From Jacob Hornberger at fff.org:
U.S. Marine Gen. John Kelly is retiring from the military, but he isn’t just fading away. He is speaking out on the drug war, which he has been waging in Latin America in his capacity as head of the U.S. Southern Command.
Kelly is telling the news media (see here and here) that the problem with the drug war is that some states are legalizing marijuana, which, he says, makes it more difficult for the military to win the war on drugs. He says the legalization reflects “hypocrisy” because while the U.S. harps on Latin American regimes to crack down in the war on drugs, the Latin Americans respond, “As we look north, the real problem is the demand. So why don’t you do more to stop the demand for drugs…. Why would we do more when you seem to be legalizing this stuff?”
While we are on the subject of hypocrisy, let’s talk a little bit about the hypocrisy of using the U.S. military to wage the war on drugs in Latin America.
Here in the United States, the American people have made it illegal for the military to participate in the war on drugs. Americans have long considered it a really bad idea to have the military engaged in law enforcement. That’s because the military mindset is totally different from the law enforcement mindset. Soldiers think of terms of killing the enemy and winning wars, for example, while policemen think of terms of arresting suspected criminals and bringing them to justice.
Given that Americans consider it a bad idea to have the military engage in drug law enforcement here in the United States, why has the U.S. military been long involved in the drug war in Latin America? Why subject the Latin Americans to U.S. military law enforcement when Americans won’t subject themselves to military law enforcement?
How’s that for a bit of hypocrisy?
With his lament, Kelly implies that if states weren’t legalizing marijuana, his military drug warriors would have an easier time winning the war on drugs.
But wait a minute! The drug war has been going on for decades and the states that have legalized marijuana have done so only in the past few years. So, why didn’t the military win the drug war in the decades before marijuana was legalized? Could it be that Kelly might just be looking for an excuse to justify his failure to win the war on drugs during his period of command?
To continue reading: Drug Warrior Gen. Kelly Retires—Now Retire The Failed Drug War, Too
