NCJ Number
183315
Date Published
2000
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This testimony presents findings from the U.S. General Accounting Office's assessment of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) contribution to reducing the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States; this statement is based on the GAO's December 1999 report requested by the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, Committee on Government Reform.
Abstract
The testimony first discusses the decline in DOD's aerial and maritime support allocated to counterdrug activities from fiscal years 1992 through 1999 and some of the consequences and reasons for the declines. It then addresses the obstacles DOD faces in helping foreign governments counter illegal drug activities. The testimony then briefly discusses DOD's counterdrug strategy and the need for performance measures to assess its counterdrug program effectiveness. DOD has a set of plans and strategies that directly supports the goals of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy to reduce the demand and supply of illegal drugs; for example, DOD has developed a 5-year counterdrug plan that broadly describes the military personnel and assets that it will provide to further the national goals. At the regional level, the U.S. Southern Command has a counterdrug campaign plan designed to execute its counterdrug mission in Central and South America and the Caribbean; however, DOD does not have a set of performance measures to evaluate its counterdrug activities. The GAO's 1999 report recommends that DOD develop performance measures to determine the effectiveness of its counterdrug operations and make better use of its limited resources. DOD has concurred with this recommendation and has initiated steps to develop performance measures. 4 figures