Pubdate: Mon, 03 Dec 2001
Source: The Post and Courier (SC)
Copyright: 2001 Evening Post Publishing Co.
Contact:   http://www.charleston.net/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567

DON'T NEGLECT DRUG WAR

The war on terrorism is intricately linked to the war on drugs. Al-Qaida 
has reportedly taken part in the illicit drug trade to raise funds, and its 
finances rely on money havens that also serve drug lords. That is why two 
recent developments deserve close attention.

Reports from Afghanistan say local farmers are on the verge of resuming 
large-scale poppy cultivation and opium production. Stopping the drug trade 
should be a major objective for the United Nations in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the demands of homeland security have caused a major fall-off in 
drug interdiction efforts by the U.S. government.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. James M. Loy estimates that the Coast Guard has 
reduced its drug enforcement efforts by 75 percent since Sept. 11 as the 
service's ships and aircraft have concentrated on protecting U.S. ports 
against the possibility of terrorist attacks.

The shift in resources could have one involuntary benefit by providing a 
test of the effectiveness of interdiction as a means of reducing drug 
imports. The nation should soon see the results of easing the Coast Guard's 
aggressive drug interdiction efforts in the Caribbean region.

The political change in Afghanistan, another consequence of the war on 
terror, offers farmers the possibility of quick profits from growing poppy 
crops banned by the Taliban (which was suspected of profiting from 
warehouse stocks of opium produced before its poppy ban went into effect). 
Strong remedial action will be required to stop a new flood of drugs.

Poppy growing in Afghanistan is half a world away from the cocaine 
factories of the Andean nations. But both activities underscore the 
worldwide nature of the parallel threats of the drug trade and 
international terrorism. The weapons needed to fight both - better 
intelligence, stronger tools against money laundering, improved tools for 
securing national borders - are similar. The war on terrorism deserves 
first priority, but the war on drugs should not be neglected.
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