Recently we have been getting reports that terrorist organizations like Hezbollah are working with Mexican drug cartels close to the border. When, then President Bush, responded to the 9-11 tragedy with his broad branding of evil, terrorist, and drug dealer approach to drawing a line in the sand he reached to far. In his defense, he has part of it right. Drug proceeds fuel terror plots. But, doesn't that approach only force more terrorism? What are we going to do, label everyone that gets involved in drug use a future terrorist?

In California there are 33 state prisons. More than 70% are there for drug crimes. Soccor moms are watching their kids get caught up in this culture of using drugs, getting put on probation, then going to prison. In prison that addiction is bred into an affliction much harder to escape where races are segregated and violence and tattoos are the only solution. With this approach the prisons are spitting out displaced aliens unable to adapt back into society. In California recidivism is the worst in the nation. Released prisoners are back in prison within three years over 70 percent of the time. Studies show that prisoners who continue to go back to prison again and again, become gang members. Soccor mom's blond headed little boy is now a skin head.

So back to the original question, what is terrorism and who is qualified to decide? As 9/11 as an example, the U.S. spoke terror over and over on the news, "That we must eradicate terror and go after evil for the free world." The actions after 9/11 by our government at many levels are in direct conflict with that statement. We are the leaders of the incarcerated world with approximately seven million people either in prison or have served time there. The rest of the world combined doesn't reach those numbers.

Also post 9/11 our military went into Afghanistan and incorporated a working relationship with The Northern Alliance. The Northern Alliance earn their income in the Poppy fields and sell heroin but because they were the chief competition to the Taliban, our military figured we could expect to attain a working relationship and obtain information that would lead to the enemy, those evil forces referred to earlier. The information didn't pay off in a significant way.

The War on Terror is similar to the War on Drugs and the root of both problems are found in poverty. Desperate people do desperate things to survive. If we look at it from a spiritual perspective we can learn more about the problem, rather than create a bigger problem.

I started writing drug war novels from prison while serving time for drug charges. My novel Roll Call by Glenn Langohr is on Amazon. http://www.lockdownpublishing.com
Kirkus Discoveries, Nielsen Business Media
discoveries.kirkusreviews.com
A harrowing, down-and-dirty depiction-sometimes reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic-of America's war on drugs, by former dealer and California artist Langohr.