ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the basic architecture for a theory of engagement that would have a better than average chance of controlling the conflicts inherent in the gray area phenomenon. It examines the principal components of the resultant paradigm to the so-called drug war as a metaphor for gray area phenomenon. The chapter discusses the primary implications as they pertain to the development of United States defense and foreign policy. The realities of the new world environment generated by the Soviet and Eastern European Revolutions of 1989 and the ending of the Cold War reflect an extremely dangerous and volatile world. The analytical commonalities transcend different regions or stages of political-economic development and apply to virtually any nation-state facing the transnational threats and internal violence pertaining to the gray area phenomenon. Cocaine revenues are the basic source of physical strength and psychological balance of the illegal narcotics industry.
