-Caveat Lector- again from another list: Om K ----- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Quick analysis: Downing Street is preparing the public for a new heroin flood not because they're worried about the Taliban's "drugs weapon," but because of smuggling arrangements made between the UK/US and the ISI in Pakistan; arrangements made to insure Pakistani cooperation with "coalition" military activities. Supply planes don't like coming back empty, do they? Out of this, Pakistan gets drug money, lots of it, and most likely the ISI gets the major role to decide how it's distributed. Meanwhile not only does the UK (which is largely indistinguishable from the US in it's foreign policy) get Pakistani cooperation for the war - but they will also get an important propaganda boost from blaming the heroin flood on the Taliban. If/when this heroin flood arrives and is felt in the UK, it will come at a time when Downing Street will need (desperately need?) to shore up public support for it's war efforts. The potential propaganda value of the heroin flood to the UK government also explains why this story is getting played in the British press but not the American. The United States simply doesn't need a heroin to flood to justify war in Afghanistan, not when most every jingo in the country is already begging for carpet bombing and nukes. Andrew BTW, does anyone else think "Enduring Freedom" is a completely idiotic name for this war? As though "freedom" is something like bad times or weather that must be "endured?" How much more Orwellian is this going to get? Troops will target drugs stockpile Downing Street fears the Taliban will flood the West with �20 billion worth of heroin War on Terrorism - Observer special Kamal Ahmed, political editor Sunday September 30, 2001 The Observer American and British troops are to target a �20 billion stockpile of opium and heroin which intelligence officials believe is about to be released onto the world market by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban authorities. Intelligence documents circulating in Downing Street say that bin Laden and the Taliban will use money made from the trade to fund any war against the West. It is believed that there are up to 3,000 tonnes of opium in secret bunkers across the north and west of Afghanistan. Such a large amount could be used to manufacture up to 300 tonnes of heroin, enough to supply the British drugs trade for 10 years. Downing Street officials believe that bin Laden and his al Qaeda organisation are closely connected to a string of drug gangs which use supply routes through Iran and Turkey into Europe and America. Nearly 90 per cent of the heroin sold in Britain is thought to come from Afghanistan. Although refusing to go into specifics, Government sources said that the destruction of the drugs trade was a 'long-held ambition' and that they would be flexible in making it part of the 'war against terrorism'. 'We want to see an end to opium production in Afghanistan,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said. It is believed that troops will focus on areas where the drugs are thought to be stored around Jalalabad and the bin Laden camps of Darunta, Bhesud and Khost. They will move against chemical factories which process the drugs and farms which grow poppies as part of the military operation. Security sources said that all of these could also be targeted in a series of air strikes when the military campaign, Operation Enduring Freedom, is launched against the country. Last week it was reported that the Taliban had lifted their ban on the planting of poppy fields, so that the manufacture of opium and heroin could begin again. This is the first evidence that bin Laden and the Taliban authorities already have a major stockpile of drugs. 'Assessments suggest that those stocks are now being disposed of because of the threat of war and the need to raise money,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said. 'Bin Laden has been closely involved in the Afghan drugs trade and has encouraged major traffickers in the past to flood Europe and the US with heroin as a means of undermining and destabilising. There are strong grounds for believing that [he has] large stockpiles of drugs himself. 'The Taliban in the past have used money from drugs to fund military action. Bin Laden is actively involved in the Afghan drugs trade and sees these drugs as a means of undermining the West.' Although the Afghan border with Iran is officially closed there are a myriad of routes between the two countries which are almost impossible to close down. Britain has now agreed to help Iran, a long-time political enemy, in the fight against drugs. During his visit to the country last week Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, announced that the Government would give a �650,000 grant to President Mohamed Khatami to help in counter-trafficking measures. Downing Street played down fears that the release of such a huge amount of heroin by the Taliban would flood the Western market with cheap heroin. 'Street prices of heroin in Britain are unlikely to be affected,' the spokesman said. 'The price didn't alter during the ban. We don't expect there to be a flood of cheap heroin now.' He said that government policies were in place to stop the drugs entering Britain. Under questioning, the official spokesman said that he could not divulge any evidence which the Government had about the drugs. 'We cannot reveal our sources but it is reliable evidence gained over many years.' Diplomatic sources said that an attack on the heroin trade in Afghanistan held political difficulties for the Government. Officials admit that up to five per cent of the heroin held in the country was under the control of the Northern Alliance which America hopes will back any future military action. -- ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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