For as long as I can remember, my country has been at war. We have never called it war, of course. That would be obscene. Counter-terrorism, perhaps. International law enforcement is a new one.
They have been wars though. And the effects have been as dramatic as any other war that has come before it. Each time we create a power vacuum, something horrible and unpredictable fils the void. We become enraptured by short-term, marginal wins, and then we move on. Who cares what comes next?
I expect in the next few months, accusations of drug crimes will become increasingly weaponized. They will be used to justify unspeakable international crimes. The next Patriot Act will have the same agenda, but modify the language to swap in narcotics for terrorism. We will hear calls about protecting democracy and bringing freedom abroad. The ends justify the means. America knows best. A moral imperative.
But we will be at war nonetheless. And I will continue to ask, when will they stop?