NewsMine — war-on-terror — afghanistan — opium — Viewing Item

Terror link to booming afghan drugs trade { April 3 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079420134422 http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079420134422 Terror link to booming Afghan drugs trade By Hugh Williamson in Berlin and Victoria Burnett in Islamabad Published: April 3 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: April 3 2004 5:00 The head of US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan yesterday admitted there were growing signs of links between Muslim terrorist groups and the drugs trade in Afghanistan. David Barno, commanding general, said the number of incidents where counter terrorist operations uncover illegal drugs had increased in recent months. His comments signal a growing readiness among senior US military officials to link terrorist groups to a booming opium industry in Afghanistan. It is the world's leading source of poppies used to make opium and heroin. Much of the heroin sold in western countries originates in Afghanistan. Poppy production has increased since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. US officials told the Financial Times this week they feared that Afghanistan may this year produce its largest poppy harvest. The Afghan government and the United Nations have expressed growing alarm over the past year about the nexus between militant groups' financing and opium profits, but until recently US military officials said they had little solid evidence. Western officials familiar with US military policy said the Pentagon was unwilling to be drawn into the war on drugs or confront provincial militiamen on whom the coalition relies for operational support. Gen Barno said it was too early to identify a trend but acknowledged that "we are encountering more occasions where, during the conduct of counter terrorist operations, we uncover drugs or some relationship to drug activities". A counter-terrorism raid "two or three weeks ago" in Uruzgan province, a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, had led to a firefight and the discovery of poppy paste that, had it been converted to heroin, would have had a street value of $15m, Gen Barno told journalists in Berlin. He was speaking a day after the international Afghanistan conference in Berlin pledged to clamp down more intensively on poppy producers and traders. The Afghan government and its foreign allies have struggled to formulate a coherent policy for combating the opium industry, wary of using strong-arm tactics against a population with few economic alternatives. The US last month announced support for Afghan teams attached to the interior ministry in Kabul that aim to destroy poppy fields. The move stirred tensions with the British government, which formally has the lead role in helping Afghanistan tackle the drugs trade. Gen Barno praised the Pakistan military for recent operations in the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan where senior al-Qaeda leaders may be hiding. He said the operations had been "tremendously disruptive" of terrorist networks and had produced "powerful results". He said that Pakistan had admitted that it had been mistaken in earlier claims that troops were closing in on senior al-Qaeda leaders.

Afghan drug trade Afghan heroin is flooding to the united states { January 1 2007 } Afghan military tied to drug trade { September 4 2003 } Afghan opium 2005 threat to world stability Afghan poppies sprout again { November 10 2003 } Afghan poppy profits going to taliban { April 2007 } Afghanistan soaring drug trade hits home { March 13 2008 } Afghistan opium 2007 reaches record levels { March 5 2007 } Britain losing afghan opium war Bumper year for afghan poppies { July 24 2003 } Fatal clash with tribes poppies { May 2 2003 } General sees drugs link with alqaeda Karzai blames west for afghan poppies { May 23 2005 } Massive post war Officials say poppies undermine democracy { April 2 2004 } Opium crop prices soar Opium dealers blamed for attack on afghan vp Opium freedom Opium funding 40perc of taliban { October 18 2007 } Opium harvest record level in afghanistan { September 3 2006 } Opium msnbc Poppies poised comback { November 23 2001 } Poppy farms rebound { November 23 2001 } Poppy planting Terror link to booming afghan drugs trade { April 3 2004 } Un warns opium production spreading like cancer { October 30 2003 } US arrests afghan heroin baron bashir noorzai { April 25 2005 } Us soldiers becoming drug addicts US soldiers in afghanistan using heroin Files Listed: 29

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