Dominic Holden

John McCain is in South America this week to show off his competency in matters of foreign-policy—by lauding, of all things, the success of drug interdiction programs.

“There is a long way to go to stem the flow of drugs into the United States of America,” McCain said. “The progress I’ve seen since previous visits here has been substantial and positive…”

How substantial? How positive? Oh, let the New York Times count the ways as it deconstructs GOP drug-war praises:

This enthusiasm rests on a very selective reading of the data. Another look suggests that despite the billions of dollars the United States has spent battling the cartels, it has hardly made a dent in the cocaine trade.

While seizures are up, so are shipments. According to United States government figures, 1,421 metric tons of cocaine were shipped through Latin America to the United States and Europe last year — 39 percent more than in 2006. And despite massive efforts at eradication, the United Nations estimates that the area devoted to growing coca leaf in the Andes expanded 16 percent last year. The administration disputes that number.
The drug cartels are not running for cover.

Washington spent $1.4 billion on drug-related foreign assistance last year — mostly to equip Colombia’s security forces and spray coca crops in the Andes. It spent another $7 billion on drug-related law enforcement and interdiction efforts at home and abroad. It spent less than $5 billion on education, prevention and treatment programs at home to curtail substance abuse.

Of course, it’s not that McCain is really in denial about the drug war. He knows exactly what’s going on. And here’s the video that explains it all.

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