From the Christian Science Monitor, the title of this article says it all: “Plan Columbia: big gains, but the cocaine still flows…”
The “big gains” part consists of the assertions of the White House Drug Czar John Walters:
“There is absolutely no question we are winning …We are squeezing them. We are forcing them to change their drug trafficking routes and their methods,” says Walters.
Wait a minute… changing their routes, their methods??? …as for the “cocaine still flows” part of the article:
There is no lack, after all, of coca. Despite the unprecedented eradication efforts, coca cultivation actually increased last year by 8 percent, according to a study released in June by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)… Why? Growing techniques have improved over the years and farmers in some regions are now able to harvest coca leaf six times a year, instead of the usual four harvests.
(Check out the chart in guest poster Daksya’s entry over at DrugWarRant for more on the numbers. )
Near the end of the article comes this last quote. When even the apologists make statements like these, maybe people will wake up and realize what a colossal waste the so called war on drugs is:
“We’re making first downs,” US Ambassador to Colombia William Wood is fond of saying, “…but we’re not sure how long the football field is.”
Someone needs to tell Walters and Wood that 10 yard first downs will never win… on an infinitely long field.