By David Bolton

published in Counterpunch, May 3, 2006

I do at bit of volunteer work at the Gift of Hope home in East Baltimore, run by the Missionaries of Charity. The nuns follow in the path of their founder, Mother Teresa, as they minister to anywhere from eight to twelve men down on their luck. Many living in this three-story row house are addicts, spending their final days withering away from AIDS

The good sisters treat all the men the same--with dignity.

This sense of dignity makes me think of the so-called war on drugs that our government has been waging for the past 35 years. Despite spending $50 billion annually at the federal, state and local level to prevent the drug trade, despite putting more people behind bars for drug-related offenses than any other country, the war has not made a dent into the drug trade. Business is booming, with up to $200 billion exchanging hands in this underground U.S. economy (drugwarfacts.org).

“So likewise ‘a passionate attachment’ of one nation for another produces a variety of evils...” - George Washington’s “Farewell Address,” September 19, 1796

Kevin Zeese was the first speaker at a public forum held on Monday evening, April 24, 2006, at the West End Neighborhood Library, near the community of Georgetown. The topic for the event was, “Is the Israel Lobby Promoting War on Iran?” He said the question of whether the hawkish, hard-right, pro-Israeli Lobby in America wants to see war with Iran “gets answered in an ad which was in the New York Times, the Financial Times, and other newspapers. It’s a full page ad by the American Jewish Committee, put out on April 4th. The center of the bull’s eye is Iran and the headline is: ‘Can Anyone Within Range of Iran’s Missiles Feel Safe?’ I think that’s a pretty inflammatory ad. It’s signed by more than a hundred people...I think it’s a pretty strong indication of where the Lobby stands. That isn’t the only proof we have that the hawkish Israeli Lobby wants to go to war.”