A discerning Washington bureaucrat once professed that an accurate appraisal of government policies, laws, and procedures requires a thorough examination of the intent and context surrounding their enactment. A sage and logical deduction, right? Yet this guidance is so often ignored by the impatient. The inimitable national security events described herein occurred over thirty years ago, a lifetime to some, just yesterday to others. The #1 national security concern of the United States government during the early 90s was the domestic threat posed by the illicit international drug trade. By comparison, the threat of foreign terrorism was considered a distant third- or fourth-priority. It was during this period that a mid-level Drug Enforcement Administration field Special Agent was detailed to the august National Security Council staff and designated as Director for Counternarcotics. A visionary NSC Senior Director intended to use the position to enhance the DEA's influence at the policy level while providing policy-makers with valuable "real-world" background information. For unforeseen reasons, the one-year duty lasted four years. A change of Administration took the Agent, now designated NSC Director of Counternarcotics and Counterterrorism at the NSC, through a maze of inter-agency squabbles and inefficiencies in national security policy. The Agent/author's last two years were the first two years of the William J. Clinton presidency. They involved an unprecedented shift in the national security priorities to address the emerging threat of international terrorism. The result was a diminished high-level priority to also address the continuing threat of international drug cartels. Today, the lessons not learned, admittedly with the invaluable assistance of hindsight, continue to affect the national security of this nation.