Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector- http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/EL09Ag02.html Afghanistan's own opium wars By Sudha RamachandranBANGALORE - The spurt in violence in Afghanistan in recent months has generally been attributed to the resurgence of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. However, aid workers in Afghanistan are saying that it is warlords with connections to the production and trade of narcotics who are behind many of the attacks. The sharp rise in killings, say aid workers, coincides with the autumn harvest of the poppy crop. Diane Johnston, country director for Mercy Corps, told Associated Press "security is worse in places where people are growing poppies". Late last month, the European Union's envoy in Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, warned that laboratories for producing heroin that had been closed down by the Taliban were being set up again. The heightened narcotics-related activity in Afghanistan is worrying not only because of the surge in flow of heroin into markets abroad, but also because of its implications for security in Afghanistan. "There is a palpable risk that Afghanistan will again turn into a failed state, this time in the hands of drug cartels and narco-terrorists," wrote Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN anti- narcotics program. If "energetic interdiction measures" are not undertaken now, the country's drug cancer will "metastasize into corruption, violence and terrorism", he pointed out. This year's bumper poppy crop in Afghanistan seems to be financing a fresh proliferation of weapons among the warlords. Poppy cultivation touched a new high in Afghanistan this year. According to the Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2003 brought out by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Afghan government, Afghanistan produced 3,600 tonnes of opium this year. In 2000, the country produced 3,276 tonnes of opium. Under a ban imposed by the Taliban the next year, cultivation plunged to 185 tonnes. In 2002, opium production shot up dramatically in Afghanistan, rising higher this year. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said last week that the area of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan jumped to 61,000 hectares (150,000 acres) from 30,700 hectares last year and 1,685 hectares in 2001. Afghanistan has the dubious distinction of being the world leader in opium production, accounting for 75 percent of the world's poppy output. Opium is cultivated in 28 of the country's 32 provinces. Poppy is the most profitable crop in Afghanistan. Recent estimates suggest that Afghan farmers make 38 times as much from opium as they can from wheat. Although poppy cultivation is outlawed in Afghanistan, few seem to fear the repercussions of defying the law. The income from poppy is far too attractive to deter farmers, especially when one considers the alternative to poppy - crops that do not yield adequate income to support families. The temptation of poppy cultivation is simply too much. Warlords and crime cartels control this lucrative industry. Poppy is refined into heroin in illicit laboratories all over Afghanistan. Provincial administrators and military commanders take a share of the profits as it is transported through the provinces to the international market. "The more they get used to this, the less likely it becomes that they will respect the law, be loyal to Kabul," Costa points out. "Terrorists take a cut as well. The longer this happens, the greater the threat to security within the country and on its borders." So serious is the threat posed by poppy cultivation and trafficking that a recent UN Security Council mission to Afghanistan cited drug trafficking alongside terrorism and factional warfare as the triple threats slowing down the reconstruction process in that country. Briefing the Security Council, German ambassador Gunter Pleuger, head of the Security Council mission to Afghanistan, stressed that the narcotics economy, fueled by a new surge in opium poppy cultivation, poses a particularly serious threat to efforts to revive Afghan society. "The narcotics economy is largely unchecked," he said. "In particular, the rapid growth of the narcotics economy in recent months has the potential to dwarf the legal economy and threaten the small gains in the field of reconstruction and economic stabilization achieved to date." The Afghan government, the UN and international aid and development organizations have taken steps to fight the narcotics boom in Afghanistan. Officially, poppy cultivation and narcotics business is proscribed and severe punishment, including life imprisonment, awaits offenders. However, most of those who have been taken into custody and punished are minor offenders. No action has been taken against the big fish. No one dares take on the real players in the business. This explains the shocking increase in narcotics production in Afghanistan and its emergence as the world leader in opium production. A report in the German newspaper Der Spiegel draws attention to "an open secret", which throws light on why action is not taken against the narcotics network. "Even the topmost member of the central government," it says, "is deeply mixed up in the drug trade." Describing the situation in the Kunduz province, where German soldiers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led (NATO) International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been deployed, the report says that Afghan Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim's power in this part of Afghanistan "is in large part supported by drug money. Up to now, his commanders have been regulating the opium trade within their spheres of influence. It's their primary source of revenue. Anyone who interferes with the trade in their districts lives dangerously." There is growing pressure on the ISAF to act against the drug trafficking. But that, ISAF commanders are quick to point out, is not possible as it is not part of their mandate. Indeed, the ISAF's mandate outside Kabul is merely to protect civilian reconstruction teams. ISAF commanders insist that action against drug mafias is the work of the local police. They prefer to train and equip locals to fight the war against narco-terrorism in Afghanistan. Governments back home in the NATO countries are reluctant to get their soldiers drawn into tackling drug trafficking as this would make the troops targets of the all-powerful drug syndicates. Therefore, even if they come on a field of poppy or an opium warehouse, the troops are under instructions not to act against it. "The troops have orders to look the other way. Orders from on high," reports Der Spiegel, adding, "An open confrontation with the drug lords would be like a declaration of war." Narcotics is financing weapons purchases by warlords, encouraging lawlessness and threatening security in Afghanistan. The central government's hold over the country - fragile to begin with - is being undermined by the narco-trade, as it is increasing the hold of the warlords over their fiefdoms. It is weakening the aims of the "war against terrorism" and the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Yet the ISAF is under orders to look the other way. (Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for information on our sales and syndication policies.) Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
--- End Message ---
