Pubdate: Sun, 02 Jul 2006 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2006 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Ramon Renteria, El Paso Times PROFESSOR EXAMINES HOW WAR ON DRUGS FAILED Tony Payan concludes that the United States has spent billions since 1969 fighting what he describes as a flawed campaign against drug smuggling. "The war on drugs hasn't paid off for many reasons," Payan said. "Part of the failure has been bureaucratic politics." He explores the role of bureaucratic politics in the war on drugs in his new book, "Cops, Soldiers and Diplomats: Explaining Agency Behavior in the War on Drugs" (Lexington Books, $65). Payan is an assistant professor of political science and international relations at the University of Texas at El Paso. "It's really a book about bureaucratic pathologies and how not to make the same terrible mistakes of fraud, waste and abuse again in the Homeland Security Department," he said. Payan's inspiration for writing the book emerged from his graduate studies in American foreign policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He stumbled across Harvard University professor Graham T. Allison's 1971 book "Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis" and decided to test the same model of bureaucratic politics on the war on drugs. "My book is quite relevant. It should be looked at by Congress, the Department of Homeland Security and others who may just want to learn the lessons," Payan said. Payan does not condemn bureaucracies, though he acknowledges that government agencies can be inefficient. "Bureaucracies are the bloodline of government. A government without bureaucrats does not work," he said. "Because they are so indispensible, we must then understand them." Payan has another soon-to-be published book exploring drugs, immigration and homeland security on the U.S.-Mexico border. He also plans a closer look at bureaucratic politics within the Department of Homeland Security. The book is available at the UTEP Bookstore, booksellers such as Barnes & Noble, and through the publisher's Web site, www.lexingtonbooks.com. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake