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War or Pseudo-War?
The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact.
-- George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1960)
SINCE AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION, THE UNITED STATES has had a "war on drugs." 1 The official objective of this "war" has been the creation of a "drug-free" America. It seems like a real war, with televised reports of heavily armed police attacking the drag trade throughout the United States and the armed forces engaged in counterdrug missions both at home and abroad. Yet despite the fact that this "war" has lasted over a decade, the resources allocated have been woefully inadequate and there is no realistic strategy for victory. What precisely is the United States fighting for?
To understand the "war on drugs," it is important to remember the definition of war. Carl von Clausewitz (1981: 101-109), the 19th-century military theoretician, defines war as "an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will." When seen in this light, it becomes apparent that America's "war on drugs" is not really fought against drugs. Drugs, after all, are inanimate objects and cannot be compelled to do anything. The "war" is actually fought against the people who traffic in and consume drugs and, as will be seen, against society in general.
A War Without Winning
The United States has implemented a national drug control strategy based on the following four objectives (House of Representatives, 1988: 23):
Eradication of drug-producing crops at home and abroad;
Interdiction of drug smuggling;
Investigation and prosecution of drug traffickers;
Penalization of drug users.
Despite much rhetoric on the part of politicians and drag enforcement agencies, the amount of resources being devoted to the "war on drags" is completely inadequate. The United States has deployed abroad several hundred U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and several thousand military personnel to fight drugs in one capacity or another. This is simply not sufficient to police the vast areas of the underdeveloped world where drugs are produced and the vast expanses through which they are smuggled. It is not even a fraction...