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IDEC Conference, Miami 4/27/89 [1]
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15
6
7
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Miami, Florida)
For Immediate Release
April 27, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO INTERNATIONAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
Biscayne Bay Marriott Hotel
Miami, Florida
9:55 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank
you very much. Thank you, Mr. Attorney General. Please be seated.
And let me, at the outset, pay my respects to Governor Martinez, the
Governor of Florida who's with me here today, with all of us here;
and Senator Mack, Senator Connie Mack, vitally interested, as is the
Governor, in the war against drugs. And, of course, my great
respects to the Attorney General, who is taking a very prominent
leadership role in this common fight. And it's a pleasure to see out
of Alaska for a change the Commandant of the Coast Guard Paul Yost,
who is doing an outstanding job half a world away up there in Alaska,
but whose organization is doing such a superb job for the United
States in this whole concept of interdiction. And so we have a
distinguished group here.
"This scourge will stop." Those were the words that Dick
alluded to -- those were the words with which I opened my presidency.
And it's the continuation of that promise that brings me to Miami
today. And I am honored to be here to talk with you. And I am very
grateful to Jack Lawn and the -- whose head of the, as you all know,
head of the DEA -- and the other distinguished enforcement chiefs who
have come throughout the Americas -- along with our friends and
observers from Europe -- to join forces in a new tradition of
international cooperation.
And I had a visit just a second ago with Jack -- just
took a minute, but he was filling me in on his hopes for this
conference and telling me of the cooperation that his organization
was receiving from all of you. And so let me, at the outset, say
thank you.
I'm here today to talk about war. First, to see cocaine
trafficking for what it is: an attack aimed at enslaving and
exploiting the weak. Second, to confront what's become a world war.
And third -- I hope -- to help end a nasty chapter in that war -- the
diversion of precursor chemicals.
In the 19th century, the scourge of the Americas was
slavery. A struggle of good and evil, in which some sought to enrich
themselves by enslaving the most downtrodden of their countrymen.
Today the scourge of this hemisphere is called cocaine. As
commanding officers, you know the havoc of which we speak. You see
it every day on the streets of your cities and in mountain villages,
in the haunted eyes and the broken dreams of a generation of youth --
of children -- who have fallen victim to a seductive, nightmarish new
form of dependency and slavery. Our countries have suffered a
terrible toll, many far worse than the United States.
Drug traffic is called the world's second most dangerous
profession. The most dangerous really is yours -- law enforcement;
drug enforcement.
Earlier this year, I had a glimpse of what must be all
too familiar to many of you sitting around this table. I joined Mrs.
Everett Hatcher to grieve for the death of her husband, a veteran DEA
MORE
- 2 -
agent who was executed by cocaine cowards in the back streets of New
York. A woman of considerable dignity, she put responsibility for
Mr. Hatcher's death squarely on those once naively excused as
"casual" users of cocaine.
Well, cocaine users can no longer claim noncombatant
status. There is blood on their hands. And thanks in part to the
demand-side programs like those you're going to be talking about
later this morning, this message has begun to sear the consciences of
the stockbrokers and the students, the lawyers and the homemakers and
the athletes who finance our common enemy.
There are many ironies. Drug addiction does not
discriminate against a person because of race, religion or financial
status. It's the great equalizer, snaring sons and daughters of the
rich, the poor, the middle class.
Sometimes the opposite occurs and kingpins are reduced to
paupers. The opulence of Carlos Lehder's lifestyle is but memory now
as he begins his journey to the grave -- life without parole -- in an
Illinois penitentiary. The notorious Felix Gallardo -- once boasting
of his power and wealth -- is also behind bars in Mexico. Stripped
of blood money, they are nobodies, no longer the stuff of myth.
Your business, then our business -- is to pursue these
outlaws to the ends of the Earth. To create a world without refuge,
to leave no sanctuary, in your countries or in mine.
And I've said it before -- the war on drugs is no
metaphor. The war on drugs is no metaphor. We've been slower to
recognize that it is also a world war, leaving no nation unscathed,
one in which Hong Kong bankers and Bolivian growers and Middle
Eastern couriers and West Coast wholesalers all play insidious roles.
And it is especially acute in this hemisphere, where an exlosive
cycle of drugs, dependency and dollars has escalated clear out of
control.
The time for blame, the time for assigning blame is
behind us. For too long, a sharp divide has been drawn between
"producing" and "consuming" nations. Well, denial is a natural part
of human nature, and probably part of a country's nature as well.
But let's face it. Americans cannot blame the Andean nations for our
voracious appetite for drugs. Ultimately, the solution to the United
States drug problem lies within our own borders -- stepped up
enforcement. But education and treatment as well.
And our Latin American cousins cannot blame the United
States for the voracious greed of the drug traffickers who control
small empires at home. Ultimately, the solution to that problem lies
within your borders.
And yet, good neighbors must stand together. A world war
must be met in kind. And so today, as this conference winds down and
concludes, we are presented with an historic opportunity.
Allies in any war must consult -- as partners. And just
as you have gathered on seven occasions for IDEC, I ask that the
leaders of the Western Hemisphere, whose nations are afflicted by
this scourge, join with me to work together toward a hemispheric
compact on drugs -- a mutual commitment of resources and energy to
ensure a brighter day for the children of America. And I mean by
that all the Americas. And I have directed that our nation's new
drug czar, William Bennett, take the lead in coordinating this vital
intiative.
IDEC demonstrates that we will put aside national
differences to do what must be done. And together you have put
cartels out of business, reduced the supply of cocaine and,
increasingly, educated our children about the dangers of drug use and
trafficking. And I do commend Jack Lawn, and each of you, for having
MORE
- 3 -
the foresight to establish this organization and for demonstrating
the collective commitment to work together.
I've spoken often of the horrors of chemical warfare.
Well, chemical abuse is also chemical warfare. Poisoning our
streets. As deadly as mustard gas. And today we're opening a new
campaign to rid the world of these toxics.
We're going to start right here -- in the United States,
because all too often that's the original source of the basic
industrial chemicals needed to produce cocaine. Now, U.S. chemical
companies are justly proud of their products that vastly improve and
help to extend life here and abroad. But few Americans are aware
that illegally diverted barrels of dangerous chemicals -- clearly
marked with U.S. corporate logos -- are routinely seized in the
jungles of Colombia.
IDEC held a panel discussion on this Tuesday. And those
gathered here, you understand its importance. Traffickers have hit
us where it hurts. And now we're going to exploit their
vulnerabilities, crimping the flow of the materials without which
they cannot produce. No chemicals, no cocaine.
We know it works in the field. Many of you participated
in "IDEC Six," the operations last August, when the combined efforts
of 30 nations saw the seizure of 155,000 pounds of highly flammable
ether, almost 450,000 pounds of acetone, over 50,000 pounds of
hydrochloric acid and nearly 14,000 pounds of MEK.
This past January, Colombian antinarcotics officers under
General Munoz-Sanabria -- who I understand is here today. Is he? I
hope. Congratulations, General, for that, and thank you for what
you're doing for all of us in that regard. (Applause.) They
destroyed 25 cocaine laboratories and enough chemicals to make
approximately 88 metric tons of cocaine.
The damage that's done when 88 tons of cocaine hits
United States streets is pretty obvious. What's not so well
understood is the widespread environmental damage that precursor
chemicals wreak when they are dumped in the forests of the Amazon
Basin. One of today's delegates, the Director of Narcotics
Enforcement for Peru's National Police, has told the DEA that as much
as 175,000 pounds of sulfuric acid is dropped into the tributaries of
the Upper Huallaga Valley each year.
And anyone concerned about the legacy of defoliation in
Southeast Asia ought to go see what illegally diverted chemicals are
beginning to do to the Andes right now. Nor are these chemical
timebombs unique to South America. The problem here is so severe
that last year's drug bill authorized funds for the Environmental
Protection Agency to clean up hazardous waste at clandestine U.S.
drug labs.
In January, DEA Task Force agents busted a heavily armed
houseboat located on California's Sacramento River. And the lab --
here it was, right on the Sacramento River -- had been dumping
hydrochloric acid and other raw waste directly into the water, within
splashing distance of swimming kids and within casting distance of
those out there fishing for salmon, or stripers, or whatever. And so
today, I pledge to you that the United States will lead the fight
against illicit shipments of precursor chemicals. And I have asked
Dick Thornburgh, our able Attorney General, to take a principal role
in this new effort.
By and large, the chemical industry has supported us.
Let's be clear, we have been getting good support from most of the
chemical industry. And as a result of last year's Omnibus Drug Law,
regulations are now being drafted to tighten controls on the
chemicals needed to refine cocaine. And we are dedicating the
resources necessary to the task. Whatever needs to be done will be
MORE
- 4 -
done.
of course, unilateral action by us is not going to solve
this problem. And that's why we commend those governments, like
Venezuela and Colombia, that have already adopted strict chemical
controls. And we urge other nations to do so quickly -- as well as
to approve the landmark U.N. Convention, which includes precursor
chemical controls.
You know, many U.S. companies, including some chemical
companies, have long recognized how drug abuse threatens
productivity, corporate image and, ultimately, profits. And many in
the American corporate community have donated countless hours and
millions of dollars to stopping drug abuse. My Miami son, our son
living here in Miami, Jeb, talks about the successful "Business
Against Drugs" program right here in Miami. The American people are
proud of these efforts, and I can tell you, our visitors from other
countries that -- breaking out all across this country are new such
efforts -- efforts by civilians, just plain concerned parents, others
all around our country beginning to come together in their
communities to join in this fight.
Industry has got to do more. And I hope that parents'
groups and stockholders are listening today. We should demand that
United States corporations act responsibly, and that they not
tolerate their chemicals ending up in criminal hands.
We would like to see U.S. chemical manufacturers
demonstrate their courage and civic responsibilty by entering into a
true partnership with our government as we try to stop narcotics at
the source. These companies can make an important contribution to
our nation's fight against illegal drugs. They should make it their
job to join in. No one -- not parents, not churches, not bankers --
and certainly not chemical makers -- can afford to be AWOL in the war
on drugs.
With so many cultures represented right here in this
room, it is inevitable that there are going to be differences. But
we share at least one compelling experience. Wherever you call home
-- Bonn or Bogota or Boston -- people around the world are beginning
to hear the cries of the kids, the cries of our children, pleading
with us to stop drugs.
Here in Miami last month one elementary teacher told of a
writing assignment that she gave to her sixth-grade kids in school.
The topic was, "If I Were In Charge of The World." And every single
one of those 36 children, those sixth-graders, wrote that they would
get rid of drugs if they were in charge of the world. They' d get rid
of those people who are breaking the law and they would put more
effective policemen on the streets.
My favorite speechwriter -- I don't know how well-known
he is in some. of your countries, but he's well-known here -- is a
baseball great named Yogi Berra. And he's been kidded for describing
the 1969 Mets as "overwhelming underdogs." Well, maybe that's not
such a bad description for the good guys in the fight against drugs.
Sure, tough challenges remain. But the children are with us and the
times are beginning to change -- and Yogi's underdogs did win the
World Series.
So thank you for joining us here today; thank you all for
coming to the United States. And please tell your leaders, your
presidents, whoever else you need to have involved that we are
anxious to work with them. God bless you. And Godspeed in your
noble work to save the children of the world. Thank you all very,
very much. (Applause.)
END
10:15 A.M. EDT
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 23, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
EDWARD E. McNALLY
our
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
SUBJECT:
"SOUND BITE" VERSION OF THE IDEC REMARKS
I. SUMMARY
Attached for your consideration is a clean copy -- with
suggested "sound bites" underlined in bold type -- of the text
you approved for the IDEC address in Miami on Thursday.
II. DISCUSSION
Of all the events during this week's travels, your address
in Miami holds some of the greatest potential for making real
news.
The first set of sound bites suggested here addresses the
crises in drug enforcement ("Drug trafficking is the world's
second-most dangerous profession") and demand reduction
(
explosive cycle of drugs, dependency and dollars").
Beginning at page four, the second set of "underlined" sound
bites addresses the two substantive areas most likely to make
news:
(1) The announcement that planning has begun for
a hemispheric Summit on drugs. (p. 4).
(2) A call to action for chemical companies to help
stem the flow of precursor chemicals to cocaine
source countries. (pp. 5, 6 and 8 -- "No one can
be AWOL in the war on drugs").
[Note: Two sets of cards have been prepared for your trip.
One includes the "sound bite" underlining suggested above. The
other contains only sparse underlining, tracking the original,
approved text exactly.]
(McNally/Dooley)
April 21, 1989
2:00 p.m.
Draft two
(IDEC)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
((PAUSE)) "This scourge will stop. "
((PAUSE)) Those were the words with which I opened my
presidency. And it is the continuation of that promise that
brings me to Miami today.
( (PAUSE) ) Good morning. I am honored to be here to talk
with you. And I am thankful to Jack Lawn and the distinguished
enforcement chiefs who have come from throughout the Americas --
along with our friends and observers from Europe -- to join-
forces in a new tradition of international cooperation.
I am here today to talk about war. First, to see cocaine
trafficking for what it is: an attack aimed at enslaving and
exploiting the weak. Second, to confront what's become a World
War. And third -- I hope -- to help end a nasty chapter in that
war -- the diversion of precursor chemicals.
In the 19th Century, the scourge of the Americas was
slavery. A struggle of good and evil, in which some sought to
enrich themselves by enslaving the most downtrodden of their
countrymen.
Today the scourge of this hemisphere is called cocaine.
2
As commanding officers, you know the havoc of which we
speak. You see it every day on the streets of your cities and in
mountain villages, in the haunted eyes and broken dreams of a
generation of youth -- of children -- who have fallen victim to a
seductive, nightmarish new form of dependency and slavery.
Our countries have suffered a terrible toll, many far worse
than the United States. Drug trafficking is called the world's
second most dangerous profession. The most dangerous is yours --
drug enforcement.
Earlier this year, I had a glimpse of what must be all too
familiar to many of you. I joined Mrs. Everett Hatcher to grieve
the death of her husband, a veteran DEA agent who was executed by
cocaine cowards in the back streets of New York. A woman of
considerable dignity, she put responsibility for Hatch's death
(
squarely on those once naively excused as "casual" users of
cocaine.
Well, cocaine users can no longer claim non-combatant
status. There's blood on their hands. And -- thanks in part to
the demand-side programs like those you'll hear about later this
morning -- this message has begun to sear the consciences of the
stockbrokers and students, the lawyers and the homemakers and
athletes who finance our common enemy.
There are many ironies. Drug addiction does not
discriminate against a person because of race, religion or
financial status. It's the great equalizer, snaring sons and
daughters of the rich, the poor, the middle class.
3
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and kingpins are reduced to
paupers. The opulence of Carlos Lehder's lifestyle is but memory
now as he begins his journey to the grave -- life without parole
-- in an Illinois penitentiary. Mexico's notorious Felix
Gallardo -- once boasting of his power and wealth -- is also
behind bars. Stripped of blood money, they are nobodies, no
longer the stuff of myth.
Your business, then -- our business -- is to pursue these
outlaws to the ends of the earth. To create a world without
refuge, to leave no sanctuary, in your countries or in mine.
I've said it before: The war on drugs is no metaphor.
We've been slower to recognize that it is also a World War,
leaving no nation unscathed, one in which Hong Kong bankers,
Bolivian growers, Middle Eastern couriers and West Coast
wholesalers all play insidious roles. It is especially acute in
this hemisphere, where an explosive cycle of drugs, dependency
and dollars has escalated clear out of control.
The time for blame is behind us. For too long, a sharp
divide has been drawn between "producing" and "consuming"
nations. Well, "denial" is a natural part of human nature, and
probably part of a country's nature as well. But let's face it.
Americans cannot blame the Andean nations for our voracious
appetite for drugs. Ultimately, the solution to the U.S. drug
problem lies within our own borders -- stepped up enforcement,
education and treatment.
4
And our Latin American cousins cannot blame the United
States for the voracious greed of the drug traffickers who
control small empires at home. Ultimately, the solution to that
problem lies within your borders.
And yet, good neighbors must stand together. A World War
must be met in kind.
[[And so today, as this historic conference concludes, I
present you with an invitation that we ask be conveyed to your
respective capitals. Just as you have gathered on seven
occasions for IDEC, I ask that the leaders of the Americas join
me in a special summit to address the scourge of our times. I
have asked our nation's new Drug Czar, William Bennett, to
organize such a Summit before the year is out. ]]
IDEC demonstrates that we will put aside national
differences to do what must be done. Together you have put
cartels out of business, reduced the supply of cocaine, and,
increasingly, educated our children about the dangers of drug use
and trafficking. I commend Jack Lawn, and each of you, for
having the foresight to establish this organization and for
demonstrating the collective commitment to work together.
I've spoken often on the horrors of chemical warfare. Well,
chemical abuse is also chemical warfare. Poisoning our streets.
As deadly as mustard gas. And today we're opening a new campaign
to rid the world of these toxins.
It starts in an unlikely source country. We're standing in
it. The source country is the United States. That's right --
5
the United States. Our country is the world's leading producer
of three of the key chemicals needed to produce cocaine.
Now, U.S. chemical companies are justly proud of their
products that vastly improve and extend life here and abroad.
But few Americans are aware that swollen barrels of dangerous
chemicals -- clearly marked with U.S. corporate logos -- are
routinely seized in the jungles of Colombia. To paraphrase
Madison Avenue, and to state a simple fact: Without these
chemicals, cocaine itself would be impossible.
IDEC held a panel discussion on this Tuesday. Those
gathered here understand its importance. Traffickers have hit us
where it hurts. Now we're going to exploit their
vulnerabilities, crimping the flow of the chemicals without which
they cannot produce.
We know it works in the field. Many of you participated in
the "IDEC Six" operations last August, when the combined efforts
of 30 nations saw the seizure of 155,000 pounds of highly
flammable ether, almost 450,000 pounds of acetone, over 50,000
pounds of hydrochloric acid and nearly 14,000 pounds of MEK.
This past January, Colombian anti-narcotics officers under
General Munoz-Sanabria -- who I understand is here today --
congratulations, General -- destroyed 25 cocaine laboratories and
enough chemicals to make approximately 83 metric tons of cocaine.
The damage that's done when 83 tons of coke hits U.S.
streets is pretty obvious. What's not so well understood is the
widespread environmental damage that U.S. precursor chemicals
6
wreak in the forests of the Amazon basin. Peru's Upper Huallaga
( (WHY-AH-GA)) Valley is awash in U.S.-made chemicals. Countless
acres are barren. Today once-blue waters run yellow, and local
villagers are left to bathe in the toxic soup. Any manufacturers
concerned about the legacy of defoliation in Southeast Asia ought
to go see what their diverted chemicals are doing to the Andes
today.
Nor are these chemical timebombs unique to South America.
The problem here is so severe that last year's drug bill
authorized funds for the Environmental Protection Agency to clean
up hazardous waste at clandestine U.S. drug labs.
In January, DEA Task Force agents busted a heavily armed
houseboat lab on California's Sacramento River. The lab had been
dumping hydrochloric acid and other raw waste directly into the
water, within splashing distance of swimming kids and within
casting distance of those fishing for salmon and stripers.
Whether at home or abroad, we're not about to let the proud
label "Made in the USA" become a badge of shame. Today, I pledge
to you that the United States will lead the fight against illicit
shipments of precursor chemicals. And I have asked the Attorney
General to take a principal role in this new effort.
By and large, the chemical industry has supported us. As a
result of last year's Omnibus Drug law, regulations are now being
drafted to tighten controls on the chemicals needed to refine
cocaine. And we are dedicating the resources necessary to the
task. Whatever needs to be done, will be done.
7
We also commend those governments, like Colombia and
Venezuela, that have already adopted strict chemical controls.
And we urge other nations to do so quickly -- as well as to
approve the landmark UN Convention, which includes precursor
chemical controls.
Many U.S. companies, including some chemical companies, have
long recognized how drug abuse threatens productivity, corporate
image and, ultimately, profits. Many in the American corporate
community have donated countless hours and millions of dollars to
stopping drug abuse. My son Jeb talks about the successful
"Business Against Drugs" program here in Miami. The American
people are proud of these efforts, and grateful.
But industry must do more. And I hope that parents groups
and stockholders are listening today. We should reward
responsible corporations. And not do business with those who --
as of today's warning shots -- permit their chemicals to end up
in criminal hands.
We would like to see U.S. chemical manufacturers demonstrate
their courage and civic responsibility by entering into a true
partnership with our government as we try to stop narcotics at
the source. Perhaps you've seen the advertisements of one such
company, encouraging idealistic young Americans to sign on
because it "lets you do great things." Well, these companies
have the potential answers to a big part of our nation's drug
problem. They should make it their job to provide them. No one
8
-- not parents, not churches, not bankers -- and certainly not
chemical makers -- can afford to be AWOL in the war on drugs.
With so many cultures represented in this room, it's
inevitable that there will be differences. But we share at least
one compelling experience. Wherever you call home -- whether
Bonn or Bogota or Boston -- people around the world are beginning
to hear the cries of our children, pleading with us to stop the
drugs.
Here in Miami last month one elementary teacher told of a
writing assignment she gave her sixth-graders: "The topic was:
'If I Were In Charge of The World.' Every single one of those 36
children wrote that they would get rid of the drugs. They would
get rid of those people who are breaking the law. They would put
more effective policemen on the streets."
My favorite speechwriter is a baseball great named Yogi
Berra. He's been kidded for describing the 1969 Mets as
"overwhelming underdogs.' Well, maybe that's not such a bad
description for the good guys in the fight against drugs. Tough
challenges remain. But the children are with us, and the times
are beginning to change. And Yogi's underdogs did win the World
Series.
Thank you for coming to the United States. Please tell your
leaders we are anxious to work with them. God bless you. And
Godspeed in your noble work.
#
#
#
Steph
FINAL
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONF.
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
((PAUSE)) "THIS SCOURGE WILL STOP."
((PAUSE)) THOSE WERE THE WORDS WITH WHICH I OPENED
MY PRESIDENCY. AND IT IS THE CONTINUATION OF THAT
PROMISE THAT BRINGS ME TO MIAMI TODAY.
- 2 -
((PAUSE)) GOOD MORNING, I AM HONORED TO BE HERE
TO TALK WITH YOU. AND I AM THANKFUL TO JACK LAWN AND
THE DISTINGUISHED ENFORCEMENT CHIEFS WHO HAVE COME FROM
THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS -- ALONG WITH OUR FRIENDS AND
OBSERVERS FROM EUROPE -- TO JOIN FORCES IN A NEW
TRADITION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.
I AM HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT WAR. FIRST, TO SEE
COCAINE TRAFFICKING FOR WHAT IT IS: AN ATTACK AIMED AT
ENSLAVING AND EXPLOITING THE WEAK.
- 3 -
SECOND, TO CONFRONT WHAT'S BECOME A WORLD WAR. AND
THIRD -- I HOPE -- TO HELP END A NASTY CHAPTER IN THAT
WAR -- THE DIVERSION OF PRECURSOR CHEMICALS.
IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THE SCOURGE OF THE AMERICAS
WAS SLAVERY. A STRUGGLE OF GOOD AND EVIL, IN WHICH
SOME SOUGHT TO ENRICH THEMSELVES BY ENSLAVING THE MOST
DOWNTRODDEN OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN.
TODAY THE SCOURGE OF THIS HEMISPHERE IS CALLED
COCAINE.
= 4 -
As COMMANDING OFFICERS, YOU KNOW THE HAVOC OF WHICH
WE SPEAK. You SEE IT EVERY DAY ON THE STREETS OF YOUR
CITIES AND IN MOUNTAIN VILLAGES, IN THE HAUNTED EYES
AND BROKEN DREAMS OF A GENERATION OF YOUTH -- OF
CHILDREN -- WHO HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO A SEDUCTIVE,
NIGHTMARISH NEW FORM OF DEPENDENCY AND SLAVERY.
OUR COUNTRIES HAVE SUFFERED A TERRIBLE TOLL, MANY
FAR WORSE THAN THE UNITED STATES.
- 5 -
DRUG TRAFFICKING IS CALLED THE WORLD'S SECOND MOST
DANGEROUS PROFESSION. THE MOST DANGEROUS IS YOURS --
DRUG ENFORCEMENT.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I HAD A GLIMPSE OF WHAT MUST BE
ALL TOO FAMILIAR TO MANY OF YOU. I JOINED MRS. EVERETT
HATCHER TO GRIEVE FOR THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, A
VETERAN DEA AGENT WHO WAS EXECUTED BY COCAINE COWARDS
IN THE BACK STREETS OF NEW YORK.
- 6 -
A WOMAN OF CONSIDERABLE DIGNITY, SHE PUT RESPONSIBILITY
FOR MR. HATCHER'S DEATH SQUARELY ON THOSE ONCE NAIVELY
EXCUSED AS "CASUAL" USERS OF COCAINE.
WELL, COCAINE USERS CAN NO LONGER CLAIM NON-
COMBATANT STATUS. THERE'S BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS.
- 7 -
AND -- THANKS IN PART TO THE DEMAND-SIDE PROGRAMS LIKE
THOSE YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT LATER THIS MORNING -- THIS
MESSAGE HAS BEGUN TO SEAR THE CONSCIENCES OF THE
STOCKBROKERS AND STUDENTS, THE LAWYERS AND THE
HOMEMAKERS AND ATHLETES WHO FINANCE OUR COMMON ENEMY.
THERE ARE MANY IRONIES. DRUG ADDICTION DOES NOT
DISCRIMINATE AGAINST A PERSON BECAUSE OF RACE, RELIGION
OR FINANCIAL STATUS.
= 8 -
IT'S THE GREAT EQUALIZER, SNARING SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF
THE RICH, THE POOR, THE MIDDLE CLASS.
SOMETIMES THE OPPOSITE OCCURS, AND KINGPINS ARE
REDUCED TO PAUPERS. THE OPULENCE OF CARLOS LEHDER'S
LIFESTYLE IS BUT MEMORY NOW AS HE BEGINS HIS JOURNEY TO
THE GRAVE -- LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE -- IN AN ILLINOIS
PENITENTIARY.
- 9 -
THE NOTORIOUS FELIX GALLARDO -- ONCE BOASTING OF HIS
POWER AND WEALTH -- IS ALSO BEHIND BARS IN MEXICO.
STRIPPED OF BLOOD MONEY, THEY ARE NOBODIES, NO LONGER
THE STUFF OF MYTH.
YOUR BUSINESS, THEN -- OUR BUSINESS -- IS TO PURSUE
THESE OUTLAWS TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. To CREATE A
WORLD WITHOUT REFUGE, TO LEAVE NO SANCTUARY, IN YOUR
COUNTRIES OR IN MINE.
- 10 -
I'VE SAID IT BEFORE: THE WAR ON DRUGS IS NO
METAPHOR. WE'VE BEEN SLOWER TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS
ALSO A WORLD WAR, LEAVING NO NATION UNSCATHED, ONE IN
WHICH HONG KONG BANKERS, BOLIVIAN GROWERS, MIDDLE
EASTERN COURIERS AND WEST COAST WHOLESALERS ALL PLAY
INSIDIOUS ROLES. IT IS ESPECIALLY ACUTE IN THIS
HEMISPHERE, WHERE AN EXPLOSIVE CYCLE OF DRUGS,
DEPENDENCY AND DOLLARS HAS ESCALATED CLEAR OUT OF
CONTROL.
- 11 -
THE TIME FOR BLAME IS BEHIND US. FOR TOO LONG, A
SHARP DIVIDE HAS BEEN DRAWN BETWEEN "PRODUCING" AND
"CONSUMING" NATIONS. WELL, "DENIAL" IS A NATURAL PART
OF HUMAN NATURE, AND PROBABLY PART OF A COUNTRY'S
NATURE AS WELL. BUT LET'S FACE IT. AMERICANS CANNOT
BLAME THE ANDEAN NATIONS FOR OUR VORACIOUS APPETITE FOR
DRUGS. ULTIMATELY, THE SOLUTION TO THE U.S. DRUG
PROBLEM LIES WITHIN OUR OWN BORDERS -- STEPPED UP
ENFORCEMENT, EDUCATION AND TREATMENT.
- 12 -
AND OUR LATIN AMERICAN COUSINS CANNOT BLAME THE
UNITED STATES FOR THE VORACIOUS GREED OF THE DRUG
TRAFFICKERS WHO CONTROL SMALL EMPIRES AT HOME.
ULTIMATELY, THE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM LIES WITHIN
YOUR BORDERS.
AND YET, GOOD NEIGHBORS MUST STAND TOGETHER. A
WORLD WAR MUST BE MET IN KIND.
AND SO TODAY, AS THIS CONFERENCE CONCLUDES, WE ARE
PRESENTED WITH A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY.
- 13 -
ALLIES IN ANY WAR MUST CONSULT -- AS PARTNERS. AND
JUST AS YOU HAVE GATHERED ON SEVEN OCCASIONS FOR IDEC,
I ASK THAT THE LEADERS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, WHOSE
NATIONS ARE AFFLICTED BY THIS SCOURGE, JOIN WITH ME TO
WORK TOGETHER TOWARD A HEMISPHERIC COMPACT ON DRUGS --
A MUTUAL COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY TO ENSURE A
BRIGHTER DAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE AMERICAS.
AND I HAVE DIRECTED THAT OUR NATION'S NEW DRUG CZAR,
WILLIAM BENNETT, TAKE THE LEAD IN COORDINATING THIS
VITAL INITIATIVE.
- 14 -
IDEC DEMONSTRATES THAT WE WILL PUT ASIDE NATIONAL
DIFFERENCES TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE. TOGETHER YOU HAVE
PUT CARTELS OUT OF BUSINESS, REDUCED THE SUPPLY OF
COCAINE, AND, INCREASINGLY, EDUCATED OUR CHILDREN ABOUT
THE DANGERS OF DRUG USE AND TRAFFICKING. I COMMEND
JACK LAWN, AND EACH OF YOU, FOR HAVING THE FORESIGHT TO
ESTABLISH THIS ORGANIZATION AND FOR DEMONSTRATING THE
COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO WORK TOGETHER.
- 15 -
I'VE SPOKEN OFTEN ON THE HORRORS OF CHEMICAL
WARFARE. WELL, CHEMICAL ABUSE IS ALSO CHEMICAL
WARFARE. POISONING OUR STREETS. As DEADLY AS MUSTARD
GAS. AND TODAY WE'RE OPENING A NEW CAMPAIGN TO RID THE
WORLD OF THESE TOXINS.
WE'RE GOING TO START RIGHT HERE -- IN THE UNITED
STATES. BECAUSE ALL TOO OFTEN THAT'S THE ORIGINAL
SOURCE OF THE BASIC INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS NEEDED TO
PRODUCE COCAINE.
- 16 -
Now, U.S. CHEMICAL COMPANIES ARE JUSTLY PROUD OF
THEIR PRODUCTS THAT VASTLY IMPROVE AND EXTEND LIFE HERE
AND ABROAD. BUT FEW AMERICANS ARE AWARE THAT ILLEGALLY
DIVERTED BARRELS OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS -- CLEARLY
MARKED WITH U.S. CORPORATE LOGOS -- ARE ROUTINELY
SEIZED IN THE JUNGLES OF COLOMBIA.
IDEC HELD A PANEL DISCUSSION ON THIS TUESDAY.
THOSE GATHERED HERE UNDERSTAND ITS IMPORTANCE.
TRAFFICKERS HAVE HIT US WHERE IT HURTS.
- 17 -
Now WE'RE GOING TO EXPLOIT THEIR VULNERABILITIES,
CRIMPING THE FLOW OF THE MATERIALS WITHOUT WHICH THEY
CANNOT PRODUCE. No CHEMICALS, NO COCAINE.
WE KNOW IT WORKS IN THE FIELD. MANY OF YOU
PARTICIPATED IN THE "IDEC SIx" OPERATIONS LAST AUGUST,
WHEN THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF 30 NATIONS SAW THE SEIZURE
OF 155,000 POUNDS OF HIGHLY FLAMMABLE ETHER, ALMOST
450,000 POUNDS OF ACETONE, OVER 50,000 POUNDS OF
HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND NEARLY 14,000 POUNDS OF MEK.
- 18 -
THIS PAST JANUARY, COLOMBIAN ANTI-NARCOTICS
OFFICERS UNDER GENERAL MUNOZ-SANABRIA ((MUN-YOAZ SA-NA-
BREE-AH)) -- WHO I UNDERSTAND IS HERE TODAY --
CONGRATULATIONS, GENERAL -- DESTROYED 25 COCAINE
LABORATORIES AND ENOUGH CHEMICALS TO MAKE APPROXIMATELY
88 METRIC TONS OF COCAINE.
THE DAMAGE THAT'S DONE WHEN 88 TONS OF COKE HITS
U.S. STREETS IS PRETTY OBVIOUS.
- 19 -
WHAT'S NOT SO WELL UNDERSTOOD IS THE WIDESPREAD
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE THAT PRECURSOR CHEMICALS WREAK
WHEN THEY ARE DUMPED IN THE FORESTS OF THE AMAZON
BASIN. ONE OF TODAY'S DELEGATES, THE DIRECTOR OF
NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT FOR PERU'S NATIONAL POLICE, HAS
TOLD THE DEA THAT AS MUCH AS 175,000 POUNDS OF SULFURIC
ACID IS DUMPED INTO THE TRIBUTARIES OF THE UPPER
HUALLAGA ((WHY-AH-GA)) VALLEY EACH YEAR.
- 20 -
ANYONE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LEGACY OF DEFOLIATION IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA OUGHT TO GO SEE WHAT ILLEGALLY DIVERTED
CHEMICALS ARE BEGINNING TO DO TO THE ANDES RIGHT NOW.
NOR ARE THESE CHEMICAL TIMEBOMBS UNIQUE TO SOUTH
AMERICA. THE PROBLEM HERE IS SO SEVERE THAT LAST
YEAR'S DRUG BILL AUTHORIZED FUNDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY TO CLEAN UP HAZARDOUS WASTE AT
CLANDESTINE U.S. DRUG LABS.
- 21 -
IN JANUARY, DEA TASK FORCE AGENTS BUSTED A HEAVILY
ARMED HOUSEBOAT LAB ON CALIFORNIA'S SACRAMENTO RIVER.
THE LAB HAD BEEN DUMPING HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND OTHER
RAW WASTE DIRECTLY INTO THE WATER, WITHIN SPLASHING
DISTANCE OF SWIMMING KIDS AND WITHIN CASTING DISTANCE
OF THOSE FISHING FOR SALMON AND STRIPERS.
- 22 -
TODAY, I PLEDGE TO YOU THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL LEAD
THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLICIT SHIPMENTS OF PRECURSOR
CHEMICALS. AND I HAVE ASKED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO
TAKE A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN THIS NEW EFFORT.
BY AND LARGE, THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY HAS SUPPORTED
US. As A RESULT OF LAST YEAR'S OMNIBUS DRUG LAW,
REGULATIONS ARE NOW BEING DRAFTED TO TIGHTEN CONTROLS
ON THE CHEMICALS NEEDED TO REFINE COCAINE.
- 23 -
AND WE ARE DEDICATING THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO THE
TASK. WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE, WILL BE DONE.
OF COURSE, UNILATERAL ACTION BY US IS NOT GOING TO
SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. THAT'S WHY WE COMMEND THOSE
GOVERNMENTS, LIKE COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA, THAT HAVE
ALREADY ADOPTED STRICT CHEMICAL CONTROLS. AND WE URGE
OTHER NATIONS TO DO S0 QUICKLY -- AS WELL AS TO APPROVE
THE LANDMARK UN CONVENTION, WHICH INCLUDES PRECURSOR
CHEMICAL CONTROLS.
- 24 -
MANY U.S. COMPANIES, INCLUDING SOME CHEMICAL
COMPANIES, HAVE LONG RECOGNIZED HOW DRUG ABUSE
THREATENS PRODUCTIVITY, CORPORATE IMAGE AND,
ULTIMATELY, PROFITS. MANY IN THE AMERICAN CORPORATE
COMMUNITY HAVE DONATED COUNTLESS HOURS AND MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS TO STOPPING DRUG ABUSE. MY SON JEB TALKS ABOUT
THE SUCCESSFUL "BUSINESS AGAINST DRUGS" PROGRAM HERE IN
MIAMI. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF THESE EFFORTS,
AND GRATEFUL.
- 25 -
BUT INDUSTRY MUST DO MORE. AND I HOPE THAT
PARENTS' GROUPS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE LISTENING TODAY.
WE SHOULD DEMAND THAT U.S. CORPORATIONS ACT
RESPONSIBLY, AND THAT THEY NOT TOLERATE THEIR CHEMICALS
ENDING UP IN CRIMINAL HANDS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE U.S. CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS
DEMONSTRATE THEIR COURAGE AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY BY
ENTERING INTO A TRUE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR GOVERNMENT AS
WE TRY TO STOP NARCOTICS AT THE SOURCE.
MI 26 as
THESE COMPANIES CAN MAKE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO
OUR NATION'S FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS. THEY SHOULD
MAKE IT THEIR JOB TO JOIN IN. No ONE -- NOT PARENTS,
NOT CHURCHES, NOT BANKERS -- AND CERTAINLY NOT CHEMICAL
MAKERS -- CAN AFFORD TO BE AWOL. IN THE WAR ON DRUGS.
WITH SO MANY CULTURES REPRESENTED IN THIS ROOM,
IT'S INEVITABLE THAT THERE WILL BE DIFFERENCES. BUT WE
SHARE AT LEAST ONE COMPELLING EXPERIENCE.
- 27 -
WHEREVER YOU CALL HOME -- WHETHER BONN OR BOGOTA OR
BOSTON -- PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE BEGINNING TO HEAR
THE CRIES OF OUR CHILDREN, PLEADING WITH US TO STOP THE
DRUGS.
HERE IN MIAMI LAST MONTH ONE ELEMENTARY TEACHER
TOLD OF A WRITING ASSIGNMENT SHE GAVE HER SIXTH-
GRADERS: "THE TOPIC WAS: 'IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF THE
WORLD.' EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE 36 CHILDREN WROTE
THAT THEY WOULD GET RID OF THE DRUGS.
- 28 -
THEY WOULD GET RID OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE BREAKING THE
LAW. THEY WOULD PUT MORE EFFECTIVE POLICEMEN ON THE
STREETS."
MY FAVORITE SPEECHWRITER IS A BASEBALL GREAT NAMED
Yogi BERRA. HE'S BEEN KIDDED FOR DESCRIBING THE 1969
METS AS "OVERWHELMING UNDERDOGS." WELL, MAYBE THAT'S
NOT SUCH A BAD DESCRIPTION FOR THE GOOD GUYS IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS. TOUGH CHALLENGES REMAIN.
- 29 -
BUT THE CHILDREN ARE WITH US, AND THE TIMES ARE
BEGINNING TO CHANGE. AND YOGI'S UNDERDOGS DID WIN THE
WORLD SERIES.
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO THE UNITED STATES. PLEASE
TELL YOUR LEADERS WE ARE ANXIOUS TO WORK WITH THEM.
GOD BLESS YOU. AND GODSPEED IN YOUR NOBLE WORK.
#
#
#
029287 SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
4/23/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: INTERNATIONAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
BENNETT
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
APRIL 22, 1989
1933 APR 22
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON KG for cw
FROM:
EDWARD MCNALLY Emal
SUBJECT:
REMARKS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT
CONFERENCE IN MIAMI
I. SUMMARY
Attached for your consideration are draft remarks for your
address to the International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC)
in Miami, scheduled for Thursday, April 27, 1989, at 9:10 a.m.
II. DISCUSSION
Initiated in 1983, each year IDEC brings together the DEA
Administrator's drug enforcement counterparts from throughout the
Americas. Several European and Caribbean "observer" nations also
participate. Jack Lawn is currently serving as IDEC VII's
president. The Miami gathering marks the first time the U.S. is
hosting IDEC.
The attached draft includes two elements that may be of
particular interest to the public and news media.
The first is the announcement (in fulfillment of a campaign
promise) that Bill Bennett will seek to "organize" a special
Summit of hemisphere leaders to address the scourge of drugs.
The relevant paragraph is on page four, and is bracketed because
Director Bennett will be advising on Monday, April 24th, whether
the suggested timetable (to "organize" the Summit " before the
year is out") permits adequate preparation for such an
announcement this week. (Alternative sets of cards will be
prepared to allow for either contingency.)
The other area of interest concerns U.S. efforts to stem the
flow of "precursor chemicals" -- essential for refining cocaine.
Although the chemical and environmental issues are well
understood by IDEC (it's on the conference agenda) they have not
yet received much attention from America's "bully pulpits."
(McNally/Dooley)
April 21, 1989
2:00 p.m.
Draft two
(IDEC)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
(
(PAUSE) ) "This scourge will stop.'
( (PAUSE) ) Those were the words with which I opened my
presidency. And it is the continuation of that promise that
brings me to Miami today.
((PAUSE) ) Good morning. I am honored to be here to talk
with you. And I am thankful to Jack Lawn and the distinguished
enforcement chiefs who have come from throughout the Americas --
along with our friends and observers from Europe -- to join
forces in a new tradition of international cooperation.
I am here today to talk about war. First, to see cocaine
trafficking for what it is: an attack aimed at enslaving and
exploiting the weak. Second, to confront what's become a World
War. And third -- I hope -- to help end a nasty chapter in that
war -- the diversion of precursor chemicals.
In the 19th Century, the scourge of the Americas was
slavery. A struggle of good and evil, in which some sought to
enrich themselves by enslaving the most downtrodden of their
countrymen.
Today the scourge of this hemisphere is called cocaine.
2
As commanding officers, you know the havoc of which we
speak. You see it every day on the streets of your cities and in
mountain villages, in the haunted eyes and broken dreams of a
generation of youth -- of children -- who have fallen victim to a
seductive, nightmarish new form of dependency and slavery.
Our countries have suffered a terrible toll, many far worse
than the United States. Drug trafficking is called the world's
second most dangerous profession. The most dangerous is yours --
drug enforcement.
Earlier this year, I had a glimpse of what must be all too
familiar to many of you. I joined Mrs. Everett Hatcher to grieve
the death of her husband, a veteran DEA agent who was executed by
cocaine cowards in the back streets of New York. A woman of
considerable dignity, she put responsibility for Hatch's death
squarely on those once naively excused as "casual" users of
cocaine.
Well, these users can no longer claim non-combatant status.
There's blood on their hands. And -- thanks in part to the
demand-side programs like those you'll hear about later this
morning -- this message has begun to sear the consciences of the
stockbrokers and students, the lawyers and the homemakers and
athletes who finance our common enemy.
There are many ironies. Drug addiction does not
discriminate against a person because of race, religion or
financial status. It's the great equalizer, snaring sons and
daughters of the rich, the poor, the middle class.
3
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and kingpins are reduced to
paupers. The opulence of Carlos Lehder's lifestyle is but memory
now as he begins his journey to the grave -- life without parole
-- in an Illinois penitentiary. Mexico's notorious Felix
Gallardo -- once boasting of his power and wealth -- is also
behind bars. Stripped of blood money, they are nobodies, no
longer the stuff of myth.
Your business, then -- our business -- is to pursue these
outlaws to the ends of the earth. To create a world without
refuge, to leave no sanctuary, in your countries or in mine.
I've said it before: The war on drugs is no metaphor.
We've been slower to recognize that it is also a World War,
leaving no nation unscathed, one in which Hong Kong bankers,
Bolivian growers, Middle Eastern couriers and West Coast
wholesalers all play insidious roles. It is especially acute in
this hemisphere, where an explosive cycle of drugs, dependency
and dollars has escalated clear out of control.
The time for blame is behind us. For too long, a sharp
divide has been drawn between "producing" and "consuming"
nations. Well, "denial" is a natural part of human nature, and
probably part of a country's nature as well. But let's face it.
Americans cannot blame the Andean nations for our voracious
appetite for drugs. Ultimately, the solution to the U.S. drug
problem lies within our own borders -- stepped up enforcement,
education and treatment.
4
And our Latin American cousins cannot blame the United
States for the voracious greed of the drug traffickers who
control small empires at home. Ultimately, the solution to that
problem lies within your borders.
And yet, good neighbors must stand together. A World War
must be met in kind.
[[And so today, as this historic conference concludes, I
present you with an invitation that we ask be conveyed to your
respective capitals. Just as you have gathered on seven
occasions for IDEC, I ask that the leaders of the Americas join
me in a special summit to address the scourge of our times. I
have asked our nation's new Drug Czar, William Bennett, to
organize such a Summit before the year is out. ]]
IDEC demonstrates that we will put aside national
differences to do what must be done. Together you have put
cartels out of business, reduced the supply of cocaine, and,
increasingly, educated our children about the dangers of drug use
and trafficking. I commend Jack Lawn, and each of you, for
having the foresight to establish this organization and for
demonstrating the collective commitment to work together.
I've spoken often on the horrors of chemical warfare. Well,
chemical abuse is also chemical warfare. Poisoning our streets.
As deadly as mustard gas. And today we're opening a new campaign
to rid the world of these toxins.
It starts in an unlikely source country. We're standing in
it. The source country is the United States. That's right --
5
the United States. Our country is the world's leading producer
of three of the key chemicals needed to produce cocaine.
Now, U.S. chemical companies are justly proud of their
products that vastly improve and extend life here and abroad.
But few Americans are aware that swollen barrels of dangerous
chemicals -- clearly marked with U.S. corporate logos --are
routinely seized in the jungles of Colombia. To paraphrase
Madison Avenue, and to state a simple fact: Without these
chemicals, cocaine itself would be impossible.
IDEC held a panel discussion on this Tuesday. Those
gathered here understand its importance. Traffickers have hit us
where it hurts. Now we're going to exploit their
vulnerabilities, crimping the flow of the chemicals without which
they cannot produce.
We know it works in the field. Many of you participated in
the "IDEC Six" operations last August, when the combined efforts
of 30 nations saw the seizure of 155,000 pounds of highly
flammable ether, almost 450,000 pounds of acetone, over 50,000
pounds of hydrochloric acid and nearly 14,000 pounds of MEK.
This past January, Colombian anti-narcotics officers under
General Munoz-Sanabria -- who I understand is here today --
congratulations, General -- destroyed 25 cocaine laboratories and
enough chemicals to make approximately 83 metric tons of cocaine.
The damage that's done when 83 tons of coke hits U.S.
streets is pretty obvious. What's not so well understood is the
widespread environmental damage that U.S. precursor chemicals
6
wreak in the forests of the Amazon basin. Peru's Upper Huallaga
(WHY-AH-GA)) Valley is awash in U.S.-made chemicals. Countless
acres are barren. Today once-blue waters run yellow, and local
villagers are left to bathe in the toxic soup. Any manufacturers
concerned about the legacy of defoliation in Southeast Asia ought
to go see what their diverted chemicals are doing to the Andes
today.
Nor are these chemical timebombs unique to South America.
The problem here is so severe that last year's drug bill
authorized funds for the Environmental Protection Agency to clean
up hazardous waste at clandestine U.S. drug labs.
In January, DEA Task Force agents busted a heavily armed
houseboat lab on California's Sacramento River. The lab had been
dumping hydrochloric acid and other raw waste directly into the
water, within splashing distance of swimming kids and within
casting distance of those fishing for salmon and stripers.
Whether at home or abroad, we're not about to let the proud
label "Made in the USA" become a badge of shame. Today, I pledge
to you that the United States will lead the fight against illicit
shipments of precursor chemicals. And I have asked the Attorney
General to take a principal role in this new effort.
By and large, the chemical industry has supported us. As a
result of last year's Omnibus Drug law, regulations are now being
drafted to tighten controls on the chemicals needed to refine
cocaine. And we are dedicating the resources necessary to the
task. Whatever needs to be done, will be done.
7
We also commend those governments, like Colombia and
Venezuela, that have already adopted strict chemical controls.
And we urge other nations to do so quickly -- as well as to
approve the landmark UN Convention, which includes precursor
chemical controls.
Many U.S. companies, including some chemical companies, have
long recognized how drug abuse threatens productivity, corporate
image and, ultimately, profits. Many in the American corporate
community have donated countless hours and millions of dollars to
stopping drug abuse. My son Jeb talks about the successful
"Business Against Drugs" program here in Miami. The American
people are proud of these efforts, and grateful.
But industry must do more. And I hope that parents groups
and stockholders are listening today. We should reward
responsible corporations. And not do business with those who --
as of today's warning shots -- permit their chemicals to end up
in criminal hands.
We would like to see U.S. chemical manufacturers demonstrate
their courage and civic responsibility by entering into a true
partnership with our government as we try to stop narcotics at
the source. Perhaps you've seen the advertisements of one such
company, encouraging idealistic young Americans to sign on
because it "lets you do great things." Well, these companies
have the potential answers to a big part of our nation's drug
problem. They should make it their job to provide them. No one
8
-- not parents, not churches, not bankers -- and certainly not
chemical makers -- can afford to be AWOL in the war on drugs.
With so many cultures represented in this room, it's
inevitable that there will be differences. But we share at least
one compelling experience. Wherever you call home -- whether
Bonn or Bogota or Boston -- people around the world are beginning
to hear the cries of our children, pleading with us to stop the
drugs.
Here in Miami last month one elementary teacher told of a
writing assignment she gave her sixth-graders: "The topic was:
'If I Were In Charge of The World.' Every single one of those 36
children wrote that they would get rid of the drugs. They would
get rid of those people who are breaking the law. They would put
more effective policemen on the streets."
My favorite speechwriter is a baseball great named Yogi
Berra. He's been kidded for describing the 1969 Mets as
"overwhelming underdogs." Well, maybe that's not such a bad
description for the good guys in the fight against drugs. Tough
challenges remain. But the children are with us, and the times
are beginning to change. And Yogi's underdogs did win the World
Series.
Thank you for coming to the United States. Please tell your
leaders we are anxious to work with them. God bless you. And
Godspeed in your noble work.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 23, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
EDWARD E. McNALLY
our
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
SUBJECT:
"SOUND BITE" VERSION OF THE IDEC REMARKS
I. SUMMARY
Attached for your consideration is a clean copy -- with
suggested "sound bites" underlined in bold type -- of the text
you approved for the IDEC address in Miami on Thursday.
II. DISCUSSION
of all the events during this week's travels, your address
in Miami holds some of the greatest potential for making real
news.
The first set of sound bites suggested here addresses the
crises in drug enforcement ("Drug trafficking is the world's
second-most dangerous profession") and demand reduction
(
explosive cycle of drugs, dependency and dollars").
Beginning at page four, the second set of "underlined" sound
bites addresses the two substantive areas most likely to make
news:
(1) The announcement that planning has begun for
a hemispheric Summit on drugs. (p. 4).
(2) A call to action for chemical companies to help
stem the flow of precursor chemicals to cocaine
source countries. (pp. 5, 6 and 8 -- "No one can
be AWOL in the war on drugs").
[Note: Two sets of cards have been prepared for your trip.
One includes the "sound bite" underlining suggested above. The
other contains only sparse underlining, tracking the original,
approved text exactly.]
(McNally/Dooley)
April 21, 1989
2:00 p.m.
Draft two
(IDEC)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
(
(PAUSE)
)
"This scourge will stop.'
((PAUSE)) Those were the words with which I opened my
presidency. And it is the continuation of that promise that
brings me to Miami today.
((PAUSE) ) Good morning. I am honored to be here to talk
with you. And I am thankful to Jack Lawn and the distinguished
enforcement chiefs who have come from throughout the Americas --
along with our friends and observers from Europe -- to join
forces in a new tradition of international cooperation.
I am here today to talk about war. First, to see cocaine
trafficking for what it is: an attack aimed at enslaving and
exploiting the weak. Second, to confront what's become a World
War. And third -- I hope -- to help end a nasty chapter in that
war -- the diversion of precursor chemicals.
In the 19th Century, the scourge of the Americas was
slavery. A struggle of good and evil, in which some sought to
enrich themselves by enslaving the most downtrodden of their
countrymen.
Today the scourge of this hemisphere is called cocaine.
2
As commanding officers, you know the havoc of which we
speak. You see it every day on the streets of your cities and in
mountain villages, in the haunted eyes and broken dreams of a
generation of youth -- of children -- who have fallen victim to a
seductive, nightmarish new form of dependency and slavery.
Our countries have suffered a terrible toll, many far worse
than the United States. Drug trafficking is called the world's
second most dangerous profession. The most dangerous is yours --
drug enforcement.
Earlier this year, I had a glimpse of what must be all too
familiar to many of you. I joined Mrs. Everett Hatcher to grieve
the death of her husband, a veteran DEA agent who was executed by
cocaine cowards in the back streets of New York. A woman of
considerable dignity, she put responsibility for Hatch's death
squarely on those once naively excused as "casual" users of
cocaine.
Well, cocaine users can no longer claim non-combatant
status. There's blood on their hands. And -- thanks in part to
the demand-side programs like those you'll hear about later this
morning -- this message has begun to sear the consciences of the
stockbrokers and students, the lawyers and the homemakers and
athletes who finance our common enemy.
There are many ironies. Drug addiction does not
discriminate against a person because of race, religion or
financial status. It's the great equalizer, snaring sons and
daughters of the rich, the poor, the middle class.
3
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and kingpins are reduced to
paupers. The opulence of Carlos Lehder's lifestyle is but memory
now as he begins his journey to the grave -- life without parole
-- in an Illinois penitentiary. Mexico's notorious Felix
Gallardo -- once boasting of his power and wealth --- is also
behind bars. Stripped of blood money, they are nobodies, no
longer the stuff of myth.
Your business, then -- our business -- is to pursue these
outlaws to the ends of the earth. To create a world without
refuge, to leave no sanctuary, in your countries or in mine.
I've said it before: The war on drugs is no metaphor.
We've been slower to recognize that it is also a World War,
leaving no nation unscathed, one in which Hong Kong bankers,
Bolivian growers, Middle' Eastern couriers and West Coast
wholesalers all play insidious roles. It is especially acute in
this hemisphere, where an explosive cycle of drugs, dependency
and dollars has escalated clear out of control.
The time for blame is behind us. For too long, a sharp
divide has been drawn between "producing" and "consuming"
nations. Well, "denial" is a natural part of human nature, and
probably part of a country's nature as well. But let's face it.
Americans cannot blame the Andean nations for our voracious
appetite for drugs. Ultimately, the solution to the U.S. drug
problem lies within our own borders -- stepped up enforcement,
education and treatment.
4
And our Latin American cousins cannot blame the United
States for the voracious greed of the drug traffickers who
control small empires at home. Ultimately, the solution to that
problem lies within your borders.
And yet, good neighbors must stand together. A World War
must be met in kind.
[[And so today, as this historic conference concludes, I
present you with an invitation that we ask be conveyed to your
respective capitals. Just as you have gathered on seven
occasions for IDEC, I ask that the leaders of the Americas join
me in a special summit to address the scourge of our times. I
have asked our nation's new Drug Czar, William Bennett, to
organize such a Summit before the year is out. ]]
IDEC demonstrates that we will put aside national
differences to do what must be done. Together you have put
cartels out of business, reduced the supply of cocaine, and,
increasingly, educated our children about the dangers of drug use
and trafficking. I commend Jack Lawn, and each of you, for
having the foresight to establish this organization and for
demonstrating the collective commitment to work together.
I've spoken often on the horrors of chemical warfare. Well,
chemical abuse is also chemical warfare. Poisoning our streets.
As deadly as mustard gas. And today we're opening a new campaign
to rid the world of these toxins.
It starts in an unlikely source country. We're standing in
it. The source country is the United States. That's right --
5
the United States. Our country is the world's leading producer
of three of the key chemicals needed to produce cocaine.
Now, U.S. chemical companies are justly proud of their
products that vastly improve and extend life here and abroad.
But few Americans are aware that swollen barrels of dangerous
chemicals -- clearly marked with U.S. corporate logos -- are
routinely seized in the jungles of Colombia. To paraphrase
Madison Avenue, and to state a simple fact: Without these
chemicals, cocaine itself would be impossible.
IDEC held a panel discussion on this Tuesday. Those
gathered here understand its importance. Traffickers have hit us
where it hurts. Now we're going to exploit their
vulnerabilities, crimping the flow of the chemicals without which
they cannot produce.
We know it works in the field. Many of you participated in
the "IDEC Six" operations last August, when the combined efforts
of 30 nations saw the seizure of 155,000 pounds of highly
flammable ether, almost 450,000 pounds of acetone, over 50,000
pounds of hydrochloric acid and nearly 14,000 pounds of MEK.
This past January, Colombian anti-narcotics officers under
General Munoz-Sanabria -- who I understand is here today --
congratulations, General -- destroyed 25 cocaine laboratories and
enough chemicals to make approximately 83 metric tons of cocaine.
The damage that's done when 83 tons of coke hits U.S.
streets is pretty obvious. What's not so well understood is the
widespread environmental damage that U.S. precursor chemicals
6
wreak in the forests of the Amazon basin. Peru's Upper Huallaga
( (WHY-AH-GA) ) Valley is awash in U.S.-made chemicals. Countless
acres are barren. Today once-blue waters run yellow, and local
villagers are left to bathe in the toxic soup. Any manufacturers
concerned about the legacy of defoliation in Southeast Asia ought
to go see what their diverted chemicals are doing to the Andes
today.
Nor are these chemical timebombs unique to South America.
The problem here is so severe that last year's drug bill
authorized funds for the Environmental Protection Agency to clean
up hazardous waste at clandestine U.S. drug labs.
In January, DEA Task Force agents busted a heavily armed
houseboat lab on California's Sacramento River. The lab had been
dumping hydrochloric acid and other raw waste directly into the
water, within splashing distance of swimming kids and within
casting distance of those fishing for salmon and stripers.
Whether at home or abroad, we're not about to let the proud
label "Made in the USA" become a badge of shame. Today, I pledge
to you that the United States will lead the fight against illicit
shipments of precursor chemicals. And I have asked the Attorney
General to take a principal role in this new effort.
By and large, the chemical industry has supported us. As a
result of last year's Omnibus Drug law, regulations are now being
drafted to tighten controls on the chemicals needed to refine
cocaine. And we are dedicating the resources necessary to the
task. Whatever needs to be done, will be done.
I
7
We also commend those governments, like Colombia and
Venezuela, that have already adopted strict chemical controls.
And we urge other nations to do so quickly -- as well as to
approve the landmark UN Convention, which includes precursor
chemical controls.
Many U.S. companies, including some chemical companies, have
long recognized how drug abuse threatens productivity, corporate
image and, ultimately, profits. Many in the American corporate
community have donated countless hours and millions of dollars to
stopping drug abuse. My son Jeb talks about the successful
"Business Against Drugs" program here in Miami. The American
people are proud of these efforts, and grateful.
But industry must do more. And I hope that parents groups
and stockholders are listening today. We should reward
responsible corporations. And not do business with those who --
as of today's warning shots -- permit their chemicals to end up
in criminal hands.
We would like to see U.S. chemical manufacturers demonstrate
their courage and civic responsibility by entering into a true
partnership with our government as we try to stop narcotics at
the source. Perhaps you've seen the advertisements of one such
company, encouraging idealistic young Americans to sign on
because it "lets you do great things." Well, these companies
have the potential answers to a big part of our nation's drug
problem. They should make it their job to provide them. No one
8
-- not parents, not churches, not bankers -- and certainly not
chemical makers -- can afford to be AWOL in the war on drugs.
With so many cultures represented in this room, it's
inevitable that there will be differences. But we share at least
one compelling experience. Wherever you call home -- whether
Bonn or Bogota or Boston -- people around the world are beginning
to hear the cries of our children, pleading with us to stop the
drugs.
Here in Miami last month one elementary teacher told of a
writing assignment she gave her sixth-graders: "The topic was:
'If I Were In Charge of The World.' Every single one of those 36
children wrote that they would get rid of the drugs. They would
get rid of those people who are breaking the law. They would put
more effective policement on the streets."
My favorite speechwriter is a baseball great named Yogi
Berra. He's been kidded for describing the 1969 Mets as
"overwhelming underdogs." Well, maybe that's not such a bad
description for the good guys in the fight against drugs. Tough
challenges remain. But the children are with us, and the times
are beginning to change. And Yogi's underdogs did win the World
Series.
Thank you for coming to the United States. Please tell your
leaders we are anxious to work with them. God bless you. And
Godspeed in your noble work.
#
#
#
April 24, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM;
DENISE SCHWARZ
OFFICE OF CABINET AFFAIRS
SUBJECT;
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: INTERNATIONAL DRUG
ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
LOG #029287SS
Attached are late comments that came in from the agencies
about the remarks. Thank you for trying to incorporate them as
you see fit.
Attachment
CC: Jim Cicconi
Document No.
029287 ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
4/21/89
12:00 SATURDAY 4/22/8
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
WINSTON
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
PINKERTON
CICCONI
BENNETT
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide your comments/recommendations direclty to Chriss
Winston's office with an info copy to my office by 12:00
SATURDAY, April 21. Thank you
RESPONSE:
James W, Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(McNally/Dooley)
April 21, 1989
1953
2:00 p.m.
Draft two
(IDEC)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
MARRIOTT HOTEL, MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:00 A.M.
( (PAUSE) ) "This scourge will stop.' "
( (PAUSE) ) Those were the words with which I opened my
presidency. And it is the continuation of that promise that
brings me to Miami today.
( (PAUSE) ) Good morning. I am honored to be here to talk
with you. And I am thankful to Jack Lawn and the distinguished
enforcement chiefs who have come from throughout the Americas --
along with our friends and observers from Europe -- to join
forces in a new tradition of international cooperation.
I am here today to talk about war. First, to see cocaine
trafficking for what it is: an attack aimed at enslaving and
exploiting the weak. Second, to confront what's become a World
War. And third -- I hope -- to help end a nasty chapter in the
annals of chemical warfare.
America's Civil War was our worst and bloodiest. It came in
a century when slavery was the scourge of the Americas, a
struggle of good and evil, in which some sought to enrich
themselves by enslaving the most downtrodden of their countrymen.
Today the scourge of this hemisphere is called cocaine.
2
As commanding officers, you know the havoc of which we
speak. You see it every day on the streets of your cities and in
mountain villages, in the haunted eyes and broken dreams of a
generation of youth -- of children -- who have fallen victim to a
seductive, nightmarish new form of dependency and slavery.
Our countries have suffered a terrible toll, many far worse
than the United States. Drug trafficking is called the world's
second most dangerous profession. The most dangerous is yours --
drug enforcement.
Earlier this year, I had a glimpse of what must be all too
familiar to many of you. I joined Mrs. Everett Hatcher to grieve
the death of her husband, a veteran DEA agent who was executed by
cocaine cowards in the back streets of New York. A woman of
considerable dignity, she put responsibility for Hatch's death
squarely on those once naively excused as "casual" users of
cocaine.
Well, these users can no longer claim non-combatant status.
There's blood on their hands. And -- thanks in part to the
demand-side programs like those you'll hear about later this
morning -- this message has begun to sear the consciences of the
stockbrokers and students, the lawyers and the homemakers and
athletes who finance our common enemy.
There are many ironies. Drug addiction does not
discriminate against a person because of race, religion or
financial status. It's the great equalizer, snaring sons and
daughters of the rich, the poor, the middle class.
3
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and kingpins are reduced to
paupers. The opulence of Carlos Lehder's lifestyle is but memory
now as he begins his journey to the grave -- life without parole
-- in an Illinois penitentiary. Mexico's notorious Felix
Gallardo -- once boasting of his power and wealth -- is also
behind bars. Stripped of blood money, they are nobodies, no
longer the stuff of myth.
Your business, then -- our business -- is to pursue these
outlaws to the ends of the earth. To create a world without
refuge, to leave no sanctuary, in your countries or in mine.
I've said it before: The war on drugs is no metaphor.
We've been slower to recognize that it is also a World War,
leaving no nation unscathed, one in which Hong Kong bankers,
Bolivian growers, Middle Eastern couriers and West Coast
(what)?
wholesalers all play insidious roles. It is especially acute in
this hemisphere, where an explosive cycle of drugs, dependency
and dollars has escalated clear out of control.
The time for blame is behind us. For too long, a sharp
divide has been drawn between "producing" and "consuming"
nations. Well, "denial" is a natural part of human nature, and
probably part of a country's nature as well. But let's face it.
Americans cannot blame the Andean peoples for our voracious
appetite for drugs. Ultimately, the solution to the U.S. drug
problem lies within our own borders -- stepped up enforcement,
education and treatment.
4
And our Latin American cousins cannot blame the United
States for the voracious greed of the drug traffickers who
control small empires at home. Ultimately, the solution to that
problem lies within your borders.
And yet, good neighbors must stand together. A World War
(see attached Suggested replacement)
must be met in kind. And so today, as this historic conference
concludes, I present you with an invitation that we ask be
conveyed to your respective capitals. Just as you have gathered
on seven occasions for IDEC, I ask that the leaders of the
Americas join me in a special summit to address the scourge of
our times.
I have asked America's new Drug Czar, William
Bennett
Bennett, to organize such a Summit before the year is out.
will address
on monda
IDEC demonstrates that we will put aside national
differences to do what must be done. Together you have put
cartels out of business, reduced the supply of powder, and,
increasingly, educated our children about the dangers of drug use
and trafficking. I commend Jack Lawn, and each of you, for
having the foresight to establish this organization and for
demonstrating the collective commitment to work together.
I've spoken often on the horrors of chemical warfare. Well,
chemical abuse is also chemical warfare. Poisoning our streets.
As deadly as mustard gas. And today we're opening a new campaign
to rid the world of these toxins.
It starts in an unlikely source country. We're standing in
it. The source country is America. )That's That's right -- America.
5
The United States is the world's leading producer of three of the
key chemicals needed to produce cocaine.
Now, American chemical companies are justly proud of their
products that vastly improve and extend life here and abroad.
But few Americans are aware that swollen barrels of dangerous
U.S. chemicals -- clearly marked with American corporate logos --
are routinely seized in the jungles of Colombia. To paraphrase
Madison Avenue, and to state a simple fact: Without these
chemicals, cocaine itself would be impossible.
IDEC held a panel discussion on this Tuesday. Those
gathered here understand its importance. Traffickers have hit us
where it hurts. Now we're going to exploit their
vulnerabilities, crimping the flow of the chemicals without which
they cannot produce.
We know it works in the field. Many of you participated in
the "IDEC Six" operations last August, when the combined efforts
of 30 nations saw the seizure of 155,000 pounds of highly
flammable ether, almost 450,000 pounds of acetone, over 50,000
pounds of hydrochloric acid and nearly 14,000 pounds of MEK.
This past January, Colombian anti-narcotics officers under
General Munoz-Sanabria -- who I understand is here today --
congratulations, General -- destroyed 25 cocaine laboratories and
enough chemicals to make approximately 83 metric tons of cocaine.
The damage that's done when 83 tons of coke hits America S
streets is pretty obvious. What's not so well understood is the
widespread environmental damage that America's precursor
6
chemicals wreak on the rain forests of the Amazon basin Peru's
Upper Huallaga ( (WHY-AH-GA) ) Valley is awash in U.S.-made
chemicals. Countless acres are barren. Today once-blue waters
run yellow, and local villagers are left to bathe in the toxic
soup. Any manufacturers concerned about the legacy of
defoliation in Vietnam ought to go see what their diverted
chemicals are doing to the Andes today.
Nor are these chemical timebombs unique to South America.
The problem here is so severe that last year's drug bill provided
$
million for the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up
hazardous waste at clandestine U.S. drug labs.
In January, DEA Task Force agents busted a heavily armed
houseboat lab on California's Sacramento River. The lab had been
dumping hydrochloric acid and other raw waste directly into the
water, within splashing distance of swimming kids and within
casting distance of those fishing for salmon and stripers.
Whether at home or abroad, we're not about to let the proud
label "Made in the USA" become a badge of shame. Today, I pledge
to you that the United States will lead the fight against illicit
shipments of precursor chemicals. And I have asked the Attorney
General to take a principle role in this new effort.
By and large, the chemical industry has supported us. As a
result of last year's Omnibus Drug law regulations are now being
drafted to tighten controls on the chemicals needed to refine
cocaine. And we are dedicating the resources necessary to the
task. Whatever needs to be done, will be done.
7
We also commend those governments, like Colombia and
Venezuela, that have already adopted strict chemical controls.
And we urge other nations to do so quickly -- as well as to
against drug trafficking
approve the landmark UN Convention on precursor chemicals.
Many U.S. companies, including some chemical companies, have
long recognized how drug abuse threatens productivity, corporate
image and, ultimately, profits. Many in the American corporate
community have donated countless hours and millions of dollars to
stopping drug abuse. My son Jeb talks about the successful
"Business Against Drugs" program here in Miami. The American
people are proud of these efforts, and grateful.
But the industry must do more. And I hope that parents
groups and stockholders are listening today. We should reward
responsible corporations. And not do business with those who --
as of today's warning shots -- permit their chemicals to end up
in criminal hands.
We would like to see U.S. chemical manufacturers demonstrate
their courage and civic responsibility by entering into a true
partnership with our government as we try to stop narcotics at
the source. Perhaps you've seen the advertisements of one such
company, encouraging idealistic young Americans to sign on
because it "lets you do great things." Well, these companies
have the potential answers to a big part of our nation's drug
problem. They should make it their job to provide them. No one
-- not parents, not churches, not bankers -- and certainly not
chemical makers -- can afford to be AWOL in the war on drugs.
8
With so many cultures represented in this room, it's
inevitable that there will be differences. But we share at least
one compelling experience. Wherever you call home -- whether
anyone there
from Germany
Bonn or Bogota or Boston -- people around the world are beginning
to hear the cries of our children, pleading with us to stop the
drugs.
Here in Miami last month one elementary teacher told of a
writing assignment she gave her sixth-graders. The topic was:
"If I Were In Charge Of The World." Every single one of those 36
children wrote that they would get rid of the drugs. They would
get rid of those people who are breaking the law. They would put
more effective policemen on the street.
My favorite speechwriter is a baseball great named Yogi
Berra. He's been kidded for describing the 1969 Mets as
"overwhelming underdogs." Well, maybe that's not such a bad
description for the good guys in the fight against drugs. Tough
challenges remain. But the children are with us, and the times
are beginning to change. And Yogi's underdogs did win the World
Series.
Thank you for coming to America. Please tell your leaders
we are anxious to work with them. God bless you. And Godspeed
in your noble work.
#
#
#
And, as with previous wars, allies must consult as partners.
Just as you have gathered on seven occasions for IDEC, we must
meet together at the political level to plan strategy and commit
our mutual resources to the war against narcotics. The concept
of such a high level consultation is an integral part of the
study now under way under the direction of America's new Drug
Czar, William Bennett.
REMARKS: INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
((PAUSE)) "THIS SCOURGE WILL STOP."
((PAUSE)) THOSE WERE THE WORDS WITH WHICH I OPENED
MY PRESIDENCY. AND IT IS THE CONTINUATION OF THAT
PROMISE THAT BRINGS ME To MIAMI TODAY.
- 2 -
((PAUSE)) GOOD MORNING. I AM HONORED TO BE HERE
TO TALK WITH YOU. AND I AM THANKFUL TO JACK LAWN AND
THE DISTINGUISHED ENFORCEMENT CHIEFS WHO HAVE COME FROM
THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS -- ALONG WITH OUR FRIENDS AND
OBSERVERS FROM EUROPE -- TO JOIN FORCES IN A NEW
TRADITION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.
I AM HERE TODAY To TALK ABOUT WAR. FIRST, To SEE
COCAINE TRAFFICKING FOR WHAT IT IS: AN ATTACK AIMED AT
ENSLAVING AND EXPLOITING THE WEAK.
- 3 -
SECOND, TO CONFRONT WHAT'S BECOME A WORLD WAR. AND
THIRD -- I HOPE : -- TO HELP END A NASTY CHAPTER IN THAT
WAR -- THE DIVERSION OF PRECURSOR CHEMICALS.
IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THE SCOURGE OF THE AMERICAS
WAS SLAVERY. A STRUGGLE OF GOOD AND EVIL, IN WHICH
SOME SOUGHT TO ENRICH THEMSELVES BY ENSLAVING THE MOST
DOWNTRODDEN OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN.
TODAY THE SCOURGE OF THIS HEMISPHERE IS CALLED
COCAINE.
- 4 -
As COMMANDING OFFICERS, YOU KNOW THE HAVOC OF WHICH
WE SPEAK. You SEE IT EVERY DAY ON THE STREETS OF YOUR
CITIES AND IN MOUNTAIN VILLAGES, IN THE HAUNTED EYES
AND BROKEN DREAMS OF A GENERATION OF YOUTH -- OF
CHILDREN -- WHO HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO A SEDUCTIVE,
NIGHTMARISH NEW FORM OF DEPENDENCY AND SLAVERY.
OUR COUNTRIES HAVE SUFFERED A TERRIBLE TOLL, MANY
FAR WORSE THAN THE UNITED STATES.
- 5 -
DRUG TRAFFICKING IS CALLED THE WORLD'S SECOND MOST
DANGEROUS PROFESSION. THE MOST DANGEROUS IS YOURS --
DRUG ENFORCEMENT.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I HAD A GLIMPSE OF WHAT MUST BE
ALL TOO FAMILIAR TO MANY OF YOU. I JOINED MRS. EVERETT
HATCHER TO GRIEVE THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, A VETERAN
DEA AGENT WHO WAS EXECUTED BY COCAINE COWARDS IN THE
BACK STREETS OF NEW YORK.
I
- 6 -
A WOMAN OF CONSIDERABLE DIGNITY, SHE PUT RESPONSIBILITY
FOR HATCH'S DEATH SQUARELY ON THOSE ONCE NAIVELY
EXCUSED AS "CASUAL" USERS OF COCAINE.
WELL, THESE USERS CAN NO LONGER CLAIM NON-COMBATANT
STATUS. THERE'S BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS.
- 7 -
AND -- THANKS IN PART TO THE DEMAND-SIDE PROGRAMS LIKE
THOSE YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT LATER THIS MORNING -- THIS
MESSAGE HAS BEGUN To SEAR THE CONSCIENCES OF THE
STOCKBROKERS AND STUDENTS, THE LAWYERS AND THE
HOMEMAKERS AND ATHLETES WHO FINANCE OUR COMMON ENEMY.
THERE ARE MANY IRONIES. DRUG ADDICTION DOES NOT
DISCRIMINATE AGAINST A PERSON BECAUSE OF RACE, RELIGION
OR FINANCIAL STATUS.
- 8 -
IT'S THE GREAT EQUALIZER, SNARING SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF
THE RICH, THE POOR, THE MIDDLE CLASS.
SOMETIMES THE OPPOSITE OCCURS, AND KINGPINS ARE
REDUCED TO PAUPERS. THE OPULENCE OF CARLOS LEHDER'S
LIFESTYLE IS BUT MEMORY NOW AS HE BEGINS HIS JOURNEY TO
THE GRAVE -- LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE -- IN AN ILLINOIS
PENITENTIARY.
- 9 -
MEXICO'S NOTORIOUS FELIX GALLARDO -- ONCE BOASTING OF
HIS POWER AND WEALTH -- IS ALSO BEHIND BARS. STRIPPED
OF BLOOD MONEY, THEY ARE NOBODIES, NO LONGER THE STUFF
OF MYTH.
YOUR BUSINESS, THEN -- OUR BUSINESS -- IS TO PURSUE
THESE OUTLAWS TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. To CREATE A
WORLD WITHOUT REFUGE, TO LEAVE NO SANCTUARY, IN YOUR
COUNTRIES OR IN MINE.
- 10 -
I'VE SAID IT BÈFORE: THE WAR ON DRUGS IS NO
METAPHOR. WE'VE BEEN SLOWER TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS
ALSO A WORLD WAR, LEAVING NO NATION UNSCATHED, ONE IN
WHICH HONG KONG BANKERS, BOLIVIAN GROWERS, MIDDLE
EASTERN COURIERS AND WEST COAST WHOLESALERS ALL PLAY
INSIDIOUS ROLES. IT IS ESPECIALLY ACUTE IN THIS
HEMISPHERE, WHERE AN EXPLOSIVE CYCLE OF DRUGS,
DEPENDENCY AND DOLLARS HAS ESCALATED CLEAR OUT OF
CONTROL.
- 11 -
THE TIME FOR BLAME IS BEHIND US. FOR TOO LONG, A
SHARP DIVIDE HAS BEEN DRAWN BETWEEN "PRODUCING" AND
"CONSUMING" NATIONS. WELL, "DENIAL" IS A NATURAL PART
OF HUMAN NATURE, AND PROBABLY PART OF A COUNTRY'S
NATURE AS WELL. BUT LET'S FACE IT. AMERICANS CANNOT
BLAME THE ANDEAN NATIONS FOR OUR VORACIOUS APPETITE FOR
DRUGS. ULTIMATELY, THE SOLUTION TO THE U.S. DRUG
PROBLEM LIES WITHIN OUR OWN BORDERS -- STEPPED UP
ENFORCEMENT, EDUCATION AND TREATMENT.
- 12 -
AND OUR LATIN AMERICAN COUSINS CANNOT BLAME THE
UNITED STATES FOR THE VORACIOUS GREED OF THE DRUG
TRAFFICKERS WHO CONTROL SMALL EMPIRES AT HOME.
ULTIMATELY, THE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM LIES WITHIN
YOUR BORDERS.
AND YET, GOOD NEIGHBORS MUST STAND TOGETHER. A
WORLD WAR MUST BE MET IN KIND.
- 13 -
[[AND so TODAY, AS THIS HISTORIC CONFERENCE
CONCLUDES, I PRESENT YOU WITH AN INVITATION THAT WE ASK
BE CONVEYED TO YOUR RESPECTIVE CAPITALS. JUST AS YOU
HAVE GATHERED ON SEVEN OCCASIONS FOR IDEC, I ASK THAT
THE LEADERS OF THE AMERICAS JOIN ME IN A SPECIAL SUMMIT
TO ADDRESS THE SCOURGE OF OUR TIMES. I HAVE ASKED OUR
NATION'S NEW DRUG CZAR, WILLIAM BENNETT, TO ORGANIZE
SUCH A SUMMIT BEFORE THE YEAR IS OUT.]]
- 14 -
IDEC DEMONSTRATES THAT WE WILL PUT ASIDE NATIONAL
DIFFERENCES TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE. TOGETHER YOU HAVE
PUT CARTELS OUT OF BUSINESS, REDUCED THE SUPPLY OF
COCAINE, AND, INCREASINGLY, EDUCATED OUR CHILDREN ABOUT
THE DANGERS OF DRUG USE AND TRAFFICKING. I COMMEND
JACK LAWN, AND EACH OF YOU, FOR HAVING THE FORESIGHT TO
ESTABLISH THIS ORGANIZATION AND FOR DEMONSTRATING THE
COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO WORK TOGETHER.
- 15 -
I'VE SPOKEN OFTEN ON THE HORRORS OF CHEMICAL
WARFARE. WELL, CHEMICAL ABUSE IS ALSO CHEMICAL
WARFARE. POISONING OUR STREETS. As DEADLY AS MUSTARD
GAS. AND TODAY WE'RE OPENING A NEW CAMPAIGN TO RID THE
WORLD OF THESE TOXINS.
IT STARTS IN AN UNLIXELY SOURCE COUNTRY. WE'RE
STANDING IN IT. THE SOURCE COUNTRY IS THE UNITED
STATES. THAT'S RIGHT -- THE UNITED STATES.
- 16 -
OUR COUNTRY IS THE WORLD'S LEADING PRODUCER OF THREE OF
THE KEY CHEMICALS NEEDED TO PRODUCE COCAINE.
Now, U.S. CHEMICAL COMPANIES ARE JUSTLY PROUD OF
THEIR PRODUCTS THAT VASTLY IMPROVE AND EXTEND LIFE HERE
AND ABROAD. BUT FEW AMERICANS ARE AWARE THAT SWOLLEN
BARRELS OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS -- CLEARLY MARKED WITH
U.S. CORPORATE LOGOS --ARE ROUTINELY SEIZED IN THE
JUNGLES OF COLOMBIA.
- 17 -
To PARAPHRASE MADISON AVENUE, AND TO STATE A SIMPLE
FACT: WITHOUT THESE CHEMICALS, COCAINE ITSELF WOULD BE
IMPOSSIBLE.
IDEC HELD A PANEL DISCUSSION ON THIS TUESDAY.
THOSE GATHERED HERE UNDERSTAND ITS IMPORTANCE.
TRAFFICKERS HAVE HIT US WHERE IT HURTS. Now WE'RE
GOING TO EXPLOIT THEIR VULNERABILITIES, CRIMPING THE
FLOW OF THE CHEMICALS WITHOUT WHICH THEY CANNOT
PRODUCE.
- 18 -
WE KNOW IT WORKS IN THE FIELD. MANY OF YOU
PARTICIPATED IN THE "IDEC SIx" OPERATIONS LAST AUGUST,
WHEN THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF 30 NATIONS SAW THE SEIZURE
OF 155,000 POUNDS OF HIGHLY FLAMMABLE ETHER, ALMOST
450,000 POUNDS OF ACETONE, OVER 50,000 POUNDS OF
HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND NEARLY 14,000 POUNDS OF MEK.
- 19 -
THIS PAST JANUARY, COLOMBIAN ANTI-NARCOTICS
OFFICERS UNDER GENERAL MUNOZ-SANABRIA -- WHO I
UNDERSTAND IS HERE TODAY -- CONGRATULATIONS, GENERAL --
DESTROYED 25 COCAINE LABORATORIES AND ENOUGH CHEMICALS
TO MAKE APPROXIMATELY 83 METRIC TONS OF COCAINE.
THE DAMAGE THAT'S DONE WHEN 83 TONS OF COKE HITS
U.S. STREETS IS PRETTY OBVIOUS.
- 20 -
WHAT'S NOT so WELL UNDERSTOOD IS THE WIDESPREAD
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE THAT U.S. PRECURSOR CHEMICALS
WREAK IN THE FORESTS OF THE AMAZON BASIN. PERU'S UPPER
HUALLAGA ((WHY-AH-GA)) VALLEY IS AWASH IN U.S.-MADE
CHEMICALS. COUNTLESS ACRES ARE BARREN. TODAY ONCE-
BLUE WATERS RUN YELLOW, AND LOCAL VILLAGERS ARE LEFT TO
BATHE IN THE TOXIC SOUP.
- 21 -
ANY MANUFACTURERS CONCERNED ABOUT THE LEGACY OF
DEFOLIATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA OUGHT TO GO SEE WHAT
THEIR DIVERTED CHEMICALS ARE DOING TO THE ANDES TODAY.
NOR ARE THESE CHEMICAL TIMEBOMBS UNIQUE TO SOUTH
AMERICA. THE PROBLEM HERE IS SO SEVERE THAT LAST
YEAR'S DRUG BILL AUTHORIZED FUNDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY TO CLEAN UP HAZARDOUS WASTE AT
CLANDESTINE U.S. DRUG LABS.
- 22 -
IN JANUARY, DEA TASK FORCE AGENTS BUSTED A HEAVILY
ARMED HOUSEBOAT LAB ON CALIFORNIA'S SACRAMENTO RIVER.
THE LAB HAD BEEN DUMPING HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND OTHER
RAW WASTE DIRECTLY INTO THE WATER, WITHIN SPLASHING
DISTANCE OF SWIMMING KIDS AND WITHIN CASTING DISTANCE
OF THOSE FISHING FOR SALMON AND STRIPERS.
WHETHER AT HOME OR ABROAD, WE'RE NOT ABOUT TO LET
THE PROUD LABEL "MADE IN THE USA" BECOME A BADGE OF
SHAME.
- 23 -
TODAY, I PLEDGE TO YOU THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL LEAD
THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLICIT SHIPMENTS OF PRECURSOR
CHEMICALS. AND I HAVE ASKED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL To
TAKE A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN THIS NEW EFFORT.
BY AND LARGE, THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY HAS SUPPORTED
US. As A RESULT OF LAST YEAR'S OMNIBUS DRUG LAW,
REGULATIONS ARE NOW BEING DRAFTED TO TIGHTEN CONTROLS
ON THE CHEMICALS NEEDED TO REFINE COCAINE.
- 24 -
AND WE ARE DEDICATING THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO THE
TASK. WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE, WILL BE DONE.
WE ALSO COMMEND THOSE GOVERNMENTS, LIKE COLOMBIA
AND VENEZUELA, THAT HAVE ALREADY ADOPTED STRICT
CHEMICAL CONTROLS. AND WE URGE OTHER NATIONS TO DO so
QUICKLY -- AS WELL AS TO APPROVE THE LANDMARK UN
CONVENTION, WHICH INCLUDES PRECURSOR CHEMICAL CONTROLS.
- 25 -
MANY U.S. COMPANIES, INCLUDING SOME CHEMICAL
COMPANIES, HAVE LONG RECOGNIZED HOW DRUG ABUSE
THREATENS PRODUCTIVITY, CORPORATE IMAGE AND,
ULTIMATELY, PROFITS. MANY IN THE AMERICAN CORPORATE
COMMUNITY HAVE DONATED COUNTLESS HOURS AND MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS TO STOPPING DRUG ABUSE. MY SON JEB TALKS ABOUT
THE SUCCESSFUL "BUSINESS AGAINST DRUGS" PROGRAM HERE IN
MIAMI. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF THESE EFFORTS,
AND GRATEFUL.
- 26 -
BUT INDUSTRY MUST DO MORE. AND I HOPE THAT PARENTS
GROUPS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE LISTENING TODAY. WE SHOULD
REWARD RESPONSIBLE CORPORATIONS. AND NOT DO BUSINESS
WITH THOSE WHO -- AS OF TODAY'S WARNING SHOTS -- PERMIT
THEIR CHEMICALS TO END UP IN CRIMINAL HANDS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE U.S. CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS
DEMONSTRATE THEIR COURAGE AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY BY
ENTERING INTO A TRUE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR GOVERNMENT AS
WE TRY To STOP NARCOTICS AT THE SOURCE.
- 27 -
PERHAPS YOU'VE SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENTS OF ONE SUCH
COMPANY, ENCOURAGING IDEALISTIC YOUNG AMERICANS TO SIGN
ON BECAUSE IT "LETS YOU DO GREAT THINGS." WELL, THESE
COMPANIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL ANSWERS TO A BIG PART OF
OUR NATION'S DRUG PROBLEM. THEY SHOULD MAKE IT THEIR
JOB TO PROVIDE THEM. No ONE -- NOT PARENTS, NOT
CHURCHES, NOT BANKERS -- AND CERTAINLY NOT CHEMICAL
MAKERS -- CAN AFFORD TO BE AWOL IN THE WAR ON DRUGS.
- 28 -
WITH so MANY CULTURES REPRESENTED IN THIS ROOM,
IT'S INEVITABLE THAT THERE WILL BE DIFFERENCES. BUT WE
SHARE AT LEAST ONE COMPELLING EXPERIENCE. WHEREVER YOU
CALL HOME -- WHETHER BONN OR BOGOTA OR BOSTON -- PEOPLE
AROUND THE WORLD ARE BEGINNING TO HEAR THE CRIES OF OUR
CHILDREN, PLEADING WITH US TO STOP THE DRUGS.
- 29 -
HERE IN MIAMI LAST MONTH ONE ELEMENTARY TEACHER
TOLD OF A WRITING ASSIGNMENT SHE GAVE HER SIXTH-
GRADERS: "THE TOPIC WAS: 'IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF THE
WORLD.' EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE 36 CHILDREN WROTE
THAT THEY WOULD GET RID OF THE DRUGS. THEY WOULD GET
RID OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE BREAKING THE LAW. THEY
WOULD PUT MORE EFFECTIVE POLICEMEN ON THE STREETS."
- 30 -
MY FAVORITE SPEECHWRITER IS A BASEBALL GREAT NAMED
Yogi BERRA. HE'S BEEN KIDDED FOR DESCRIBING THE 1969
METS AS "OVERWHELMING UNDERDOGS." WELL, MAYBE THAT'S
NOT SUCH A BAD DESCRIPTION FOR THE GOOD GUYS IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS. TOUGH CHALLENGES REMAIN. BUT THE
CHILDREN ARE WITH US, AND THE TIMES ARE BEGINNING TO
CHANGE. AND YOGI'S UNDERDOGS DID WIN THE WORLD SERIES.
- 31 -
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO THE UNITED STATES. PLEASE
TELL YOUR LEADERS WE ARE ANXIOUS TO WORK WITH THEM.
GOD BLESS YOU. AND GODSPEED IN YOUR NOBLE WORK.
#
#
#
Toichnispic chriss
please (McNally/Dooley) Babbie
K6
April 25, 1989
fill
10:30 a.m.
Draft five
(IDECBLD)
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
( (PAUSE)) "This scourge will stop.'
( (PAUSE) ) Those were the words with which I opened my
presidency. And it is the continuation of that promise that
brings me to Miami today.
( (PAUSE) ) Good morning. I am honored to be here to talk
with you. And I am thankful to Jack Lawn and the distinguished
enforcement chiefs who have come from throughout the Americas --
along with our friends and observers from Europe -- to join
forces in a new tradition of international cooperation.
I am here today to talk about war. First, to see cocaine
trafficking for what it is: an attack aimed at enslaving and
exploiting the weak. Second, to confront what's become a World
War. And third -- I hope -- to help end a nasty chapter in that
war -- the diversion of precursor chemicals.
In the 19th Century, the scourge of the Americas was
slavery. A struggle of good and evil, in which some sought to
enrich themselves by enslaving the most downtrodden of their
countrymen.
Today the scourge of this hemisphere is called cocaine.
2
As commanding officers, you know the havoc of which we
speak. You see it every day on the streets of your cities and in
mountain villages, in the haunted eyes and broken dreams of a
generation of youth -- of children -- who have fallen victim to a
seductive, nightmarish new form of dependency and slavery.
Our countries have suffered a terrible toll, many far worse
than the United States. Drug trafficking is called the world's
second most dangerous profession. The most dangerous is yours --
drug enforcement.
Earlier this year, I had a glimpse of what must be all too
familiar to many of you. I joined Mrs. Everett Hatcher to grieve
the death of her husband, a veteran DEA agent who was executed by
cocaine cowards in the back streets of New York. A woman of
considerable dignity, she put responsibility for Hatch's death
squarely on those once naively excused as "casual" users of
cocaine.
Well, cocaine users can no longer claim non-combatant
status. There's blood on their hands. And -- thanks in part to
the demand-side programs like those you'll hear about later this
good!
morning -- this message has begun to sear the consciences of the
stockbrokers and students, the lawyers and the homemakers and
athletes who finance our common enemy.
There are many ironies. Drug addiction does not
discriminate against a person because of race, religion or
financial status. It's the great equalizer, snaring sons and
daughters of the rich, the poor, the middle class.
3
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and kingpins are reduced to
paupers. The opulence of Carlos Lehder's lifestyle is but memory
now as he begins his journey to the grave -- life without parole
-- in an Illinois penitentiary. The notorious Felix Gallardo --
once boasting of his power and wealth -- is also behind bars in
Mexico. Stripped of blood money, they are nobodies, no longer
the stuff of myth.
Your business, then -- our business -- is to pursue these
outlaws to the ends of the earth. To create a world without
refuge, to leave no sanctuary, in your countries or in mine.
I've said it before: The war on drugs is no metaphor.
We've been slower to recognize that it is also a World War,
leaving no nation unscathed, one in which Hong Kong bankers,
Bolivian growers, Middle Eastern couriers and West Coast
wholesalers all play insidious roles. It is especially acute in
this hemisphere, where an explosive cycle of drugs, dependency
and dollars has escalated clear out of control.
The time for blame is behind us. For too long, a sharp
divide has been drawn between "producing" and "consuming"
nations. Well, "denial" is a natural part of human nature, and
probably part of a country's nature as well. But let's face it.
Americans cannot blame the Andean nations for our voracious
appetite for drugs. Ultimately, the solution to the U.S. drug
problem lies within our own borders -- stepped up enforcement,
education and treatment.
4
And our Latin American cousins cannot blame the United
States for the voracious greed of the drug traffickers who
control small empires at home. Ultimately, the solution to that
problem lies within your borders.
And yet, good neighbors must stand together. A World War
must be met in kind.
And so today, as this historic conference concludes, I
present you with an invitation that we ask be conveyed to your
respective capitals. Allies in any war must consult -- as
partners. And just as you have gathered on seven occasions for
IDEC, I ask that the leaders of the Western Hemisphere join
together to plan strategy and commit resources. I ask that you
work together with our nation's new Drug Czar, William Bennett,
toward a Summit on drugs -- and a brighter day for the children
of the Americas.
IDEC demonstrates that we will put aside national
differences to do what must be done. Together you have put
cartels out of business, reduced the supply of cocaine, and,
increasingly, educated our children about the dangers of drug use
and trafficking. I commend Jack Lawn, and each of you, for
having the foresight to establish this organization and for
demonstrating the collective commitment to work together.
I've spoken often on the horrors of chemical warfare. Well,
chemical abuse is also chemical warfare. Poisoning our streets.
As deadly as mustard gas. And today we're opening a new campaign
to rid the world of these toxins.
5
We're going to start right here -- in the United States.
Because all too often that's the original source of the basic
industrial chemicals needed to produce cocaine.
Now, U.S. chemical companies are justly proud of their
products that vastly improve and extend life here and abroad.
But few Americans are aware that illegally diverted barrels of
dangerous chemicals -- clearly marked with U.S. corporate logos
-- are routinely seized in the jungles of Colombia.
IDEC held a panel discussion on this Tuesday. Those
gathered here understand its importance. Traffickers have hit us
where it hurts. Now we're going to exploit their
vulnerabilities, crimping the flow of the materials without which
they cannot produce. No chemicals, no cocaine.
We know it works in the field. Many of you participated in
the "IDEC Six" operations last August, when the combined efforts
of 30 nations saw the seizure of 155,000 pounds of highly
flammable ether, almost 450,000 pounds of acetone, over 50,000
pounds of hydrochloric acid and nearly 14,000 pounds of MEK.
This past January, Colombian anti-narcotics officers under
General Munoz-Sanabria -- who I understand is here today --
congratulations, General -- destroyed 25 cocaine laboratories and
enough chemicals to make approximately 88 metric tons of cocaine.
The damage that's done when 88 tons of coke hits U.S.
streets is pretty obvious. What's not so well understood is the
widespread environmental damage that precursor chemicals wreak
when they are dumped in the forests of the Amazon basin. One of
6
today's delegates, the director of narcotics enforcement for
Peru's national police, has told the DEA that as much as 175,000
pounds of sulfuric acid is dumped into the tributaries of the
Upper Huallaga ((WHY-AH-GA)) Valley each year. Anyone concerned
about the legacy of defoliation in Southeast Asia ought to go see
what illegally diverted chemicals are beginning to do to the
Andes right now.
Nor are these chemical timebombs unique to South America.
The problem here is so severe that last year's drug bill
authorized funds for the Environmental Protection Agency to clean
up hazardous waste at clandestine U.S. drug labs.
In January, DEA Task Force agents busted a heavily armed
houseboat lab on California's Sacramento River. The lab had been
dumping hydrochloric acid and other raw waste directly into the
water, within splashing distance of swimming kids and within
casting distance of those fishing for salmon and stripers.
Whether at home or abroad, we're not about to let the proud
label "Made in the USA" become a badge of shame. Today, I pledge
to you that the United States will lead the fight against illicit
shipments of precursor chemicals. And I have asked the Attorney
General to take a principal role in this new effort.
By and large, the chemical industry has supported us. As a
result of last year's Omnibus Drug law, regulations are now being
drafted to tighten controls on the chemicals needed to refine
cocaine. And we are dedicating the resources necessary to the
task. Whatever needs to be done, will be done.
7
Of course, unilateral action by us is not going to solve
this problem. That's why we commend those governments, like
Colombia and Venezuela, that have already adopted strict chemical
controls. And we urge other nations to do so quickly -- as well
as to approve the landmark UN Convention, which includes
precursor chemical controls.
Many U.S. companies, including some chemical companies, have
long recognized how drug abuse threatens productivity, corporate
image and, ultimately, profits. Many in the American corporate
community have donated countless hours and millions of dollars to
stopping drug abuse. My son Jeb talks about the successful
"Business Against Drugs" program here in Miami. The American
people are proud of these efforts, and grateful.
But industry must do more. And I hope that parents groups
and stockholders are listening today. We should reward
talking boy cett
responsible corporations. And not do business with those who --
as of today's warning shots -- permit their chemicals to end up
that's
in criminal hands.
strong VERY
We would like to see U.S. chemical manufacturers demonstrate
their courage and civic responsibility by entering into a true
partnership with our government as we try to stop narcotics at
the source. These companies can make an important contribution
to our nation's fight against illegal drugs. They should make it
NOT
their job to join in. No one -- not parents, not churches, not
synagogues,
bankers -- and certainly not chemical makers -- can afford to be
AWOL in the war on drugs.
8
With so many cultures represented in this room, it's
inevitable that there will be differences. But we share at least
one compelling experience. Wherever you call home -- whether
Bonn or Bogota or Boston -- people around the world are beginning
to hear the cries of our children, pleading with us to stop the
drugs.
Here in Miami last month one elementary teacher told of a
writing assignment she gave her sixth-graders: "The topic was:
'If I Were In Charge of The World.' Every single one of those 36
children wrote that they would get rid of the drugs. They would
get rid of those people who are breaking the law. They would put
more effective policemen on the streets."
My favorite speechwriter is a baseball great named Yogi.
Berra. He's been kidded for describing the 1969 Mets as
"overwhelming underdogs." Well, maybe that's not such a bad
description for the good guys in the fight against drugs. Tough
challenges remain. But the children are with us, and the times
are beginning to change. And Yogi's underdogs did win the World
Series.
Thank you for coming to the United States. Please tell your
leaders we are anxious to work with them. God bless you. And
Godspeed in your noble work.
#
#
#
REMARKS: INT'L DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
BISCAYNE BAY MARRIOTT HOTEL
MIAMI, FLORIDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1989
9:10 A.M.
((PAUSE)) "THIS SCOURGE WILL STOP."
((PAUSE)) THOSE WERE THE WORDS WITH WHICH I OPENED
MY PRESIDENCY. AND IT IS THE CONTINUATION OF THAT
PROMISE THAT BRINGS ME TO MIAMI TODAY.
I
- 2 -
((PAUSE)) GOOD MORNING. I AM HONORED TO BE HERE
TO TALK WITH YOU. AND I AM THANKFUL TO JACK LAWN AND
THE DISTINGUISHED ENFORCEMENT CHIEFS WHO HAVE COME FROM
THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS -- ALONG WITH OUR FRIENDS AND
OBSERVERS FROM EUROPE -- TO JOIN FORCES IN A NEW
TRADITION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.
I AM HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT WAR. FIRST, TO SEE
COCAINE TRAFFICKING FOR WHAT IT IS: AN ATTACK AIMED AT
ENSLAVING AND EXPLOITING THE WEAK.
- 3 -
SECOND, TO CONFRONT WHAT'S BECOME A WORLD WAR. AND
THIRD -- I HOPE -- TO HELP END A NASTY CHAPTER IN THAT
WAR -- THE DIVERSION OF PRECURSOR CHEMICALS.
IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THE SCOURGE OF THE AMERICAS
WAS SLAVERY. A STRUGGLE OF GOOD AND EVIL, IN WHICH
SOME SOUGHT TO ENRICH THEMSELVES BY ENSLAVING THE MOST
DOWNTRODDEN OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN.
TODAY THE SCOURGE OF THIS HEMISPHERE IS CALLED
COCAINE.
- 4 -
As COMMANDING OFFICERS, YOU KNOW THE HAVOC OF WHICH
WE SPEAK. You SEE IT EVERY DAY ON THE STREETS OF YOUR
CITIES AND IN MOUNTAIN VILLAGES, IN THE HAUNTED EYES
AND BROKEN DREAMS OF A GENERATION OF YOUTH -- OF
CHILDREN -- WHO HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO A SEDUCTIVE,
NIGHTMARISH NEW FORM OF DEPENDENCY AND SLAVERY.
OUR COUNTRIES HAVE SUFFERED A TERRIBLE TOLL, MANY
FAR WORSE THAN THE UNITED STATES.
- 5 -
DRUG TRAFFICKING IS CALLED THE WORLD'S SECOND MOST
DANGEROUS PROFESSION. THE MOST DANGEROUS IS YOURS --
DRUG ENFORCEMENT.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I HAD A GLIMPSE OF WHAT MUST BE
ALL TOO FAMILIAR TO MANY OF YOU. I JOINED MRS. EVERETT
HATCHER TO GRIEVE THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, A VETERAN
DEA AGENT WHO WAS EXECUTED BY COCAINE COWARDS IN THE
BACK STREETS OF NEW YORK.
- 6 -
A WOMAN OF CONSIDERABLE DIGNITY, SHE PUT RESPONSIBILITY
FOR HATCH'S DEATH SQUARELY ON THOSE ONCE NAIVELY
EXCUSED AS "CASUAL" USERS OF COCAINE.
WELL, THESE USERS CAN NO LONGER CLAIM NON-COMBATANT
STATUS. THERE'S BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS.
- 7 -
AND -- THANKS IN PART TO THE DEMAND-SIDE PROGRAMS LIKE
THOSE YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT LATER THIS MORNING -- THIS
MESSAGE HAS BEGUN To SEAR THE CONSCIENCES OF THE
STOCKBROKERS AND STUDENTS, THE LAWYERS AND THE
HOMEMAKERS AND ATHLETES WHO FINANCE OUR COMMON ENEMY.
THERE ARE MANY IRONIES. DRUG ADDICTION DOES NOT
DISCRIMINATE AGAINST A PERSON BECAUSE OF RACE, RELIGION
OR FINANCIAL STATUS.
- 8 -
IT'S THE GREAT EQUALIZER, SNARING SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF
THE RICH, THE POOR, THE MIDDLE CLASS.
SOMETIMES THE OPPOSITE OCCURS, AND KINGPINS ARE
REDUCED TO PAUPERS. THE OPULENCE OF CARLOS LEHDER'S
LIFESTYLE IS BUT MEMORY NOW AS HE BEGINS HIS JOURNEY TO
THE GRAVE -- LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE -- IN AN ILLINOIS
PENITENTIARY.
- 9 -
MEXICO'S NOTORIOUS FELIX GALLARDO -- ONCE BOASTING OF
HIS POWER AND WEALTH -- IS ALSO BEHIND BARS. STRIPPED
OF BLOOD MONEY, THEY ARE NOBODIES, NO LONGER THE STUFF
OF MYTH.
YOUR BUSINESS, THEN -- OUR BUSINESS -- IS To PURSUE
THESE OUTLAWS TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. To CREATE A
WORLD WITHOUT REFUGE, TO LEAVE NO SANCTUARY, IN YOUR
COUNTRIES OR IN MINE.
T
- 10 -
I'VE SAID IT BEFORE: THE WAR ON DRUGS IS NO
METAPHOR. WE'VE BEEN SLOWER TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS
ALSO A WORLD WAR, LEAVING NO NATION UNSCATHED, ONE IN
WHICH HONG KONG BANKERS, BOLIVIAN GROWERS, MIDDLE
EASTERN COURIERS AND WEST COAST WHOLESALERS ALL PLAY
INSIDIOUS ROLES. IT IS ESPECIALLY ACUTE IN THIS
HEMISPHERE, WHERE AN EXPLOSIVE CYCLE OF DRUGS,
DEPENDENCY AND DOLLARS HAS ESCALATED CLEAR OUT OF
CONTROL.
- 11 -
THE TIME FOR BLAME IS BEHIND US. FOR TOO LONG, A
SHARP DIVIDE HAS BEEN DRAWN BETWEEN "PRODUCING" AND
"CONSUMING" NATIONS. WELL, "DENIAL" IS A NATURAL PART
OF HUMAN NATURE, AND PROBABLY PART OF A COUNTRY'S
NATURE AS WELL. BUT LET'S FACE IT. AMERICANS CANNOT
BLAME THE ANDEAN NATIONS FOR OUR VORACIOUS APPETITE FOR
DRUGS. ULTIMATELY, THE SOLUTION TO THE U.S. DRUG
PROBLEM LIES WITHIN OUR OWN BORDERS -- STEPPED UP
ENFORCEMENT, EDUCATION AND TREATMENT.
- 12 -
AND OUR LATIN AMERICAN COUSINS CANNOT BLAME THE
UNITED STATES FOR THE VORACIOUS GREED OF THE DRUG
TRAFFICKERS WHO CONTROL SMALL EMPIRES AT HOME.
ULTIMATELY, THE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM LIES WITHIN
YOUR BORDERS.
AND YET, GOOD NEIGHBORS MUST STAND TOGETHER. A
WORLD WAR MUST BE MET IN KIND.
- 13 -
[[AND so TODAY, AS THIS HISTORIC CONFERENCE
CONCLUDES, I PRESENT YOU WITH AN INVITATION THAT WE ASK
BE CONVEYED TO YOUR RESPECTIVE CAPITALS. JUST AS YOU
HAVE GATHERED ON SEVEN OCCASIONS FOR IDEC, I ASK THAT
THE LEADERS OF THE AMERICAS JOIN ME IN A SPECIAL SUMMIT
TO ADDRESS THE SCOURGE OF OUR TIMES. I HAVE ASKED OUR
NATION'S NEW DRUG CZAR, WILLIAM BENNETT, TO ORGANIZE
SUCH A SUMMIT BEFORE THE YEAR IS OUT. ]]
- 14 -
IDEC DEMONSTRATES THAT WE WILL PUT ASIDE NATIONAL
DIFFERENCES TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE. TOGETHER YOU HAVE
PUT CARTELS OUT OF BUSINESS, REDUCED THE SUPPLY OF
COCAINE, AND, INCREASINGLY, EDUCATED OUR CHILDREN ABOUT
THE DANGERS OF DRUG USE AND TRAFFICKING. I COMMEND
JACK LAWN, AND EACH OF YOU, FOR HAVING THE FORESIGHT TO
ESTABLISH THIS ORGANIZATION AND FOR DEMONSTRATING THE
COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO WORK TOGETHER.
- 15 -
I'VE SPOKEN OFTEN ON THE HORRORS OF CHEMICAL
WARFARE. WELL, CHEMICAL ABUSE IS ALSO CHEMICAL
WARFARE. POISONING OUR STREETS. As DEADLY AS MUSTARD
GAS. AND TODAY WE'RE OPENING A NEW CAMPAIGN TO RID THE
WORLD OF THESE TOXINS.
IT STARTS IN AN UNLIXELY SOURCE COUNTRY. WE'RE
STANDING IN IT. THE SOURCE COUNTRY IS THE UNITED
STATES. THAT'S RIGHT -- THE UNITED STATES.
- 16 -
OUR COUNTRY IS THE WORLD'S LEADING PRODUCER OF THREE OF
THE KEY CHEMICALS NEEDED TO PRODUCE COCAINE.
Now, U.S. CHEMICAL COMPANIES ARE JUSTLY PROUD OF
THEIR PRODUCTS THAT VASTLY IMPROVE AND EXTEND LIFE HERE
AND ABROAD. BUT FEW AMERICANS ARE AWARE THAT SWOLLEN
BARRELS OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS -- CLEARLY MARKED WITH
U.S. CORPORATE LOGOS --ARE ROUTINELY SEIZED IN THE
JUNGLES OF COLOMBIA.
- 17 -
To PARAPHRASE MADISON AVENUE, AND TO STATE A SIMPLE
FACT: WITHOUT THESE CHEMICALS, COCAINE ITSELF WOULD BE
IMPOSSIBLE.
IDEC HELD A PANEL DISCUSSION ON THIS TUESDAY.
THOSE GATHERED HERE UNDERSTAND ITS IMPORTANCE.
TRAFFICKERS HAVE HIT US WHERE IT HURTS. Now WE'RE
GOING TO EXPLOIT THEIR VULNERABILITIES, CRIMPING THE
FLOW OF THE CHEMICALS WITHOUT WHICH THEY CANNOT
PRODUCE.
- 18 -
WE KNOW IT WORKS IN THE FIELD. MANY OF YOU
PARTICIPATED IN THE "IDEC SIx" OPERATIONS LAST AUGUST,
WHEN THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF 30 NATIONS SAW THE SEIZURE
OF 155,000 POUNDS OF HIGHLY FLAMMABLE ETHER, ALMOST
450,000 POUNDS OF ACETONE, OVER 50,000 POUNDS OF
HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND NEARLY 14,000 POUNDS OF MEK.
- 19 -
THIS PAST JANUARY, COLOMBIAN ANTI-NARCOTICS
OFFICERS UNDER GENERAL MUNOZ-SANABRIA -- WHO I
UNDERSTAND IS HERE TODAY -- CONGRATULATIONS, GENERAL --
DESTROYED 25 COCAINE LABORATORIES AND ENOUGH CHEMICALS
TO MAKE APPROXIMATELY 83 METRIC TONS OF COCAINE.
THE DAMAGE THAT'S DONE WHEN 83 TONS OF COKE HITS
U.S. STREETS IS PRETTY OBVIOUS.
- 20 -
WHAT'S NOT so WELL UNDERSTOOD IS THE WIDESPREAD
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE THAT U.S. PRECURSOR CHEMICALS
WREAK IN THE FORESTS OF THE AMAZON BASIN. PERU'S UPPER
HUALLAGA ((WHY-AH-GA)) VALLEY IS AWASH IN U.S.-MADE
CHEMICALS. COUNTLESS ACRES ARE BARREN. TODAY ONCE-
BLUE WATERS RUN YELLOW, AND LOCAL VILLAGERS ARE LEFT TO
BATHE IN THE TOXIC SOUP.
- 21 -
ANY MANUFACTURERS CONCERNED ABOUT THE LEGACY OF
DEFOLIATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA OUGHT TO GO SEE WHAT
THEIR DIVERTED CHEMICALS ARE DOING TO THE ANDES TODAY.
NOR ARE THESE CHEMICAL TIMEBOMBS UNIQUE TO SOUTH
AMERICA. THE PROBLEM HERE IS so SEVERE THAT LAST
YEAR'S DRUG BILL AUTHORIZED FUNDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY TO CLEAN UP HAZARDOUS WASTE AT
CLANDESTINE U.S. DRUG LABS.
- 22 -
IN JANUARY, DEA TASK FORCE AGENTS BUSTED A HEAVILY
ARMED HOUSEBOAT LAB ON CALIFORNIA'S SACRAMENTO RIVER.
THE LAB HAD BEEN DUMPING HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND OTHER
RAW WASTE DIRECTLY INTO THE WATER, WITHIN SPLASHING
DISTANCE OF SWIMMING KIDS AND WITHIN CASTING DISTANCE
OF THOSE FISHING FOR SALMON AND STRIPERS.
WHETHER AT HOME OR ABROAD, WE'RE NOT ABOUT TO LET
THE PROUD LABEL "MADE IN THE USA" BECOME A BADGE OF
SHAME.
- 23 -
TODAY, I PLEDGE TO YOU THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL LEAD
THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLICIT SHIPMENTS OF PRECURSOR
CHEMICALS. AND I HAVE ASKED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO
TAKE A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN THIS NEW EFFORT.
BY AND LARGE, THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY HAS SUPPORTED
US. As A RESULT OF LAST YEAR'S OMNIBUS DRUG LAW,
REGULATIONS ARE NOW BEING DRAFTED TO TIGHTEN CONTROLS
ON THE CHEMICALS NEEDED TO REFINE COCAINE.
- 24 -
AND WE ARE DEDICATING THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO THE
TASK. WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE, WILL BE DONE.
WE ALSO COMMEND THOSE GOVERNMENTS, LIKE COLOMBIA
AND VENEZUELA, THAT HAVE ALREADY ADOPTED STRICT
CHEMICAL CONTROLS. AND WE URGE OTHER NATIONS To DO so
QUICKLY -- AS WELL AS TO APPROVE THE LANDMARK UN
CONVENTION, WHICH INCLUDES PRECURSOR CHEMICAL CONTROLS.
- 25 -
MANY U.S. COMPANIES, INCLUDING SOME CHEMICAL
COMPANIES, HAVE LONG RECOGNIZED HOW DRUG ABUSE
THREATENS PRODUCTIVITY, CORPORATE IMAGE AND,
ULTIMATELY, PROFITS, MANY IN THE AMERICAN CORPORATE
COMMUNITY HAVE DONATED COUNTLESS HOURS AND MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS To STOPPING DRUG ABUSE. MY SON JEB TALKS ABOUT
THE SUCCESSFUL "BUSINESS AGAINST DRUGS" PROGRAM HERE IN
MIAMI. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF THESE EFFORTS,
AND GRATEFUL.
- 26 -
BUT INDUSTRY MUST DO MORE. AND I HOPE THAT PARENTS
GROUPS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE LISTENING TODAY. WE SHOULD
REWARD RESPONSIBLE CORPORATIONS. AND NOT DO BUSINESS
WITH THOSE WHO -- AS OF TODAY'S WARNING SHOTS -- PERMIT
THEIR CHEMICALS TO END UP IN CRIMINAL HANDS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE U.S. CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS
DEMONSTRATE THEIR COURAGE AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY BY
ENTERING INTO A TRUE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR GOVERNMENT AS
WE TRY TO STOP NARCOTICS AT THE SOURCE.
- 27 -
PERHAPS YOU'VE SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENTS OF ONE SUCH
COMPANY, ENCOURAGING IDEALISTIC YOUNG AMERICANS TO SIGN
ON BECAUSE IT "LETS YOU DO GREAT THINGS." WELL, THESE
COMPANIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL ANSWERS TO A BIG PART OF
OUR NATION'S DRUG PROBLEM. THEY SHOULD MAKE IT THEIR
JOB TO PROVIDE THEM. No ONE -- NOT PARENTS, NOT
CHURCHES, NOT BANKERS -- AND CERTAINLY NOT CHEMICAL
MAKERS -- CAN AFFORD TO BE AWOL IN THE WAR ON DRUGS.
- 28 -
WITH so MANY CULTURES REPRESENTED IN THIS ROOM,
IT'S INEVITABLE THAT THERE WILL BE DIFFERENCES. BUT WE
SHARE AT LEAST ONE COMPELLING EXPERIENCE. WHEREVER YOU
CALL HOME -- WHETHER BONN OR BOGOTA OR BOSTON -- PEOPLE
AROUND THE WORLD ARE BEGINNING To HEAR THE CRIES OF OUR
CHILDREN, PLEADING WITH US To STOP THE DRUGS.
- 29 -
HERE IN MIAMI LAST MONTH ONE ELEMENTARY TEACHER
TOLD OF A WRITING ASSIGNMENT SHE GAVE HER SIXTH-
GRADERS: "THE TOPIC WAS: 'IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF THE
WORLD.' EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE 36 CHILDREN WROTE
THAT THEY WOULD GET RID OF THE DRUGS. THEY WOULD GET
RID OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE BREAKING THE LAW. THEY
WOULD PUT MORE EFFECTIVE POLICEMEN ON THE STREETS."
- 30 -
MY FAVORITE SPEECHWRITER IS A BASEBALL GREAT NAMED
Yogi BERRA. HE'S BEEN KIDDED FOR DESCRIBING THE 1969
METS AS "OVERWHELMING UNDERDOGS." WELL, MAYBE THAT'S
NOT SUCH A BAD DESCRIPTION FOR THE GOOD GUYS IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS. TOUGH CHALLENGES REMAIN. BUT THE
CHILDREN ARE WITH US, AND THE TIMES ARE BEGINNING TO
CHANGE. AND YOGI'S UNDERDOGS DID WIN THE WORLD SERIES.
- 31 -
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO THE UNITED STATES. PLEASE
TELL YOUR LEADERS WE ARE ANXIOUS TO WORK WITH THEM.
GOD BLESS YOU. AND GODSPEED IN YOUR NOBLE WORK.
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