Many in Congress who acknowledge its shortcomings are reluctant to part with the leverage they believe its gives them, or to appear soft on drugs. But the case is finally being made and is gaining ground. It would restore a sense of balance in our debate about policy priorities in the hemisphere. Certification is bad foreign policy because it holds other priorities such as human rights hostage to the single issue of drug control. Certification distorts our national conversation on foreign policy by focusing media attention and political debate on drugs, obscuring the search for common interests.
Certification is bad drug policy for three reasons.
First, it sends mixed signals to other countries about the rewards or punishments for their efforts in the war on drugs. In 1997, for example, revelations of drug corruption at the very top of Mexico's anti-narcotics agency sparked a spirited campaign by many in Congress to overturn its certification. Despite repeated hearings about the shortcomings in Mexico's drug control effort, it was clear that the administration and congressional leadership would not permit the country to be decertified because it is a major trading partner. A similar effort was thwarted in 1998. The message sent is that if countries are important enough to other U.S. interests, their drug control performance alone will not be the basis of certification decisions.