The privatization of war-making — especially in regard to the waging of the war on terror — is well documented, but there are other emerging markets for the burgeoning ‘private security industry’. In fact, the war on drugs represents one of the most potentially lucrative market opportunities for what has been called the ‘narco-carceral complex’, an industry that is uniquely positioned to profit from the drug war, and is financially self-interested in the perpetuation of this war. This is consistent with the ‘disaster capitalism complex’, itself an extension of Eisenhower’s ‘militaryindustrial complex’. Add to this the sociological notion of ‘moral panic’, especially concerning the role of the press and the promotion of fear as a useful tool in the overall militarized response to the ‘crisis’, and there exists a situation that has potentially disastrous consequences for those who are not standing to gain by the perpetuation of the wars on terror and drugs as for-profit endeavors.
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