Lessons of Iraq Help U.S. Fight a Drug War in Honduras

[S.J.B.]

Lessons of Iraq Help U.S. Fight a Drug War in Honduras
Thom Shanker
The New York Times
May 5th, 2012

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MOCORON, Honduras — The United States military has brought lessons from the past decade of conflict to the drug war being fought in the wilderness of Miskito Indian country, constructing this remote base camp with little public notice but with the support of the Honduran government.

It is one of three new forward bases here — one in the rain forest, one on the savanna and one along the coast — each in a crucial location to interdict smugglers moving cocaine toward the United States from South America.

Honduras is the latest focal point in America’s drug war. As Mexico puts the squeeze on narcotics barons using its territory as a transit hub, more than 90 percent of the cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela bound for the United States passes through Central America. More than a third of those narcotics make their way through Honduras, a country with vast ungoverned areas — and one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the world.

This new offensive, emerging just as the United States military winds down its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and is moving to confront emerging threats, also showcases the nation’s new way of war: small-footprint missions with limited numbers of troops, partnerships with foreign military and police forces that take the lead in security operations, and narrowly defined goals, whether aimed at insurgents, terrorists or criminal groups that threaten American interests.

The effort draws on hard lessons learned from a decade of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq, where troops were moved from giant bases to outposts scattered across remote, hostile areas so they could face off against insurgents.

Read the full story here.

 

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This issue needs a lot more attention. There is a lot of ink spilt in the US media these days about us being a welfare state and all that, but much more money goes into law enforcement and defense, and practically nobody is asking how to curb spending in these areas.

I believe the American people should revolt against their government if their government continues pursuing unnecessary police actions throughout the world. It should be a bloodless revolution: one fought with calculators and checkbooks. As I've said before, every citizen should receive an itemized layout of where their tax money is going. Then, let every American decide exactly how many dollars he or she wants to invest in drug interdiction in Honduras, and to prosecution of dispensaries in California, and to electronic surveillance of the RC market, and to subsidies for local police departments. The War on Drugs would be over in a year.

Should U.S. Troops Fight the War on Drugs?

The expanded role of the U.S. Army’s special operations forces throughout the world now includes a deployment to Honduras, where it is helping fight drug smuggling. Should the military be involved in the war on drugs? Does military involvement in poor, weakly governed countries destablize them?

Read the discussion

 

[paper planes]

hell no they shouldnt bein that they import the shit themselves.. if the american ppl knew the thruth they wouldnt be supportin anything that they be doing cuz its all bullshit and all they do is make money at the ppls expense.. but why would the govt want to give up those huge ass grants from the taxpayers but yet the havent curbed anything.. i wish my voice was loud enough to be heard but im pretty sure the govt would simply find a way to silence me.. the american ppl need to educate themselves on the real issues and what should be done to actually help the kids and everybody else thats hurt by this but they dont want to listen to common sense.. they got what they want and dont give a fuck about our ppl and damn sure dont give a fuck about any other countries