Drug Czar in completely over his head in scary new expanding drug war

Director Gil Kerlikowske

Today, I was pleased to join my colleagues from throughout the Administration to announce the first U.S. strategy on transnational organized crime (TOC) in fifteen years. The Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime provides a comprehensive plan that will, in part, help us build on our progress to further reduce drug use in the United States and disrupt drug trafficking and its facilitation of other transnational threats.

Remember, this is the guy that declared an end to the War on Drugs, saying that we have to focus on treatment, yet who just hired a military general for Deputy Director of Supply Reduction.

And now the Office of National Drug Control Policy is getting heavily involved in major new expanded efforts to “Combat Transnational Organized Crime.” Really?

Not that he has a clue as to what’s going on there…

Um, no. Those are links to the International Strategy for Cyberspace. Interesting, but has nothing to do with the ONDCP or transnational organized crime.

The actual strategy is available here, and it’s a doozy. A real ratcheting up of the international war on drugs and, following the UNODC lead, tying drug control to all international crime.

The vagueness of the language and the way drugs and crime and terrorism are conflated is quite frightening.

Along emerging trafficking routes, such as the transit route through West Africa to Europe, criminal networks are spreading corruption and undermining fledgling democratic institutions. Due to the enormous profits associated with drug trafficking, the illegal trade is also a way to finance other transnational criminal and terrorist activities. To diminish these threats, we will continue ongoing efforts to identify and disrupt the leadership, production, intelligence gathering, transportation, and financial infrastructure of major TOC networks. By targeting the human, technology, travel, and communications aspects of these networks, we will be able to monitor and gather intelligence to identify the full scope of the TOC networks, their members, financial assets, and criminal activities. We will continue ongoing efforts to enhance collaboration among domestic law enforcement agencies and our foreign counterparts in order to strengthen our ability to coordinate investigations and share intelligence to combat drug trafficking and TOC. Continued use of economic sanctions under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) to pursue transnational drug organizations will enhance our ability to disrupt and dismantle TOC networks. The Kingpin Act also may be used to prosecute persons involved in illegal activities linked to drug trafficking, such as arms trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, or gang activity. Enhanced intelligence sharing and coordination among law enforcement and intelligence agencies, the military, and our diplomatic community will enable the interagency community to develop aggressive, multi-jurisdictional approaches to dismantle TOC networks involved in drug trafficking. […] By disrupting and dismantling the world’s major TOC networks involved in drug trafficking, we will be able to reduce the availability of illicit drugs, inhibit terrorist funding, improve national and international security, and bring TOC networks to justice.

Yep. Just wrap the entire crime, terrorism and drug issues into one major international war, with no understanding of the underlying causes or economic factors.

There’s also a reference to the administration looking to increase its asset seizure efforts, both abroad and at home. Not good.