British troops sent to stop al-Qaeda's drug funds

[maddezmom]

Mark Townsend in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan
Sunday February 26, 2006
The Observer


Opium from the region of southern Afghanistan where thousands of British soldiers are being deployed is helping to finance al-Qaeda operations, senior army officers believe.

Hundreds more troops are due to arrive in Helmand province this week. Disrupting al-Qaeda's funding stream from the poppy fields has emerged as a previously secret aim of the deployment.

Senior officers have confirmed briefings by the security services and Ministry of Defence officials on Helmand's role in the 'international terror network'.

The commander of the British Army in Afghanistan, Colonel Stephen Padgett, said the deployment would help protect Britain from terrorists: 'There is an international terrorism issue. Al-Qaeda benefits from the narcotics trade that goes on.

more:http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1718130,00.html

[xchrom]

1. this is good only if

they are successful at getting a good cash flow for the farmers in the region from other sources.

[leesa]

2. Yup. The UAE is the only port in the world that accepts Afghanistan opium

for trade and laundering into cash for terrorist funding. George, could you help the soldiers out here?

Support the troops!

[High Plains]

5. Gee, I didn't know that.

Funny...I was under the impression that Afghan opium flows through:

Pakistan, to supply the Pakistani addict market.
Iran, to supply the Iranian addict market.
Iraq, to supply the Iraqi addict market, and then on to the West
The Stans, to supply the Central Asian and East European addict market.

I don't know about heroin flowing into the UAE, but since it is the commercial center of the Arab world and everything flows through there, I wouldn't be surprised.

[sofa king]

3. Oh, great. So now the Brits are fighting the CIA.

[USA_1]

4. Al-Qaeda & Drugs???

It's very difficult to believe that AQ is now a business partner in the CIA controlled drug trade. More likely, the claim is just another form of Bush propaganda designed to further "justify" continued occupation in that region.

[daleo]

6. Ironically, the Taleban had done a good job of cutting down on poppies

Just before the invasion.