Pubdate: Thu, 14 Feb 2002
Source: Arizona Republic (AZ)
Copyright: 2002 The Arizona Republic
Contact:  http://www.arizonarepublic.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Marcella Perrine

ANOTHER DRUG-WAR BLANK

With drug czar John Walters' desperate attempt to rejuvenate the failed 
drug war enters the most ludicrous ad campaign ever: the Super Bowl ads 
linking drug usage to supporting terrorism. This was $3.5 million spent not 
on the proven method of treatment but on propaganda.

It should be pointed out that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida used tens of 
millions of dollars in profits from the diamond industry to fund their 
terrorism. So why didn't we see a women fingering her diamond ring saying, 
"I helped kids learn to kill"?

And isn't it "oil" that bin Laden is rich from? Where was the gas- guzzling 
SUV driver saying, "I help fund terrorism"?

Never mind that months before Sept. 11 our government gave millions to the 
Taliban to help them fight their drug war. So where was our fatherly image 
of Uncle Sam standing under the Stars and Stripes saying, "Your money, your 
freedoms, your lives, no big deal"?

It is the drug war, not drugs themselves, that creates the illegal markets 
which help fund the criminal and terrorist groups.

Spending $3.5 million on treatment pays dramatic dividends. Spending $3.5 
million in propaganda ads fails just as miserably as the drug war.

Marcella Perrine Phoenix
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom