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          Drug Czar

          Here's the dope on the newly nominated drug czar, General
          Barry McCaffrey: He's wired.

          McCaffrey, nominated for the position by President Clinton
          during his State of the Union speech, is well-versed in the
          use of electronic mail and computer conferencing. He built
          up his cyberspace chops during the late '80s while
          participating in a tony executive management program run by
          the now defunct Western Behavioral Sciences Institute of La
          Jolla, California.

          WBSI ran a two-year program that drew an international cast
          of characters, including influential business executives,
          millionaires and billionaires, high-level government
          employees from the US and abroad, celebs (Marlon Brando and
          Michael Crichton are alums), and a sprinkling of military
          officers, McCaffrey among them. The price was not for the
          squeamish: a cool US$25,000.

          McCaffrey was an active participant. I know this firsthand
          because he absolutely torched me during a weeklong series of
          electronic exchanges in an open electronic forum. (I was
          participating by virtue of providing a customized news
          service for the group.) During a conference on risk
          management, I did a core dump of information I'd gathered
          while researching an article on government spending on
          biotechnology research. I'd discovered that the Pentagon was
          quietly buying up university biotech researchers, through
          hefty government grants, to work on such projects as a
          genetically rigged version of the anthrax virus that would
          have no known antidote.

          McCaffrey went ballistic at the findings. He denounced me as
          a communist and asked, "Did your mother wear red combat
          boots?" Not exactly behavior becoming an officer and a
          gentleman.

          Though toasted by the flame, I held my ground. "Prove me
          wrong," I answered. He put two majors to work researching my
          claims. A week later, McCaffrey was back with an olive
          branch in place of the flamethrower.

          He admitted that the Pentagon was indeed pouring huge sums
          of money into university-sponsored biotech research. He
          apologized for everything, including the remarks about Mom.
          His public mea culpa cemented a friendship that has endured.

          Now he has been thrust into an impossible job: drug czar.
          His charge is to win the unwinnable war.

          He is no stranger to war, having served in Vietnam and most
          recently in the Gulf War. And he's not a bureaucrat in the
          same vein as Colin Powell, though he did serve as Powell's
          right-hand man when Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs
          of Staff. McCaffrey's current job is heading up the US
          Southern Command, which operates in Latin America, providing
          military cover for US interests, including drug-interdiction
          efforts.

          McCaffrey, as shown above, is outspoken. He never shies from
          confrontation. And in the constellation of egos that swirl
          in the rarified air of four-stars, his ability to cut
          through political bullshit is equally rare. In nominating
          McCaffrey, Clinton said, "He has spent his military career
          engaged in coordinated campaigns that are directed toward
          solutions and winning. He will not tolerate bureaucratic
          turf wars or grandstanding on this critical issue."

          In other words: This time it really is a war on drugs.

          But as much as I admire McCaffrey's candor and honesty, his
          elevation to drug czar (he has yet to be confirmed, but
          trust me, this nomination is a slam-dunk) is troubling.

          In assuming the drug-czar duties, McCaffrey will be forced
          to end abruptly a stellar military career. Federal law bars
          military officers from civilian law enforcement. And while
          this White House has held to the letter of that law, it has
          increasingly blurred it. McCaffrey's nomination does nothing
          to buff what is supposed to be a bright shining line.

          McCaffrey may divorce himself from the military, but he will
          not divorce himself from his own internal compass nor his
          closest advisors, and both are military-based. He believes
          that the military should be more involved in drug policy and
          has said so publicly. Beneath that thinking is a darker
          framework.

          Last year, McCaffrey drafted a blueprint for winning the war
          on drugs. Under his classified plan, which was revealed by
          The Dallas Morning News, the military would coordinate and
          honcho the US effort in Latin America. Apparently, McCaffrey
          drafted the plan on his own and then began to circulate it
          for comments. Other agencies with a stake in this bogus drug
          war waded in. The Morning News reported that the plan "drew
          the wrath of civilian agencies from the Drug Enforcement
          Administration to the CIA.... The proposal quietly died."

          As drug czar, McCaffrey deals from a position of strength,
          or at least perceived strength. However, this high-profile
          position isn't likely to carry much weight. It's more likely
          that he'll find himself castrated, too busy fighting insider
          turf battles with the DEA and the CIA as he pushes for more
          military participation. And important policy issues, such as
          the need for a real dialog about the decriminalization of
          drugs, will get lost in all that noise.

          So don't bogart the job, Barry. I'd like to wish you well,
          but this is one war you're destined to lose....

          Meeks out....
           [Brock N. Meeks]

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