cannabisnews.com: Troops Will Target Drugs Stockpile 





Troops Will Target Drugs Stockpile 
Posted by FoM on September 29, 2001 at 23:23:02 PT
By Kamal Ahmed, Political Editor
Source: 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.Note: Downing Street fears the Taliban will flood the West with £20 billion worth of heroin.Newshawk: puff_tuffSource: Observer, The (UK)Author: Kamal Ahmed, Political EditorPublished: Sunday, September 30, 2001Copyright: 2001 The ObserverContact: letters observer.co.ukWebsite: http://www.observer.co.uk/Related Articles:War on Terrorism - Observer Special http://www.observer.co.uk/waronterrorismHeroin Trade Fuels Bin Laden's Terror Network http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10997.shtmlOpium a Concern in War on Terrorism http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10982.shtmlTaliban Rely on Drug Money, says DEA Chief http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10981.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #13 posted by dddd on September 30, 2001 at 14:25:37 PT
sickening
..I was also disgusted by Gores little speech......dddd
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by FoM on September 30, 2001 at 12:29:30 PT
Related Article
Hi Everyone,I couldn't find copyright info for this article so I'm posting it in a comment section.
THE WEST AT WAR: DRUGS WIPEOUT - WE'LL BOMB POPPY FIELDS 
Newshawk: NORML Media
Source: Sunday Mirror
Published: September 30, 2001
Website: http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/
Blair targets terror profits. 
Poppy fields which supply the Taliban's multi-billion-pound drugs trade are to be a key target of military strikes in Afghanistan. The decision has been taken by Tony Blair and President George Bush to stop Osama bin Laden using drugs profits to wage war against the West. 
A senior Downing Street aide said: "We have reliable information that the Taliban are planning to use money from drugs to finance military action, and that bin Laden has ordered farmers to step up production." 
Specially-adapted US planes will be used to spray and destroy the poppies, from which opium is produced and processed into heroin. 
The US is currently funding the development of a fungus that attacks the roots of opium plants. 
There is an estimated 3,000 tonnes of opium stockpiled inside Afghanistan, the equivalent to 300 tonnes of pure heroin. 
The drugs, thought to be worth £20billion, will be bombed when military operations against the Taliban have begun. 
The Afghan regime collects a 10 per cent tax on the £20-a-kilo that local poppy farmers earn from the crops that provide 80 per cent of Europe's heroin. This year they produced a record harvest with a Western street value of £4billion. 
Some of the enormous revenues generated from the drugs trade are funnelled into secret accounts for arming and supporting Islamic terror groups around the world. It is believed that at least £350,000 of this drug money was used to fund the suicide hijackers attacks on New York and Washington. 
The decision to attack the poppy fields comes as the United Nations orders the freezing of the finances of terrorist suspects and any person or group linked "directly or indirectly" with them. It is part of a global build-up of military and diplomatic pressure on bin Laden. 
President Bush said yesterday that the campaign against those responsible for the attacks on America will be waged "wherever terrorists hide or run or plan". 
He used his weekly radio address to the nation to warn that "this will be a different kind of war". 
Meanwhile, in New York it was announced that rebuilding on the site of the World Trade Centre will cost up to £40billion. It was also revealed that a Manhattan grand jury is investigating possible Mafia involvement in the theft of hundreds of tons of scrap metal from the Ground Zero site. As the start of military action grows nearer, the first lorry loads of 200 tonnes of aid for refugees living in opposition-controlled areas of Afghanistan left Peshawar in Pakistan yesterday. In the Middle East yesterday, three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli troops firing at stone-throwers and gunmen in Gaza. 
- SINN Fein president Gerry Adams told his party's annual conference yesterday that the attacks on America were inexcusable. The man known by the security services to have once led the IRA's Belfast brigade told delgates: 
"Terrorism is ethically indefensible." 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by MikeEEEEE on September 30, 2001 at 11:32:30 PT
Kissing Contest
Al Snore kisses Bush's ass because he has a 90% approval rating, thereby he's associating himself with the supposed real Amercican Bush (for the people, ha ha). Politically savvy, very sad; a country with manipulated beliefs and addiction to corporate sponsored television.And, conceptually interesting that a country that continually terrorizes drug users is now being terrorisized.Wake up!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by New Mexican on September 30, 2001 at 10:32:40 PT
Al Gore kisses the ass of the ruling talibush!
I'm listening to Al Gore on CSpan. Disgusting!
'There is no division in this country and I support George Bush as our Elected President'. OUCH! Glad I voted my conscience as this exposed the fact that Gore and Clinton where in on the theft. Stooges, patsies, fools, and liars.
The democratic party has imploded as the re-pig-lickin expands its total control over both parties through corporate control of the media. It all about the money, the oil, the pipeline through Afhganistan, the establishment of martial law and the new world order. Heres something to read if you want a bigger picture of what's happening: Black Projects etc.
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=68645&group=webcast
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by mayan on September 30, 2001 at 07:39:49 PT
Wonderful
Isn't prohibition wonderful? We have given power to those who cannot be trusted with it. Our policies of ignorance are coming full circle to bite us in the ass. I've heard rumors that rebel groups in Columbia have made threats to commit acts of terror in the U.S. Our contractors,operatives & mercenaries down there may well soon be joined by our Marines. The war on drugs,in the name of greed,may prove to be more than the prohibitionists had bargained for. But then again, they just might want it this way. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by JSM on September 30, 2001 at 06:33:01 PT
Dr. Russo
The only fallacy in your position is the you assume that the prohibitionists wants these things to end. Factually, they do not as this is what enables them to continue to increase power and control by pretending to protect us from the very evils they create. Orwell is right, only his timing is off slightly.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by jack on September 30, 2001 at 05:28:18 PT
Operation Enduring Freedom
I sure do hope I can endure our giverments'quest for "freedom".They've already tried to catch one man running around in the mountains, His name is Eric Rudolph,right here in North Carolina a little over 3 years ago.In an area less than 50 sq. miles and on friendly soil, noone hiding behind rocks shooting at you he's still on the loose.The gov. boys used all the high tech gear,..and good ol' blue, Joe Bob's trusty hound and zilch,..nada,..nothing,..he's still "running through the jungle". I sure am glad I'm not special forces going into Afghanistan.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Ethan Russo MD on September 30, 2001 at 05:18:37 PT:
Futility: Message to the Prohibitionists
This sounds insane.Do military planners really think that they will find all the caches, particularly when every move is being broadcast in advance?Have you ever seen a poppy seed? They are tiny, and when you eat a poppy seed confection, it is the equivalent of downing a few thousand potential plants. You are going to eradicate that totally and for all time, huh?Ever heard of the squeezed balloon? Say plans were successful in Afghanistan with this "anti-drug jihad?" Do you think for a minute that growers in the rest of the world will stop production? Do you think that the price on the street will go up 2 pence?Want to really cut off profits? There is only one way, and you purists won't like the prescription. Legalize drugs. Make it medical. You can expect the following:Rates of AIDS and hepatitis B and C plummet.Local crime is cut to a fraction.Some of the junkies stop dope on their own.They get jobs and support their families without crime.The price of illegal drugs dive-bombs, and the dealers go out of business.The terrorists allegedly profiting from the illegal drug trade lose this source of revenue.Isn't that what you really wanted? Be honest now and say these words: LEGALIZATION OF DRUGS IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO ELIMINATE CRIME, IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH, AND PUNISH THE TERRORISTS.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Rambler on September 30, 2001 at 02:59:56 PT
What about this article?
http://commondreams.org/views01/0929-07.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by qqqq on September 30, 2001 at 01:04:31 PT
More
Yup.......I'm afraid we will be remembering the good old days,,before the War on Terror took over for the good ol' normal drug war....... You may have noticed from the previous linked article,,that the DrugPig pols are not gonna let this opportunity pass them by........And,,instead of hearing the dimestore argument that legalization of Marijuana,or drugs will "send the wrong message to children",,or all the other crackpot excuses against reforming the laws,,,,we will now hear the antis/drugPigs,waving the flag of the "War on Terrorism",and claiming that legalization of Marijuana,would compromise the war on terror,(which is actually a war on freedom).............
.Autumn is here..get a warm coat,,put a log on the fire,,,find someplace to hide...batten down the hatches, ,,,and get ready for strangest winter of your lives....................I have always tried to avoid bringing religion into my comments,,,but I am one who believes in very biblical way,,and I am very intrigued by the Book of Revelations...If ever there was a likely Beast,the one that the US corporate/military government is becoming,,seems to be a very likely candidate.........."Strange days indeed,,Most peculiar mama." ,(from a John Lennon song).
............................................................................................................d.................................................................................................................d...................................................................................................................................................d............................................................................d
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by fixjuxa on September 30, 2001 at 00:39:29 PT:
Yeah man, these are fucked up times indeed.
  My thoughts exactly dddd. Everyday since the terrorist attacks I've been feeling worse and worse about the situation. The whole War on Drugs/War on Terrorism cocktail bullshit isn't making me feel any better, needless to say. It's almost come time to kick back and welcome the end of existence.
 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by dddd on September 30, 2001 at 00:31:36 PT
Good article on the topic
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/204.html#politicos
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by dddd on September 30, 2001 at 00:27:58 PT
Notice
...The War on Terrorism,is being woven into the War on Drugs.........Terrorism = Drugs,,,,,Drugs = Terrorism. ...The War on Drugs,,and the monstrous War on Terror,,are going to be melted into one huge lunatic behemoth!...The mother of all wars!...Dark times are ahead.....It aint gonna be pretty.....nope, not pretty at all.......... indeedddd
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment