European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse By Mark Matthews Baltimore Sun after yeahs of resistance. The nation s military is coming to accept a greater role in the drug War _. Basically there s an understanding thai the presided is serious thai in a a National problem and Hal Tho armed forces have Gollo gel into it a Lvalion official said. Means enlisting the Pentagon 3 vast intelligence apparatus and training skills to Aid Law enforcement and also potentially foreign governments in a stopped up Battle against drug iral fickers this official and congressional sources said but i Hoff Mcmains a real reluctance toward actual combat except Man advisory role the senior official said ,. Plans and ideas on increased use of i a military Are percolating on two Levels a significantly expanded role in intelligence and interdiction support Aridi possible. Commitment of troops n some fashion to Aid latin governments. Some on Capitol Hill and elsewhere propose using special opera i ions forces either to train and assist foreign forces or to Aid or supplant drug enforcement admin isl a lion agents now involved in paramilitary fashion to disrupt cocaine processing labs in Bolivia and Peru. A senior Pentagon official said that while no plans have been Laid special operations troops would be the logical ones to assist a Multi lateral strike Force. The Pentagon s willingness to play an expanded role stems in from widespread congressional and Public frustration Over the failure of interdiction agencies with the limited military assistance provided in the past to Hall an Ever rising allow of narcotics across America s Borders they can Volunteer or we re going to draft them says rep. Larry Hopkins by. Ranking Republican on he House armed services investigations subcommittee. Under a congressional mandate funded Wilh �303 million the Pentagon is now assigned the loading Rolo in Dele cuon and monitoring of air and Ocean drug smuggling into the . A . Customs service p3 Orion san of on runway Atlantic and Pacific task forces have been set a punic two senior coast guard officers to coordinate use of Del Clion and monitoring assets of both the Dod and the Law enforcement agencies it. Gen. Stephen a Olmstead the Pentagon s Deputy assistant Secretary for drug policy told Congress recently. In addition the Pentagon ways to press enhanced intelligence systems into service. These would include Cia spy satellites and wire lapping by the Nalion Security Agency rep Nicholas Mavroules. D mass Iho investigations panel chairman has Given Pentagon officials a few More weeks to come in with an expedited program. They family parents first line of defense against by Don Oldenburg Washington 3 year old boy gazes at a new video from his seat on the living room Couch. The episode Tooks and sounds to him a lot like saturday morning cartoons flashy super heroes popping with super Powers but the Slones and messages of Tho drug avengers hear Riillo resemblance to those of Iho muppet babies or Scrooby Doo three Yoy Neslers and an alien sidekick Ira vol through Lime from Soo years hence to holp20lh a Colury Earl hangs Wise up to drug abuse the a discs Miil am kids the villains pills booze Cigar Elles. Dope addiction one Catchy rap the avengers sing grabs lha boy s pole lion a girl named Maggie had a male Baggie Lull of something White something did t look right she said c Mon Check it out but i Cut out instead cause i listened to the voice inside of my head it said us out la Lor the child bogs his dad to play Iho us of song again and again. The father asks Iho boy if he knows what Iho song is about. The boy shakes his head no when Larry Lancit and Cecily Pfuell say the fight to save America s children from drug abuse needs Moro super heroes they Aien l talking about animated ones like those in the avengers video they produced they moan parents. We wanted to create something thai would be used by kids and their parents say the husband and wife team Whoso concern for their own 5 year old daughter and a Grant from the department of education Molina led them to create tie drug avengers last Yea. Since then the video aimed at children irom preschool to Suth Grade has been. Distributed to 18,000 school districts and now is available for Home use it s hard for parents to get a handle on talking to choir kids about drugs says tacit Whoso new York company Lancit Media of such pcs programs As heading Flat Riv and Romona. Co produced this video Wilh inc research corp. The idea was to use entertainment Asa real focal Point in the Home for talking about drugs says Lancit to wanted to produce something that when a five minute episode is Over the child and Parent could have a meaningful a Lou Harris poll on Tho american Amity recently disclosed that nine out of 10 parents Are concerned about their children coming into Contact with illicit drugs end alcohol. Yet meaningful Amity discussion in 1rse Homo about drug alcohol abuse is not the Norm according to concerned experts. Most parents instead rely on schools to inform their kids about . Government too has typically bolstered Potice and school based programs Seldom seeing parents As a critical pail of the solution. Even Tea drug avengers was created Lor school use and had to be revised or parents an oped piece in the is a York times 10 years ago expressed the attitude that has roamed prevalent through much of the 60s when it contended that drug abuse prevention was Loo important an Issue to be left in the hands of but that thinking is changing. Last Page 14 the stars and stripes March Tho prevention committee of Iho while House conference for a America concluded that with the tremendous threat of the drug epidemic it is vital thai Iho isl line of defense to the family and parents " increasingly _ experts advocate that parents take Steps As Early As the preschool years to develop the personal skills and values in their children needed to keep inem drug free. Somo oven warn that if american parents Don t learn to handle drug talks with their children bettor than. They be traditionally handled sex talks the War on drugs May Well be lost. An informed Parent is the Besl bulwark against drug use by Young people says Doug Hall spokesman for the National Parent resource Insl Lutc or drug education Froe. Headquartered in Atlanta Pride emerged As a Maverick Organ Nalion 12 years ago when it began proposing lha parents put themselves Between drugs and their children that was a Lime when parents intervening in drug problems brought to mind images of parents filling through drawers and angry conlsonlalions.". I prods program stresses a gradual saturday a
