Tuesday 19 June 2012

More Than 2X as Many Gang Related Drug Murders in Chicago This Year As Casualties in Afghanistan

(CBS News) -- "There are 228 dead: That's the number of murders this year in Chicago. It's nearly twice as many as the number of Americans lost on the battlefields of Afghanistan over these last six months. And the number of deaths is up 35% over the same period last year. 

Chicago police Superintendent Gary McCarthy believes most of the violent crime in the city is "absolutely" gang-related. He said the problem has a lot to do with drugs, guns and gang wars. 

McCarthy says the data doesn't always show it, but the police are making progress through increasing undercover operations and greater infiltration of the gangs, as well as a crackdown against the narcotics traffic which is the fuel that keeps them going."

MP: In 1972, President Nixon officially declared a "War on Drugs," when he appealed to Congress to give the highest priority to provide funding to the federal government to "destroy the market for drugs," with "increased enforcement and vigorous application of the fullest penalties provided by law" and to "render the narcotics trade unprofitable."  Nixon said that "The final issue is not whether we will conquer drug abuse, but how soon."

Well, it's been 41 years now, and despite the increased drug enforcement that Nixon called for, and despite the billions of dollars spent, and millions of Americans arrested and jailed for drug offenses, and thousands of people murdered, we clearly haven't destroyed the market for drugs, and we've got more drug-related problems today (e.g. murders) than in 1972 when Nixon first declared the War.  

Exhibit A: More drug-related murders this year in one U.S. city, Chicago, than American casualties on the battlefields of Afghanistan, making the term War on Drugs seem even more appropriate and descriptive.

0 comments:

Post a Comment