Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), a staunch supporter of international drug interdiction, is concerned that the Bush administration is shifting resources away from the drug war to support the war in the Middle East, the Washington Times reported April 6.

"I am concerned our efforts to fight the scourge of illegal narcotics seem to be adrift in our hemisphere," said Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee.  "After five years of Plan Colombia, we are finally seeing success in our war on drugs. Unfortunately, these positive results seem to have lulled the administration into a false sense of security, causing it to claim premature victory in Colombia and turn its attention to the Middle East and elsewhere. By doing this, it is likely to turn a winning hand into a losing one."

Supporters of the multibillion-dollar Plan Colombia -- including the Colombian government -- say that the administration's diversion of funding has caused a flood of cocaine and heroin at the U.S. border with Mexico. Hyde said a shortage of drug-fighting aircraft will allow the Marxist guerillas who control Colombia's drug trade to flourish.

Hyde said the administration must provide "our closest ally in South America the right equipment and training to allow them a chance to prevail against the narcoterrorism that also threatens us. "I hope someone in the administration is listening; our drug czar is clearly not."