Afghan opium trade has India worried

[Minstrel Boy]

Afghan opium trade has India worried

TIMES NEWS NETWORK< FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2004 11:59:55 PM >

NEW DELHI: The failure of the US to put an end to the reign of druglords in Afghanistan may cost India dearly. The sharp increase in opium cultivation in Afghanistan by a whopping 60% over the last one year is giving sleepless nights to Indian drug enforcement agencies.

The concern stems from the fact that most of the consignments of heroin seized in India in recent months originated in the war-ravaged Afghanistan and found their way into the country though the Indo-Pak border along Punjab.

"It's an alarming situation since we think the drug peddlers and mafia operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan route may try to offload more contraband into India in the wake of a bumper harvest," said an official of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Opium production in Afghanistan was encouraged by the Taliban regime and its mentors in the ISI. The failure of the US to establish its grip over the entire country, with Taliban remnants continuing to call shorts over vast patches, has allowed the drug syndicates to carry on with their lucrative trade.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/970601.cms

That's not exactly true, as the Taliban virtually eradicated opium production before the invasion. Now, about Pakistan's ISI:

Role of ISI questioned in Senate

By Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD, Nov 30: The opposition on Tuesday questioned the "unlimited powers and political role" of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) while ministers and members of the ruling coalition tried to defend the working of the military's intelligence agency.

Speaking on a motion moved by the opposition to discuss the recruitment policy of the ISI, People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar said the ISI had become a "state within state" and the time had come to review its charter and to evolve a mechanism to monitor its activities.

...

"If this is not a state within state, what else is it," he asked. The PPP senator recalled hearings in the US Senate in March 2003 and said Republican Senator Dana Rohrabacher had asked "How would you characterize ISI's involvement in opium business on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border over the last six years" and in reply a former US ambassador termed this involvement "substantial".

He said the intelligence agencies were also accused of involvement in sectarian violence in the country. He read out excerpts from a report of the Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee for Religious Affairs' of September 26, 1994.
http://www.dawn.com/2004/12/01/top2.htm

[Wilber_Stool]

1. I believe that t this statement

Opium production in Afghanistan was encouraged by the Taliban regime and its mentors in the ISI.

is completely wrong. Didn't the Taliban eliminate the production of opium?

[madrchsod]

5. yes

[Minstrel Boy]

6. right. It's the warlords who displaced them

who are the narco criminals.

[TahitiNut]

15. The Taliban, under economic pressure from the Clinton administration ...

... brought opium production to a halt. For this, the US 'showered' them with money. It's this foreign aid that was a bone of contention at the outset of the invasion of Afghanistan. In a large sense, the responsiveness of the Taliban in this regard was a clear indicator that they were 'open for business' with the rest of the world - contrary to the Bushoilini Regime's contention that they couldn't be trusted or even negotiated with and that invasion was the only reasonable approach to capturing Osama. (We've seen how effective it's been in getting Osama, right?)

The Taliban were both populist and theocratic. Their adamance that any transnational pipeline remain the property of the people of Afghanistan is what (imho) really precipitated the invasion and the establishment of the current puppet regime - not Osama. Corporate interests not only wanted the services of a pipeline, they insisted on ownership and control with only a symbolic payment for the 'right of way.' Regimes which resist the pressure to become plantation states to global corporatism are the real targets - not their ideology or manner of governance. The latter is mere hyper-rationalization.

... at least that's how I see it. :shrug:

[number6]

2. Opiumstan, mission accomplished

drugs, guns, and warlords ...

[Webster Green]

3. It never seems to make it this far.....

Bummer!

[Career Prole]

4. Hell...India has our jobs and our paychecks,

they may as well have our foibles too. Did they really expect them to spend all that new-found dough on Nikes and CD's?
Speedball time, boys! The weekend's here!
"It's an alarming situation since we think the drug peddlers and mafia operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan route may try to offload more contraband into India in the wake of a bumper harvest," said an official of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

[razoroccam]

14. India has our jobs and paychecks

You may not be aware, but India is the worlds largest producer of legal opium. Any overflow, and it will go to the ultimate buyer, the US.
Drug trafficking is nothing to be smug about.

[Career Prole]

18. Of course not.

I'll keep that in mind should I feel the urge to be smug.
Welcome to DU. :hi:

[razoroccam]

20. Welcome

Thanks!

[seemslikeadream]

7. UN Warns of Increase in Heroin Overdose Deaths

Stable prices for heroin and a likely increase in the drug’s purity could lead to an increase in the number of overdose deaths, the UN drug agency warned today.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has alerted health officials globally about the risk, which comes after a survey indicated that opium production in Afghanistan increased by 64% during 2004 as compared to the previous year.

Such increases in the past have lead to a surge in the number of deaths related to the drug, the agency said.

“We know the worldwide supply will exceed demand for illicit heroin in 2005, and that an abundant supply of heroin is likely to result in rising levels of purity and substantial increases in the number of drug-related deaths,” agency director Antonio Maria Costa said.

“This is already happening in northern Russia,” he said.

more
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3898680

[Carl Brennan]

9. Nice catch sld. Looks like the CIA is back in business. No wonder

Bushboy wanted to get into Afghanistan so bad: oil and dope.

[seemslikeadream]

12. Opium flower honors President Reagan

From Afghanistan to El Salvador
Reagan's Dark Global Legacy
By DENNIS HANS

It is typical of Americans, unlike other peoples, to not truly appreciate someone until he or she passes away. Surely this is the case with our 40th president, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

True, long before he died his name was affixed to a California license plate, an aircraft carrier and a federal building. But all that amounts to small potatoes compared to the honors bestowed years earlier from a host of grateful nations and peoples. As we consider additional tributes to Mr. Reagan, let us recall some of the creative honors dreamed up by our international friends so that they'd never forget the man and his values.

o Afghanistan. "Ronnie Poppy." This opium flower honors President Reagan's contribution to the explosive growth of the Afghan heroin industry in the 1980s through his unconditional support for the most extreme Islamic fundamentalists who were justifiably opposed to the murderous Soviet occupation. When not battling the Red Army or rival guerrillas, or terrorizing civilians and shooting down non-military passenger planes, Reagan's favored fundamentalists cultivated opium, converted it into smack and supplied three-fourths of the junkies of Europe and one-third of the junkies of America. A tip of the Islamist hat to Ronnie for averting his eyes as the horse trade boomed and for refusing to use his considerable leverage to promote moderation or a negotiated settlement, thereby creating the conditions for continued chaos and the eventual emergence of a "failed state," which set the stage for a takeover by the Taliban, who rolled out the red carpet for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, who . . . Well, you know the rest of the story.

more
http://www.counterpunch.org/hans06072004.html


:hi: Carl

[Carl Brennan]

8. Opium production soared after Kharzai installed. Taliban reduced dope

by 90%



Opium production soared after Kharzai installed. Michel Chossudovsky article
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO205B.html

In 2000, the Taliban government under advice from the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) imposed a total ban on opium production. Prior to the ban, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Afghanistan produced more than 70% of the world's opium in 2000, and about 80% of opiate products (meaning heroin) destined to the European market.1

The annual proceeds of the Afghan Golden Crescent drug trade (between 100 and 200 billion dollars) represented approximately one third of the worldwide annual turnover of narcotics, estimated by the United Nations to be of the order of $500 billion.2

In many regards, the trade in narcotics as well as the drug routes to the European and North American markets are considered to be "strategic". There are powerful financial interests behind the drug trade, which have a pervasive influence, behind the scenes, on the conduct of US foreign policy.

These multibillion dollar revenues of narcotics were deposited in the Western banking system. Most of the large international banks -together with their affiliates in the offshore banking havens-laundered large amounts of narco-dollars. In other words, Afghanistan, the poorest country on earth, was the source of tremendous financial wealth derived from the drug trade to financial institutions, business syndicates and organised crime. Part of the drug related revenues accrue to the CIA, which continues to protect both the Asian and Latin American drug trade. Visibly, only a very small percentage of these revenues stays in Afghanistan. .
Following the year 2000 ban on poppy production imposed by the Taliban government, opium production collapsed by more than 90 percent, leading to a dwindling drug trade and substantial losses to the inters underlying this multibillion dollar trade including Western financial institutions.3 The Northern Alliance became the main political force involved in protecting the production and marketing of raw opium.

The Drug Trade Restored by the US Puppet Regime
While oil and oil pipelines out of the Caspian sea basin were undoubtedly a factor, the bombing of Afghanistan also served to restore the multibillion drug trade, which is protected by the CIA.
Immediately following the installation of the US puppet government under Prime Minister Hamid Kharzai, opium production soared, regaining its historic levels. According to the UNDCP, opium cultivation increased by 657 % in 2002 (in relation to its 2001 level). In 2001, opium cultivation had fallen to an estimated 7606ha.(See table below). It is currently estimated by the UNDCP to be of the order of 45 000 -65 000ha.

In the immediate wake of September 11, the price of opium in Afghanistan increased three-fold. By early 2002, the price (dollar/kg) was almost ten times higher than in the year 2000.4

[Carl Brennan]

10. Then the profits go to boost the US stock market

That's pretty much the claim of the former Assistant Secretary of Housing during the Bush administration, Catherine Austin Fitts.

See Narco-Dollars for Beginners "How the Money Works" in the Illicit Drug Trade Part I <http://www.narconews.com/narcodollars1.html>

Lest you think that my comment about the New York Stock Exchange is too strong, let's look at one event that occurred before our "war on drugs" went into high gear through Plan Colombia, banging heads over narco dollar market share in Latin America.

In late June 1999, numerous news services, including Associated Press, reported that Richard Grasso, Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange flew to Colombia to meet with a spokesperson for Raul Reyes of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), the Supposed "narco terrorists" with whom we are now at war.

The purpose of the trip was "to bring a message of cooperation from U.S. financial services" and to discuss foreign investment and the future role of U.S. businesses in Colombia.

Some reading in between the lines said to me that Grasso's mission related to the continued circulation of cocaine capital through the US financial system. FARC, the Colombian rebels, were circulating their profits back into local development without the assistance of the American banking and investment system. Worse yet for the outlook for the US stock market's strength from $500 billion - $1 trillion in annual money laundering - FARC was calling for the decriminalization of cocaine.

And Narco-Dollars for Beginners "How the Money Works" in the Illicit Drug Trade Part II <http://www.narconews.com/narcodollars2.html>


Well, if the Department of Justice is correct about $500 billion-to-1 trillion of annual money laundering in the US, then about $20-40 billion should move annually through the Philadelphia Federal Reserve District.

Assuming a 20% margin for the BIG PERCENTAGE profits and a 20 times multiple on the stock of the companies that Dave and his investors and banking partners were using to launder the money, let's look at how much of the stock market value would be "addicted" to the drug and money laundering profits flowing through the Philadelphia area.

The total stock market value generated in the Philadelphia area with $20-40 billion in narco retail sales would be about $80-160 billion. If you add all the things you could do with debt or and other ways to increase the multiples, and you could get that even higher, say $100-250 billion.

Assuming that there are 3 million people in the greater Philadelphia area, the total stock market value generated would average anywhere from $27,000-to-$85,000 per person. Imagine what would happen to the economy in Philadelphia if this stock market value suddenly disappeared because all the teenagers in Philadelphia stopped dealing or buying drugs?

[RawMaterials]

11. I'm pretty Shir i remember the us giving the taliban

a large sum of money because they did such a good job of eradicating opium. maybe in 2000 or 1999

[Carl Brennan]

13. I'd like to see a link on that. I know the Bush Admin gave them

43 million in 2001 before 9/11.

[Deja Q]

16. Right after 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan, * refused to have the

poppy fields destroyed.

I'm still wondering WHY, what with *'s role model's "war on drugs" and all the other shoveled cattle cack...

[Minstrel Boy]

17. Why? Because oil is not the only drug.

There's been much talk - though, like virtually every other important subject, not enough; and not by those who could do anything about it - regarding the significance of pipelines as motive for war in Afghanistan. (That Washington installed oil consultants as both the Afghans' titular ruler and the US emissary, and the long hoped-for pipelines are now under construction, didn't do much to dispel those wacky conspiracy theories.)

But there's another pipeline in Afghanistan, more important that those carrying oil and gas, because it doesn't merely make a convenient transit of the country. Afghanistan is the source for Central Asia's opium pipeline.

Oil may have reached $50 a barrel, but heroin is worth 12 times its weight in gold, and is by far the most profitable commodity on the markets. A kilogram of heroin, worth $1,000 in Thailand, has a street value of nearly $1 million. That's some mark-up. A kilogram of cocaine can cost as little as $65 to produce, with a street value of approximately $500,000.

You may not be able to run your car on them, but narcotics - or rather, the laundered proceeds of the international drug trade - is the fuel for the sick engine of our great financial institutions.

More: http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2004/09/oil-is-not-only-drug.html

[kk897]

19. MB: what *haven't* you looked into?

MB, you and some of the others here interested in Deep Politics are the best. I'm a good researcher, but I hate to duplicate efforts. If someone such as myself were interested in supplementing your already terrific research, in what direction would you point?

edit: typo