By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty, (http://www.bannerofliberty.com)
November 12, 2001
President George W. Bush told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that every nation has a stake in the war on terrorism. "As we meet,the terrorists are planning more murder -- perhaps in my country," and pausing to gesture directly to his audience, "or perhaps in yours. They kill because they aspire to dominate. They seek to overthrow governments and destabilize entire regions."
And what is the underlying driving force behind those who killed over 5000 Americans on September 11th? They claim that it is a religious matter. As President Bush put it: "The terrorists call their cause holy, yet, they fund it with drug dealing; they encourage murder and suicide in the name of a great faith that forbids both. They dare to ask God's blessing as they set out to kill innocent men, women and children. But the God of Isaac and Ishmael would never answer such a prayer. And a murderer is not a martyr; he is just a murderer."
We hear very little about the drug connection to this war on terrorism, yet we know that 90% of the heroin sold in Europe originates in Afghanistan. The Associated Press reporting in February of 2001 that "the Taliban religious militia has nearly wiped out opium production in Afghanistan -- once the world's largest producer -- since banning poppy cultivation last summer."
However, it appears that the edict to halt opium poppy production was merely a Taliban ploy to increase the price of their product. There is a 2 year supply of Opium Poppy pods in warehouses in Afghanistan. Last year, before the Taliban "ended" opium production in the fields, the price of Afghan opium had dropped to $35 for two pounds. Since the edict to prevent the farmers from growing opium in 2001, the price of opium has risen to the pre-Taliban values - $360 for two pounds.
Afghan's 4000 tons last year, at $35 for 2 pounds, would sell for only $140 million. With current prices, a mere 2000 tones at $360 for two pounds would sell for $720 million. Not a bad business decision. According to the United Nations, ( http://www.undcp.org/pakistan/report_2001-10-16_1.pdf ) the last year before the Taliban seizure of the government, in 1995 there was 53,759 hectares (2 acres to a hectare) planted in opium poppies in Afghanistan. By 1999 the land planted to opium poppies was 90,983 and the value of the opium had dropped sharply.
Except in the areas controlled by the Northern Alliance, such as Badakhshan in Northeastern Afghanistan. Poppy production tripled there.
According to the CIA, Afghan also is a major source of hashish and has been increasing the number of heroin-processing laboratories being set up in the country. Undoubtedly, a major issue once the Taliban is defeated, will be which of the major political factions in the country that have in the past profited from drug trade will gain control of the warehouses full of poppy pods. Will it be a policy of the U.S. to destroy those opium poppy warehouses?
Last Friday the former Soviet defense minister, Dmitry Yazov, who withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan in1989 that America could "win the war but lose the peace" in Afghanistan. Although he still describes the invasion as an intervention at Kabul's request - Yazov said Moscow badly misjudged the struggle for Afghan hearts and minds. The lesson serves as a warning to the United States today.
"The main lesson was that the Afghan people did not support the presence of Soviet forces, although they welcomed material help," Yazov said. "We were uninvited guests and we our presence did not cement society but divided it instead. We didn't understand what Islam and religion was, and who really was in charge of the villages, the local Muslims."
The Soviet pullout opened the way for the Taliban's rise and the growth of Osama's influence. But their embrace of terrorism stemmed from a business rather than a religious need, Yazov argues.
"To protect their narco-business, they started to create terrorist organisations. The main goal for the terrorists was to earn money through the drugs trade," he said.-Reuters
What is the underlying driving force behind those who killed over 5000 Americans on September 11th? Is it a misguided concept of Islam? Is it anger at America's policies in support of Israel? Or, is the real underlying issue for the leaders of the terrorism actually defense of their business - drugs?
In my research, and from e-mails sent, I read a lot of theories. For example, a group calling itself the "Anti-War Committee of Students in Solidarity at the University of Pittsburgh" say you can't win a war against terrorism because "Terrorism is a tactic, not a political or social force in and of itself. Anyone can use it, and the idea that you can wage a 'war' against it is as dishonest as the idea behind the 'War on Drugs.'" They identify the War on Terrorism as " really about sordid material interests and power (they identify oil and the airlines industry), and in defense of these interests the U.S. is prepared to shift the label 'terrorist' as it sees fit, to apply to all manner of dissident political movements and not just marginal bands of fanatics like bin Laden's al-Qa'ida."
It seems to me that if the Anti-War students who wrote that were really concerned about big businesses they would be able to figure out all by themselves that any industry that makes $600 billion annually, tax-free, is a big business. In fact, none of the oil companies has a $600 billion a year sales record. However, the illegal drug trade is a $600 billion a year none-tax-paying business. The big business that is frequently accused of "causing" the problems in Afghanistan is Unocal Oil, which is interested in building a natural gas line across Afghanistan. The annual worldwide sales for Unocal, according to Forbes, is a mere $5.8 billion, a bit player when compared with the non-taxpaying drug trade.
Any business that sells $600 billion a year has to have a lot of customers. In fact, the illegal drug dealers have millions of customers, worldwide. And who, do you suppose, are politically and financially supporting illegal drug dealers who are also major terrorists in the world?
Any drug using student at the University of Pittsburgh or elsewhere is helping to finance the terrorists who are financing their activities with their heroin and hashish sales. Since the President, and recent anti-terrorist legislation have targeted those who finance terrorism, it should be only a matter of time that those who are financing terrorism by buying the terrorists' products, heroin, hashish, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, etc. are caught in the net.
That is, that will happen if we are really serious about getting rid the financial supporters of terrorism.
To comment: mmostert@bannerofliberty.com