Staff Reports
President Joe Biden is scrambling to present himself as tough on crime with a new initiative aimed at combating the unrelenting tide of fentanyl flowing into the U.S. This sudden burst of activity, conveniently surfacing just three months before an election, has all the hallmarks of a political move rather than a genuine effort to tackle a crisis that has devastated American families.
Biden’s national security memorandum is the latest in a string of half-hearted attempts to confront the drug epidemic. The president claims that this memorandum will enhance efforts to dismantle drug cartels and their financial backers. Is it possible that these grand proclamations are meant to distract from the administration’s track record? It’s hard not to channel a skeptical eye toward a plan that seems to have emerged solely in the shadow of upcoming polls.
More interesting than the memo itself is how Biden intends to bolster intelligence collection against traffickers. One would think that a country as technologically advanced as the United States could have figured this out by now. The idea that federal agencies would need a memo to ramp up efforts against drug smugglers feels like a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. It’s almost like using a national security memo as a band-aid for an open wound.
Why what until now? Biden directs federal agencies to amp up war on fentanyl – Washington Examiner https://t.co/S0z4YZOJpX
— Melanie (@MellieMAGA) July 31, 2024
The memo also emphasizes making naloxone, the opioid antidote, more readily available. While this is a positive step, one might wonder why there needs to be a special directive about it. Shouldn’t governments—state and federal alike—have been ensuring this lifesaving drug was widely accessible all along? Instead, it seems that this administration is more focused on playing catch-up rather than putting forward a proactive plan to prevent drug dependency in the first place.
The statistics paint an alarming picture. Over the past five months, the U.S. has intercepted more than 442 million doses of fentanyl at the border, alongside Texas law enforcement seizing an additional half a billion doses. This suggests that the federal efforts are still lagging behind the threat level. In a world where ingredients for fentanyl travel from China to Mexico and then flood into the U.S., one must question why concrete actions weren’t taken sooner. It appears that only when it becomes politically expedient does Biden step into the ring.
As the election approaches, Biden’s involvement in the war on drugs seems more like a campaign strategy than a true commitment to protect Americans. Instead of relying on last-minute tactics and memos, it would be refreshing to see a comprehensive strategy that addresses the root causes of drug trafficking and dependency. Until then, the American public remains understandably skeptical about whether this new announcement is anything more than political theater.
