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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Binny using Afghan heroin trade to finance self, hard boyz |
| 2004-12-06 |
| Osama bin Laden is using cash from the Afghanistan heroin market to finance his life on the run, paying bodyguards and buying off warlords in Pakistan, says a congressman who has visited the region. Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, Illinois Republican, said in an interview that bin Laden's al Qaeda terror organization is reaping $28 million a year in illicit heroin sales. Some of the money is funding bin Laden's fugitive status as he pops back and forth between Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas and Afghanistan's eastern mountain regions. "We now know al Qaeda's dominant source of funding is the illegal sale of narcotics," said Mr. Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee. Mr. Kirk said that, while bin Laden has lots of allies in the Waziristan tribal lands east of Kabul, Afghanistan, he does not speak the native tongues and cannot trust everyone as his entourage moves from place to place. "He is a foreigner in a strange land," Mr. Kirk said. "He must have money to buy off the local warlords. Operating a clandestine, heavily armed organization takes money and running narcotics is the natural way." A Pentagon adviser on drug policy said Mr. Kirk is "on target." "We know of individuals in Afghanistan who continue to fund al Qaeda with drug proceeds," the Pentagon adviser said. The congressman believes the way to catch bin Laden is to cut off his money. "We have to nail the drug-lord financing first," he said. "Once you hit his income, you head off his ability to pay local warlords." Bin Laden's major supplier, U.S. authorities say, is Haji Bashir Noorzai, a former Taliban financier who smuggles heroin from the Kandahar area to al Qaeda in Pakistan. The Pentagon adviser said Noorzai helped finance al Qaeda when it operated with the Taliban. The alliance continues to this day. In return for money, Noorzai gets al Qaeda operatives who move his drugs offshore. "If we are able to take out a couple of kingpins, suddenly bin Laden would have to miss a payment to his warlords," Mr. Kirk said. He said the U.S. obtains "credible reports" on al Qaeda and drugs from "people who have contact with the outer ring of the bin Laden organization." One piece of evidence of al Qaeda drug connection arose last winter, when the U.S. Navy intercepted small boats in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Pakistan and seized large quantities of heroin. Mr. Kirk said the U.S. military interrogated four crewmen and learned they were al Qaeda operatives taking the drugs to the United Arab Emirates. In Quetta, Pakistan, a kilo of heroin fetches $2,000; in the United Arab Emirates, the same quantity brings $10,000. "This was an attempt by al Qaeda to develop a downstream retail market at which they could increase their profits five times," he said. "[Bin Laden] requires his own protection, and the kind of security apparatus that he is supposed to have around him, that gives a very big signature," Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain told Reuters. "There is not an inch of South Waziristan or the tribal area which we have not swept time and again, and if he was here in the tribal areas, I can assure you that he wouldn't have escaped my eyes and ears." But the Pentagon adviser cautioned that "just because they throw up their hands and say he's not here, don't believe he's not." "You've got to remember that area has strong support for bin Laden." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #8 Hillbilly Heroin, OP? That stuff is evil..... Of course, so is the real thing. If I'm correct, doesn't Haji mean that he's done the whole goin' to Mecca thing? I love it when a holy guy pushes dope. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2004-12-06 5:25:53 PM |
| #7 Sorry Fred, but we make an EXCEPTIONAL heroin replacement. I took it for about five months before my wife complained about the personality change, and I quit. It's called Oxycontin, and you can become addicted to the stuff. Anything over about 50mg will screw with your mind as much as White Slag. There are a dozen or so others on the market, as well. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-12-06 2:04:26 PM |
| #6 Can't do it. Sorry. American-made white slag lacks Songun. We just can't compete... |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-12-06 10:39:52 AM |
| #5 well this is convenient. We could wrap up the war on drugs and the war on terror all at the same time just by stopping the movement of white slag around the globe. Here's an idea. Why don't we just manufacture this stuff - getting a big boost in our stock market which, btw we can use to fix social security and medicare - and then if someone is addicted, they can admit themselves for treatment and if that fails, they get a perscription for their ILLNESS. This would cause a huge decrease in crime, end multiple problems in our ghettos, decrease the spread of AIDS, and put both Kimmy and bin Laden out of business. Jeesh. We already realized that prohibition doesn't work. How many people have to die before we get a clue this time around? |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-12-06 9:40:45 AM |
| #4 I thought you were making a comment about howmany peoploe from RAND post here. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-12-06 9:33:25 AM |
| #3 's monday morning. We understand. :-) |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2004-12-06 9:30:31 AM |
| #2 Shit! I meant Rantburg (no, really, lol:) |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-12-06 9:28:36 AM |
| #1 I actually met Congressman Kirk last week, although in a different context and somewhat unexpectedly, so I forgot to mention support for the WOT. I thought afterwards to point him to Randburg:) He is a straight-shooter and good guy. From his web site: Congressman Kirk is a Naval Reserve intelligence officer who served during conflicts with Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia. He served four tours at sea and three in Panama. The U.S. Navy named Kirk 'Intelligence Officer of the Year' in 1999 for his combat service in Kosovo. Kirk flew on missions over Iraq and continues to serve one weekend a month in the Pentagon. He is the only member of Congress to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was an air crewman over Iraq during Operation Northern Watch. |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-12-06 9:26:21 AM |