War on Terrorism
state department Research Puzzle
So, why is someone at the US state department using Google to research “mark-77 napalm fallujah”?
As noted in the above post and its predeccessor and comment thread there is no corroborated proof of napalm use in Fallujah.
Just wondering…
Fighting the Wrong War?
Gary Becker argues that the war on drugs has failed and that alternate approaches involving legalization, regulation and high taxes might achieve current results along with other benefits without the large social and individual costs associated with the current prohibition.
Richard Posner generally agrees with Becker arguments:
If the resources used to wage the war were reallocated to other social projects, such as reducing violent crime, there would probably be a net social gain. For one thing, it is particularly costly to enforce the law against a �victimless� crime, more precisely a crime that consists of a transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer.
In addition, he points out that:
The political source of the war on drugs is mysterious if, as I am inclined to believe, there is a legal substitute for every one of the illegal drugs:…
…it is apparent that our society has no general policy against the consumption of mind-altering substances, and there seems to be a certain arbitrariness in the choice of the subset to prohibit.
To get a sense of just how large the failure has been on a global scale check out the maps that Michael Stastny has posted from the World Drug Report 20041. Note what country is either number 1 or 2 in usage for each category. Stastny has an interesting supposition about his government:
Maybe Austrian authorities know that watching TV does more harm to your brain and health than taking drugs once in a while and that stigmatizing long-term users doesn’t help either.
So, a war on TV instead of drugs? Well, no. We do not need any increased government intervention in media. But I would accept regulation and taxation of now illegal drugs as a first step out of the current quagmire. The proper long term goal is, though, to completely remove the government from any involvement in “transactions between a willing buyer and a willing seller.”
Via Marginal Revolution where you can find more here.
1The report and the above referenced maps appear to overlook certain other popular drugs, e.g., alcohol!?
Earth Security Alert
This guy has published 16 ways to destroy the earth. He is also planning to publish instructions on how to move the earth. Does this make him a terrorist? Hey, this material is published and specific which seems a higher standard than the oft heard “credible but not specific.”
Maybe the earth security department should make an announcement to help boost you know who’s popularity rating.
Prophet or Madman has verified that the material appears to be unstained by theocratic or political leanings.
Private Armies and Government Control
Phil Carter suggests that the US should take advantage of private military units that are cropping up in Iraq.
On the other hand, Mark Kleiman raises a number of concerns including:
Armed forces not subject to governmental control are a recipe for thuggery at best, assassination in the middle, and civil war at the worst.
This seems like a pretty good description of armed forces under government control. Well, perhaps, the last phrase should be modified to read: waging war at the worst.