International Drug Trafficking and Terrorism

You are to choose a topic of interest from the list below and write a paper addressing the factors that have drawn you to the topic and its relevance to the study of politics. For example, the idea of a perfect society in connection to the ideals of democracy seems to depart conceptually from empirical reality. Your paper should be 3-4 pages in length.
Thinking Piece Topics: * Freedom of Expression and Hate * International Drug Trafficking and International Terrorism * Objectivity and the Media - the Role of Embedded Journalism
Your paper should demonstrate clear organization and ideas that follow a logical order with evidence backed by citation of at least one credible source.
Equally important, this paper should adhere to the following guidelines: title page, double spaced, and introduction where the purpose is clearly stated, a body that substantiates your claims(s), and a conclusion.

Over the last decade there has been many worldwide changes that have made international drug trafficking and terrorism a much more diverse and complex subject. These rapid economic, political, social, and technological changes have significantly benefited the terrorists and their efforts to continue carrying out illegal international drug trafficking trade and terrorism. It not only affects politics in the world, but also has a huge impact on every citizen by jeopardizing our national security. In civilized countries like the United States, we rely on protection from our government, military, and border patrols as our nation’s security team against terrorism. As we’ve gone through this past decade, despite going through many changes in efforts to control terrorism in our country, I believe we have failed as a nation to protect our citizens, (e.g. 9/11). I believe the attacks on September 11, 2001 were carried out due to negligence from all levels of our national security. Terrorist plots to blow up the twin towers weren’t a secret and had already happened once before on February 26, 1993 when a member of Al Qaeda detonated a bomb on one of the lower levels. Despite all of these warning signs we did little to nothing to improve our security at the time. We often only make drastic solutions when we have a drastic problem. International terrorism will always be a threat to society but I believe we can always improve on our security to prevent future attacks on United States soil. International drug trafficking is a huge problem for many countries. Most countries would not even have access to certain drugs if it wasn’t for the illegal smuggling from one country to another. Because every country has its own drug laws, it may not be illegal to grow and possess the drugs where they are being manufactured so it makes it extremely difficult to legally prosecute these drug traffickers. Also many of these countries in which the drugs are being brought into have no jurisdiction outside of their nations, thus making it more difficult. Drug trafficking is a highly lucrative enterprise generating billions of dollars in profit, some of that profit finds its way into terrorist organizations. Larger criminal organizations like the Mexican drug cartels are extremely dangerous for police and military because of their fortune, weapons, and large numbers. International drug trafficking can directly relate to politics because it’s one of our leaders biggest problems. People are constantly trying legalize certain drugs particularly marijuana claiming that it would create more jobs, cut down on crime and would raise the country’s overall revenue helping the national debt crisis. I believe that no good ever comes from legalizing addictive drugs that are bad for your health. Tobacco and alcohol are two of the three leading preventable causes of death in our country. If marijuana were to ever become legalized I can only assume it would be added to that list. Once these smuggled in drugs hit the streets they become available to everybody, including children.