Nexus - 1305 - New Times Magazine-pages

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USA, which encouraged these heroin barons during the Afghan war of the 1980s in order to spread heroin-addiction amongst the Soviet troops, is now using them in its search for bin Laden and other surviving leaders of Al Qaeda, by taking advantage of their local knowledge and contacts. These Pakistani heroin barons and their Afghan lieutenants are reported to have played an important role in facilitating the induction of Hamid Karzai into the Pashtun areas to counter the Taliban in November, 2001. It is alleged that in return for the services rendered by them, the USA has turned a blind eye to their heroin refineries and reserves.” USA, which encouraged these heroin barons during the Afghan allies to surge in the Spring of 2000 and sustain the ensuing jihad war of the 1980s in order to spread heroin-addiction amongst the _for a long time. Soviet troops, is now using them in its search for bin Laden and Washington's motivation is oil pipeline politics and the other surviving leaders of Al Qaeda, by taking advantage of their | economy. Essentially, Washington is determined to deprive local knowledge and contacts. These Pakistani heroin barons and Russia of a viable pipeline route through spiraling violence and their Afghan lieutenants are reported to have played an important __ terrorism, the political fallout of media accusations of Russian role in facilitating the induction of Hamid Karzai into the Pashtun war crimes. In the calculations of the Clinton Administration, a areas to counter the Taliban in November, 2001. It is alleged that US-assisted escalation and expansion of the war in Chechnya in return for the services rendered by them, the USA has turneda __ should deliver the desired debilitation of Russia. blind eye to their heroin refineries and reserves.” The Clinton Administration believes that the spiraling violence in the Caucasus will scare Western investors and oil buyers from A third major narcobaron selected by the CIA, according to making deals with Russia. Meanwhile, with the sudden US Raman, was Haji Abdul Qadeer: attempted rapprochement with Iran, the Clinton Administration is ...Haji Abdul Qadeer was the CIA's choice [in 2001] as the heralding the Azerbaijani southern route (with a little detour in Governor of the Nangarhar province in which Jalalabad is Iran) as seemingly feasible. And so, in the Summer of 2000, the located... Clinton Administration keeps fanning the flames of the Islamist ...during the first Afghan war against the Soviet troops inthe jihad in the Caucasus through covert assistance, tacit 1980s, he played an active role under the control of the CIA and __ encouragement of allies to actively support the mujahedin, as well the Directorate-General for External as the orchestrating of an intense media Security (DGES), the French external campaign against Russia and its conduct intelligence agency, in organising the in Chechnya." heroin trail to the Soviet troops from It would appear that the heroin refineries of Pakistan owned As the US Department of State noted by Haji Ayub Afridi, the Pakistani | Corruption was being used in 2005: ravers hror whe etc! | a a political tool screen Us im [emphasis added]. Abdul Qadeer and to weaken and subvert oil is key to our objectives of diversifying Afridi became very close associates in the Soviet Union world oil supplies, providing a solid base running this drug trade with the blessings of the CIA. Amongst others who were associated with this trade were Haji Mohammed Zaman and The Bush Administration committed Hazrat Ali... an estimated $1.5 billion to the Caspian basin area, including an $11 million program to train a "pipeline protection battalion" for If Raman is correct, therefore, the CIA not only blessed but the special Georgian unit created to protect the Georgian section directed the flow of drugs from Afridi, Zaman and Abdul Qadeer — of the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline.* Dilin « for the regional economy, and promoting US energy security. Inta tha It would appear that corruption was being used as a political tool to weaken and subvert If Raman is correct, therefore, the CIA not only blessed but directed the flow of drugs from Afridi, Zaman and Abdul Qadeer into the hands of Soviet officers like Vladimir Filin and Aleksei Likhvintsev.” It would appear that corruption was being used as a political tool to weaken and subvert the Soviet Union. The MetaGroup's Geostrategic Goal: Maintaining the War of Terror The fact that the United States will use drug-traffickers as geostrategic assets does not at all mean that Washington and the traffickers will necessarily have the same agendas. In theory at least, the contrary should be true. Although the United States may have used known traffickers like Zaman and Qadir to regain access to Afghanistan, its stated ultimate goal, and the one assumed by the mainstream media, was to reimpose its own kind of order. Whether the country is Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Colombia or Kosovo, America's national interest is said to be to install and then protect pipelines. And pipelines require peace and security. The prime geostrategic goal of the drug traffic in Afghanistan and elsewhere is precisely to prevent peace and security from happening.“ It is true that the international illicit drug industry, like the international oil industry, is polymorphous and flexible, relying on diversified sources and markets for its products in order to maintain its global dominance. But for the global drug traffic to prosper, there must always be key growing areas where violence is ongoing and state order does not prevail. However, in speaking above of America's stated national interest, I do not assume that a US government will always represent that national interest. Something else has happened in recent decades: the growth of the drug trade to the point that it now represents a significant portion of national and international US Geostrategic Goals and Chechnya In the 1980s, CIA Director William Casey used narcotics to achieve two goals: the immediate goal of weakening the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and the long-term goal of financing Islamist resistance to break up the Soviet Union.” According to the partisan but well-informed observer Yossef Bodansky, director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, the US still pursues the goal of weakening and destabilising Russia. Writing in Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy (June-July 2000), he stated: As if reliving the "good ol' days" of Afghanistan of the 1980s, Washington is once again seeking to support and empower the most virulent anti-Western Islamist forces. The US crossed the line in mid-December 1999, when US officials participated in a formal meeting in Azerbaijan in which specific programs for the training and equipping of mujahedin from the Caucasus, Central/South Asia and the Arab world were discussed and agreed upon. This meeting led to Washington's tacit encouragement of both Muslim allies (mainly Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia) and US "private security companies" (of the type which did the Clinton Administration's dirty job in the Balkans while skirting and violating the international embargo the US formally supported) to assist the Chechens and their Islamist 24 = NEXUS the Soviet Union. www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2006