Sep 21, 2009
Drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and border czar Alan Bersin have dropped out of this week’s Global Public Policy Forum on the U.S. War on Drugs, an event organized by the University of Texas at El Paso.
Organizers were surprised when the two officials backed out of the event. El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles was not:
“I don’t know why you’re all so surprised about the federal government’s unwillingness to address this because, quite frankly, they’ve ignored the problem for years, and that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in now.”
El Paso city Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s position on the conference might provide some insight into the administration officials’ decision to back out. He hopes, according to the Newspaper Tree, “for a meaningful public discussion at the conference about legalizing drugs in the face of a failed strategy that has had such a destructive impact on everyday life in Juarez.” Kerlikowske may have sought to avoid addressing this issue, one that’s becoming increasingly difficult for him as border violence and soaring prison populations continue to highlight his untenable position.
Read the full story at NewspaperTree.com.