. We would be violating international law by using force against sovereign nations that we aren’t at war with. This policy calls for attacking criminals of the U.S. within the borders of other nations, a clear violation of international law. Not only would there be strong criticism from these certain nations, but the international community would be furious. These drug cartels are criminals of the U.S. though, and they are in direct violation of our law. Cutting down the supply would be much easier if we had the cooperation of foreign governments. Unfortunately, most of these governments are unwilling to fully aide us, and many are corrupt and help the cartels. These cartels have more money than the U.S. Government is willing to spend on ending the narcotics trade. This creates a major problem because these foreign governments would rather take money from drug lords instead of our government.

Realistically, without the complete cooperation of these foreign governments, we can’t diminish the supply unless we go in and use force ourselves. On many instances, we have trained groups from these foreign countries on how to forcefully take out these cartels. Obviously this policy is also failing, and it is our best forceful option besides our military going in and doing it themselves. Whether its covert military operations, or major military strikes, force from our military is needed if we are to win the war on drugs. The drug issue has been so important in national politics, and if we are willing to throw away tons of money and see no results, we might as well go in and actually get something accomplished.

The international community would certainly condemn our actions, but besides that, they would do nothing. We are the only superpower in the world today, and no country would take any action against us. Our government and military have done many things in the past that the international community has condemned, but no further action has been taken. The fact of the matter is that no one in the world today defies us, except certain Middle East countries, and no would take serious action against us for going in and destroying criminals that corrupt and destroy many people’s lives.

The use of military force is needed if we are going to win the war on drugs. Why throw away so much money if we aren’t willing to get positive results. Our current drug policies to diminish demand and cut back on supply are failing. These are the same policies we’ve used in the past, and things have gotten worse. If our government really wants to accomplish something, we need to go in and show the cartels and the international community that we are dead serious about our stance on narcotics, and that drug criminals will be dealt with the utmost severity. Let’s quit wasting money and finally get some results.