Unilateral Force Against Drugs Overseas Urged

The United States should consider using unilateral military force abroad to prevent the growth and manufacture of illegal drugs destined for this country, Education Secretary William J. Bennett said today.

“As the greatest military and economic power in the world, we can do more to prevent criminals in foreign nations from growing or processing illegal drugs,” Bennett told the White House Conference on a Drug-Free America.

“It is to be hoped we can do this in collaboration with foreign governments, but if need be we must consider doing this by ourselves,” he said. “And we should consider broader use of military force against both the production and shipment of drugs.”

‘In Real Danger’

Saying that “we are in real danger of losing the war against drugs,” Bennett called for a host of measures aimed at restricting drug imports and punishing both drug dealers and users.

The education chief was one of four Cabinet secretaries appearing on a nine-member panel that also included the heads of the U.S. Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

There was a mild flap at the start of a question-and-answer period when New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch was rebuffed in an attempt to ask a question from the floor rather than submit it in writing to a moderator who decided which questions to ask. The same rule had applied at previous sessions, including a panel of congressional leaders Tuesday.

Afterward, Koch told reporters: “What I saw was a lot of back-scratching. It is incredible . . . that they would stifle debate and not allow questions from the floor. It is a disservice to the mission.”

Bureaucratic ‘Shirkers’

However, Koch, who said he was speaking for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, exempted Bennett and Customs chief William von Raab from the general indictment of the nine speakers.

Von Raab, who accused unnamed lower-level government bureaucrats of being “shirkers . . . conscientious objectors . . . and (fifth) columnists” in the war on drugs, joined Bennett in calling for stronger drug interdiction efforts.