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Pentagon's Priority Shifts from Drugs to Terrorism
October 28, 2002

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News Summary

The Pentagon has scaled back its efforts to fight international drug trafficking and is focusing instead on the war on terrorism, the Orlando Sentinel reported Oct. 21.

International interdiction has been a major element of the national war on drugs for 14 years. In redirecting resources to terrorism, Pentagon officials plan to reduce deployment of special-operations troops on counternarcotics missions and cut the military's training of anti-drug police and soldiers in the United States and abroad.

In addition, officials want to use intelligence-gathering equipment currently dedicated to counterdrug activities for counterterrorism.

The Pentagon's plans could face opposition in Congress, where the military's anti-drug mission is popular among key lawmakers.

"We should not be relaxing our efforts in the war on drugs," said Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence. "Terrorism is the highest priority, but drugs are still insidious."

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