Critical Issue Paper Three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical Issue Paper Three - Essay Example Thus, Marshall's stance is on the brink of exaggeration or at the least overreaction. We may forgive him, considering that the victory may have pushed him to go overboard with excessive elation. But the truth of the matter is, the victory was far from being impossible. The basis for this contention is, first, Germany was practically smashed to smithereens as a result of World War I, which ended in 1919. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 militarily, politically, and economically emasculated Germany, which was forced to limit its armed forces to a measly 100,000 troops with conscription absolutely prohibited1. Moreover, German naval forces were virtually crippled by a provision limiting it to a mere possession of 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 torpedo boats and 12 destroyers plus a provision strictly banning the importation, exportation and manufacture of weapons and poison gas as well as the prohibition of submarines, military aircrafts, artillery and tanks. Thus, the Treaty of Versailles rendered Germany a political lameduck worthy of international pity. To add injury to all those insults, Germany was stripped of its territorial possessions notably West Prussia, Danzig, eastern Upper Silesia, Alsace-Lorraine, and Northern Schleswig2. In 1939, one year before the outbreak of World War II, Germany had barely revived itself from the catastrophic devastation. In 1939, the naval force of Germany was inconsequentially insignificant with a mere 8 cruisers, 18 submarines and 3 pocket battleships3. However, in direct contravention of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler started to rearm Germany and conscripted Germans to the Nazi Wehrmacht. But still in 1939, the Allied forces were in the upper hand. The body count of those who participated in World War II in behalf of the Allied forces was overwhelming as the Allies were able to conscript not only British, French, Russians, Americans (6 million) and Poles but also Canadians (1.1 million), Mexicans, British Indians, Australians, New Zealanders, Nepalese, Greeks etc.4. The Allied manpower alone, gave them the edge. The AXIS manpower, on the other hand, was limited to the Germans, Italians and the Japanese as the conquered countries such as France, Poland, the Scandinavian and Balkan countries never willfully contributed manpower to the AXIS cause but instead fought against them via the underground resistance movements. 3 To say that the Allies were fighting an almost indefensible war is a ludicrous statement because although oftentimes they were caught with their backs on the wall yet the Allies had definite advantages. Prior to the war, Britain was one of the most prosperous nations in the world with

Operation Pressure Point.The Drug Trade Problem Essay

Operation Pressure Point.The Drug Trade Problem - Essay Example (DEA, 2007) Fantino (2000), a former Chief of Police, states that the role of the policemen is to ensure the safety and security of the members of society against those who may wish it harm. The proliferation of drugs is certainly a threat to society and should be addressed in the soonest possible time. However, even with the many programs instituted by police agencies, the problem still lingers. Zimmer (1987) and the Vera Institute of Justice (1993) relate to us two police strategies that are conceptually effective but are actually insufficient. In the 1980's, the drug problem in the East Side was getting rampant to the point that sales and usage of the illegal substances were blatantly exposed on the streets. The Lower East Side became the proverbial drug addict's heaven as he had unlimited access to drugs with little or no threat of arrest. This state of affairs was the result of the declining capacity of the police to counter the problem due to budget cuts and decline in personnel (Smith, 1982). To counter the problem and to address the increasing community pressure, the Police Department launched Operation Pressure Point which involved the assignment of about 250 officers who conducted buy-bust operations, patrolling, boarding up of abandoned buildings and fencing of parks and vacant lots. Community involvement and improvements and prioritization of drug related complaints were also employed. According to the information gathered by Zimmer (1987), the operation succeeded in halting the blatant drug supermarket and was able to reduce the volume of drugs traded in the area. Nonetheless, Zimmer (1987) argues that the success of the operation was limited as the achievements were only superficial. Underneath the seeming improved situation lies still the drug problem as the trade still continues. To counter the increased police presence, drug dealers employed more lookouts, varied the time and venue of sales, sold in large quantities and made deals only with established clients. The result was that the availability levels were like before. In one of his later papers, Zimmer (1993) points out that the rationale behind the operation was the 'mass-arrest strategy' where the police believe that a major sweep of a drug-infested area could lead to the arrest of many drug dealers. This would ensure that the drug problem would be eliminated in that area. However, Zimmer (1993) argues that even though such strategy "destabilizes the market"; it also "creates opportunity for new people to come into the business". Replacements are not a problem especially in poor communities where "there is no shortage of people who are looking for this opportunity". Reading Zimmer (1987) reveals to us the complex problem of addressing the drug trade problem and breaks our notion that mass arrests could lead to the elimination of this threat. I find Operation Pressure Point praiseworthy because the methods were based on a range of consistent, integrated and comprehensive approaches appropriate to local problems but I also find it lacking in the sense that it was unable to realize that weeds should be pulled at its roots and not only at its stalk. From my point of view, the operation achieved only little because it did not provide for any methods to identify the main suppliers but instead focus on the low end dealers. Instead of focusing only the consumer side, they should also have broken the supply chain right from the