Black market profits lure GIs into ruin

We currently have 1,400 Americans in Colombia under the auspices of the war on "narco-terror." Five of them were caught switching sides this week. They are currently being held, "somewhere in America" after trying to smuggle out 32 lbs. of cocaine aboard a US military aircraft. A small amount by cartel standards but one can be certain the profits even on this amount of the drug far surpass their military pay.

The US has spent 3 billion of your tax dollars here so far but have failed to stem to flow of cocaine into our country. This is one reason why, while drug czar John Walters waves around statistics about stepped up eradication efforts and how many hectares of coca leaf they have destroyed, the price of cocaine on the street continues to drop.

As long as prohibition continues, the black market profits will make it worth any risk to get the drug into the country. You can be certain the five guys they caught aren't the only ones taking the chance. It's like trying to stop a flood armed with a sieve.

[Hat tip to Ben Harris]