The latest casualty of the War in Iraq...

...is local Drug War funding.

Taken from the Star-Herald:

Nelson met Friday with law enforcement officers from the Scottsbluff Police Department, Gering Police Department, Alliance Police Department and Scotts Bluff County Sheriff's Department on the impact of cuts to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants program. For the second year in a row, the program has been slated for cuts as funds continue to be diverted to the war in Iraq and Homeland security funds.
The cut in funding has meant a serious impact on law enforcement efforts to investigate drug offenses and violent crimes as methamphetamine use surges, Nelson and area law enforcement said. Nelson said he hopes to take information he has learned from regional task forces throughout the state to help other senators and national leaders understand the significance of funds in the state of Nebraska. Often times, senators from larger metropolitan areas see Byrne funds as supplemental funds, while senators from rural areas understand that the funds are vital pieces of budgets for regional task forces and police departments, he said.
"When it comes to rural issues in Washington, they don't get it," Nelson said. "They don't understand the challenges of wide open spaces.
Byrne funding to Nebraska has been declining since 2003, with the most significant cut made in this last year. In 2005, Byrne funds to the state were about $3.3 million, with more than $1.1 million directly awarded to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. In 2006, funding to Nebraska suffered a substantial hit, with funds cut to $1.9 million and only an estimated $651,000 in direct awards to law enforcement allotted.
In 2006, funds expected to be awarded to the Western Nebraska Intelligence and Narcotics Group were zeroed out because funding cuts for the program resulted in changes in the way that funds were awarded. Under the new program, localities qualifying for $10,000 or more get a direct award.

I find it darkly ironic that Bush, staunch Drug Warrior he, may be one of the biggest aids in ending the drug war. All the laws in the world are meaningless if there is no enforcement.

Hopefully, local communities will be smart about this as well. Rural Nebraska isn't an economic powerhouse by any means, so there's little hope of making up the budget shortfall locally. So I hope they target what's left of this money on the more dangerous drugs, and leave safe drugs like marijuana alone. I also hope that the support for this program remains faded after the end of the Iraq War.