III. Goals, Objectives, Targets, andPerformance Measures of Effectiveness
Goals, Objectives, and Targets
| Goal 5: | Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply. |
The rule of law, human rights, and democratic institutions are threatened by drug trafficking and consumption. International supply-reduction programs not only reduce the volume of illegal drugs reaching our shores, they also attack international criminal organizations, strengthen democratic institutions, and honor our international drug-control commitments. The U.S. supply-reduction strategy seeks to: (1) eliminate illegal drug cultivation and production; (2) destroy drug-trafficking organizations; (3) interdict drug shipments; (4) encourage international cooperation; and (5) safeguard democracy and human rights. Additional information about international drug-control programs is contained in a classified annex to this Strategy.
The United States continues to focus international drug-control efforts on source countries. International drug-trafficking organizations and their production and trafficking infrastructures are most concentrated, detectable, and vulnerable to effective law-enforcement action in source countries. In addition, the cultivation of coca and opium poppy and production of cocaine and heroin are labor intensive. For these reasons, cultivation and processing are relatively easier to disrupt than other downstream aspects of the trade. The international drug control strategy seeks to bolster source country resources, capabilities, and political will to reduce cultivation, attack production, interdict drug shipments, and disrupt and dismantle trafficking organizations, including their command and control structure and financial underpinnings.
Objective 1: Produce a net reduction in the worldwide cultivation of coca, opium, and marijuana and in the production of other illegal drugs, especially methamphetamine.
Rationale: Eliminating the cultivation of illicit coca and opium is the best approach to combating cocaine and heroin availability in the United States. Cocaine and heroin can be targeted during cultivation and production. Cultivation requires a large labor force working in identifiable fields of coca and opium poppies, and production involves a sizable volume of precursor chemicals.
Objective 2: Disrupt and dismantle major international drug trafficking organizations and arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate their leaders.
Rationale: Large international drug-trafficking organizations are responsible for the majority of illegal drugs that enter the United States. These crime syndicates also pose enormous threats to democratic institutions. Their financial resources can corrupt all sectors of society. By breaking up these organizations and forcing them to forfeit their ill-gotten wealth, we can make them more vulnerable to law enforcement and deny them experienced leadership, political power, and economies of scale that have enabled them to be so successful in the past.
Objective 3: Support and complement source country drug control efforts and strengthen source country political will and drug control capabilities.
Rationale: The United States must continue assisting major drug-producing and transit countries that demonstrate the political will to attack illegal drug production and trafficking. We should reinforce institutional capabilities to reduce drug-crop cultivation, drug production, trafficking, and related criminal activities in all countries where our help is accepted.
Objective 4: Develop and support bilateral, regional, and multilateral initiatives and mobilize international organizational efforts against all aspects of illegal drug production, trafficking, and abuse.
Rationale: Drug production, trafficking, and abuse are not problems solely affecting the United States. The scourge of illegal drugs damages social, political, and economic institutions in both developed and developing countries. The United States must continue providing leadership and assistance to strengthen the international anti-drug consensus. It is in America's interest to encourage all nations to join together against the threat of illegal drugs. The United States must also support multilateral drug control by maintaining full compliance with the United Nations' (UN) 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and the 1996 Organization of American States' (OAS) Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere.
Objective 5: Promote international policies and laws that deter money laundering and facilitate anti-money laundering investigations as well as seizure and forfeiture of associated assets.
Rationale: Money laundering is a global problem that requires a global response. Drug traffickers depend upon the international financial system to launder ill-gotten gains so they can invest in legal enterprises that facilitate illegal activity. Significant progress in suppressing money laundering can be made through multilateral efforts, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other initiatives that encourage countries to criminalize money laundering, share information, collaborate in investigations, and forfeit illicit proceeds. Similarly, U.S. law-enforcement agencies must continue to train and share experiences with foreign counterparts so that anti-money laundering regimes remain steadfast.
Objective 6: Support and highlight research and technology, including the development of scientific data, to reduce the worldwide supply of illegal drugs.
Rationale: Research must focus on more effective and environmentally sound methods of eliminating drug crops and moving the cultivators of illicit drugs into legal pursuits. Production and movement of drugs around the globe must be understood more thoroughly. Technology can be used to monitor drug shipments and prevent the diversion of precursor chemicals.
