Russia Lashes Out at NATO for Protecting Afghan Drug Production

Russia Lashes Out at NATO for Protecting Afghan Drug Production

rt.com

The US refusal to destroy opium poppy crops in Afghanistan guarantees that raw drug sources there will be inviolable, leading to heavy drug use in Russia, the head of the Russian federal drug control agency said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This article may provide clue about why NATO & CIA is hellbent to protect the poppy farm. The article goes on to mention

The amount of narcotics brought into Russia has increased two-fold since the beginning of the anti-terrorism operation in Afghanistan, Viktor Ivanov, Russian Federal Drug Control Service chief, said on Saturday.

“Afghan heroin amounts to 90% of all drugs sold in Russia. Annual supplies stand at 35 tonnes or 5 billion shots,” Ivanov said, as quoted by Interfax news agency.

Now consider this news which may provide a glimpse of the unconditional support for Georgia by NATO "led" countries.

MOSCOW -- The territory of Georgia has been turning into one of powerful ways of drug trafficking to Russia, leader of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service (FDCS) Viktor Ivanov said at a meeting of its collegium on Saturday.

“The key directions of drug trafficking go through the area of water of the Black and Caspian Seas with the use of the sea ports of Iran (Enzeli, Nowshahr), Turkey (Istanbul, Trabzon), Turkmenistan (Turkmenbashi) and Azerbaijan (Baku), as well as the transit potential of the territory of Georgia,” he said.

“The ports of Batumi and Poti became the main ones in drug trafficking, and the Georgian city of Kabuleti - - one of the key points of trafficking of Afghan heroin,” the FDCS director said.

Drug Trafficking to Russia Transits through Georgia

What this would mean is even though the drums of war with Iran are loudest efforts are underway to achieve the final goal, weaken Russia & China.

rt.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 28-2-2010 by December_Rain]

I've thought of this on many occasion. You sire are probably very correct in your assertion that one of the reasons was to destabilize multiple nations. I think in essence America's leaders have seen this economic collapse coming so they need every edge they can should anyone choose to collect on their debts; which obviously we'd be unable to repay.

reply to post by December_Rain


Damn!

The Taliban have been making huge profits on the Russian youths since the start of the war. It's a good thing NATO has stepped in, maybe they'll eliminate the crops.

Or should we just leave Afghanistan?

I think the Russian mob and the Chinese will do just fine after we leave. Remember there are billions to be made.

I've been following this for a while now.

UN report: Russia becomes largest market for Afghan heroin

Published 23 October, 2009, 01:02 Edited 28 February, 2010, 04:18

Russia has become the biggest consumer of Afghan heroin with 21% of all the drug consumed in the world, as of the latest UN Office on Drugs and Crime report “Addiction, Crime and Insurgency” published on October 21.

According to the report, no less than 70 tons of heroin were trafficked to Russia in 2008 – that’s three times more than to the US and Canada together, and much more than previously estimated.

“It's being brought to Russia across the unprotected, transparent, and I would call them virtual borders, which were established after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” says Viktor Ivanov, head of the Federal Drug Control Service.

Heroin Trafficking

At present, opium poppies are mostly grown in Afghanistan, and in Southeast Asia, especially in the region known as the Golden Triangle straddling Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Yunnan province in the People's Republic of China.

The majority of the heroin consumed in the United States comes from Mexico and Colombia. Up until 2004, Pakistan was considered one of the biggest opium-growing countries.

Problems shooting up in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s opium production is used to fund insurgencies against invading U.S. forces. The money from Afghan opium trickles through everyone in the country — from farmers to police to government officials. Outside the country, Afghan opium production is a $65-billion industry.

Afghanistan is now responsible for 92 percent of the world’s opium supply.

Most of this supply is distributed throughout Pakistan, Russia, Europe and China. Russia has been hit hard with heroin use, as deaths resulting from AIDS have exploded from 1,900 people in 2001 to 40,000 in 2007, 80 percent of which resulted from dirty needles.

The U.S. war in Afghanistan strongly influences Russia’s rising heroin statistics. After the U.S. went into Afghanistan, the Taliban needed more weapons and money, facilitating increased opium production. Russian gangsters trade military weapons with Taliban drug lords for heroin, fueling the vicious cycle with the U.S. military.

Source

Russia is the world's top consumer of Afghan heroin. Last month President Dmitry Medvedev warned that high drug use amongst the country's youth was a threat to national security.

Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, said AIDS still carried heavy stigma in Russia and the government needed to address this.

"Something in society is malfunctioning and it is unable to talk aloud about weaknesses," he said.

11.5 kg of Heroin Seized in SE China

2009-08-25
Police in the southeastern Chinese border town of Zhuhai have recently seized 11.5 kilograms of heroin and arrested five suspected drug traffickers, Xinhua News Agency reports.

It is reportedly the biggest drug case in China in three years. Besides the large amount of heroin, police also confiscated other drugs, raw materials, a pistol and 97 bullets.

CHINESE NOW DOMINATE NEW YORK HEROIN TRADE

Sunday, August 9, 1987
Chinese criminals have taken over the dominant role in New York City's heroin industry, in a sudden restructuring of a multibillion-dollar enterprise that for decades was the preserve of the Mafia, Federal law-enforcement officials say.

Authorities say ethnic Chinese traffickers have recently been flooding the New York market with huge shipments of Southeast Asian heroin, or China White, which is among the world's purest.

[edit on 28-2-2010 by SLAYER69]

So does that mean ,refearing to the headline, that NATO is on the CIA payroll?? I thought that was Poppy Bush's little gig.

Originally posted by SLAYER69
Damn the Taliban have been making huge profits on the Russian youths since the start of the war it's a good thing NATO has stepped in maybe they'll eliminate the crops.

US is not interested in putting a stop to Afghan drug production because that would create a lot more enemies and a lot more problems as far as they are concerned. The majority of the producers are actually warlords who are allied with the US and Karzai.

The drug issue is only going to get more attention going forward though. It is not only Russia that suffers - Afghan heroin also ends up in much of Western Europe as well as China. The US has a lot on its plate already with the Taliban and that is understandable, while Karzai's regime isn't going to do anything. It remains to be seen how much pressure Russia puts on them, but I doubt it will change anything.

Originally posted by maloy

Originally posted by SLAYER69
Damn the Taliban have been making huge profits on the Russian youths since the start of the war it's a good thing NATO has stepped in maybe they'll eliminate the crops.

US is not interested in putting a stop to Afghan drug production because that would create a lot more enemies and a lot more problems as far as they are concerned. The majority of the producers are actually warlords who are allied with the US and Karzai.

Hey thanks for the reply.

I would love it if you could throw us a link that may elaborate on that. I can't seem to find anything about it. I've heard something to that affect.

Thanks in advance.

PEACE

Slay

[edit on 28-2-2010 by SLAYER69]

this actually poses a very important question to me.

Why haven't we (or even the Russians in the 80's) simply wiped out all the poppy fields?

Isn't the fact that this "national export", one which causes thousands upon thousands of deaths both directly and indirectly every month enough to label this entire country, it's government and it's factions - Terrorists?

Last time I checked, we were in an international war against terrorism. To win a war you eliminate the enemy. You don't make deals with them! Napalm those goddamned fields. Kill those warlords and everyone that supports them. Arrest the profiteers and execute the traitors.

Hypothetically speaking - what exactly would happen (guess) if we went in and dropped tons of fuel-based ordinance on those fields?

Some would say the "but teh warlords would b out of control bcause lol!!1" Yes, but without anything to control there wouldn't be warlords now would there?

What would most likely happen is the CIA would lose funding for "operations" abroad and certain relationships would be compromised eh?

Is the power derived from controlling the flow of the world's most dangerous and profitable drug so important that we maintain decades of war, struggle and lives?

Yet the propaganda outlets continue to use drugs as an excuse for attacking the Taliban. In fact, Islamic fundamentalists have zero tolerance for drugs. It's President Karzai's own half-brother who's the kingpin.

www.rawa.org...

My knowledge of all this comes from my time as British Ambassador in Uzbekistan. I ... watched the Jeeps ... bringing the heroin through from Afghanistan, en route to Europe. I watched the tankers of chemicals roaring into Afghanistan.

The four largest players in the heroin business are all senior members of the Afghan government – the government that our soldiers are fighting and dying to protect.

-- Craig Murray - former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan

[edit on 28-2-2010 by Crito]

reply to post by Crito


Wow.

Hey thanks. I found this surprising. From your link.
I have a question. Where does all the Heroin go after it leaves Afghanistan and enters Iran?

The Times, November 24, 2007: "President Karzai's half-brother Wali, head of Kandahar's provincial council, continues to be accused by senior government sources, as well as foreign analysts and officials, as having a key role in orchestrating the movement of heroin from Kandahar eastward through Helmand and out across the Iranian border."

[edit on 28-2-2010 by SLAYER69]

Doesn't matter who blames who or whether its illegal or not. There is money to be made and people will jump at that opportunity.

If NATO destroyed the fields it would merely create more hatred and people willing to side with the Taliban. For most farmers, this is probably the biggest money making crop there is.

reply to post by jam321


You know I was thinking the same thing. What else is there in Afghanistan to sell?

Sand?

There is no oil. So whats the population to do?


[edit on 28-2-2010 by SLAYER69]

Almost forgot my proof...

The Obama administration's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan told allies on Saturday that the United States was shifting its drug policy in Afghanistan away from eradicating opium poppy fields and toward interdicting drug supplies and cultivating alternative crops.

"The Western policies against the opium crop, the poppy crop, have been a failure," the envoy, Richard Holbrooke, told reporters at the Group of Eight conference in the northern Italian city of Trieste, Reuters reported. "They did not result in any damage to the Taliban, but they put farmers out of work and they alienated people and drove people into the arms of the Taliban."

The Bush administration had put steady pressure on President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to step up eradication efforts, arguing that defeating the Taliban would require depriving it of drug revenue. But in recent years, some U.S. diplomats have argued that eradication was costly and difficult to carry out. And Karzai had resisted those efforts, arguing that crop substitution and foreign aid to stimulate the economy would be more effective.

www.cleveland.com...

Originally posted by SLAYER69
Hey thanks for the reply.

I would love it if you could throw us a link that may elaborate on that. I can't seem to find anything about it. I've heard something to that affect.

Thanks in advance.

Here is some information:

The U.S. had originally proposed spraying the Afghan poppy crop, as U.S. anti-drug agencies do in Central and South America. But Afghan President Hamid Karzai vetoed the idea as too destructive a measure to inflict on already impoverished farmers barely surviving after decades of conflict.

www.cbc.ca...

You can guess as to why Karzai is opposing destroying the crops. When there is so much money involved, I doubt that the new government isn't involved in the trade at least partially. After all, the production of Afghan heroin did increase substantially under their rule. Even if Karzai personally isn't involved, he fears reprisals against his regime from the influential warlords involved in the drug trade.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is facing hard times. As his brother fights accusations that he's involved in the country's rampant drug trade, an increasing number of Afghans are disappointed by their government. Many are starting to think about potential presidential successors.

...

His younger brother Ahmed Wali Karzai is influential among the Popalzai, a Pashtun clan, in Karzai's home province of Kandahar and is the chairman of the provincial council. It is believed the Ahmed Wali is also the head of a group involved in opium and heroin trafficking that smuggles drugs to the West through Iran and Turkey. Sources in security circles claim that he provides protection for drug transports in southern Afghanistan.

Karzai's Brother Under Drug Suspicion

KABUL, Afghanistan - Rebuffing months of U.S. pressure, President Hamid Karzai has decided Afghanistan will not implement a Colombia-style program to spray the country's heroin-producing poppies, bowing to pressure from top Cabinet members who feared a popular backlash, officials said Thursday.

Bucking U.S., Afghanistan won’t spray heroin

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is protecting narcotics traffickers in his country and impeding U.S. efforts to stop opium poppy cultivation in the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, a former U.S. state department official says.

In an article on the New York Times website, Thomas Schweich says Karzai is reluctant to move against political allies who profit from the opium trade, even though the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan is partly funded by poppy cultivation.

Afghanistan's Karzai soft on opium traffic, says former U.S. official


As for the US complacency surrounding heroin production, it is not as explit but is still evident. I am not claiming that US is in on it or takes part in it, but it is not doing anything to prevent either the production or the transport of drugs there. Despite Karzai's refusal, the US troops have the capability and the authority to destroy the crops, but they don't. Because a lot of the producers are Karzai's allies and are against the Taliban, the US is also interested in keeping them as allies, especially considering that they have armed militia and lots of local influence.


This is the trouble about Afghanistan - even if the Taliban is eradicated (and that is not happening anytimesoon), it will still be a clusterf*ck and one hell of a mess. The heroin problem will only intensify, and it will be so long before somebody gets fed up with it and takes the matters into their hands (be it China, Russia, or even Europe).

The US have dug themselves into a major mess for the long-term anyway you look at it. And while I support them for fighting the Taliban, ultimately it will be seen as their responsibility to deal with the drug problem. Also if US doesn't start doing something about the heroin production, Russia might reconsider allowing use of its airspace for resupply of troops in Afghanistan.

Originally posted by December_Rain

Russia Lashes Out at NATO for Protecting Afghan Drug Production

rt.com

The US refusal to destroy opium poppy crops in Afghanistan guarantees that raw drug sources there will be inviolable, leading to heavy drug use in Russia, the head of the Russian federal drug control agency said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Star and flag, needs to be said alright. I once spoke to a soldier who was there at first, and he said there were soldiers guarding the poppy fields. I tend to believe him, after all, America needs Her heroin, who know what would happen if the supply was suddenly cut off? Also, the CIA black projects would come to a screeching halt too!

reply to post by maloy


Star!
Very informative.

Thanks for supplying that info.


[edit on 28-2-2010 by SLAYER69]

Originally posted by jam321
If NATO destroyed the fields it would merely create more hatred and people willing to side with the Taliban. For most farmers, this is probably the biggest money making crop there is.

True. But this will come back to bite the US in the ass later I am sure of it, at least if the US troops remain there. You can solve a problem by substituting it with another problem, but that can only work for so long.

What are the local warlords who are producing and transporting drugs do with the money? Giving it out to their constituents and improving the people's standard of the living? No - they buy weapons and militia. And with Afghanistan being the a mix of tribal communities that it is, it isn't a far stretch to guess that alliances that are in place now will change. Afghan history attests to that very well. These warlords may not be shooting at Karzai's or US's troops now, but that can all change very quickly.

I understand that fighting the Taliban is the priority right now, but the US needs to change its stance towards the heroin producers very soon. Taliban was there 8 years ago, it is there today, and it will be there a decade from now very likely. Meanwhile the drug warlords is a new breed of scum that is taking root quickly, and if they are not stopped now they could create problems rivaling the Taliban.

[edit on 28-2-2010 by maloy]

It should also be mentioned that Russia's concern about the issue isn't just because of the heroin trade and the impact it is having on it's users in Russia. The heroin trade routes through Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia also serve as a backbone for the Chechen and other North Caucasus rebels. Along with the heroin and the money it brings, it also serves as supply of weapons and insurgents. During the Chechen Wars there has been a substantial number of rebels who had received training in Afghanistan, getting there and back by the same means as the drug traffickers. There are also a number of Afghani insurgents in Chechnya today.

The same groups that transport drugs into Russia through the Caucasus, also transport money and weapons from Middle Eastern sponsors to the Chechen rebels. This was well documented by Russians. This network runs very deep, and has ties that stretch all the way to Western Europe and possibly even North America, not to mention much of Middle East and even North Africa. The Chechen mafia that operates throughout Europe is believed to be alligned with the network of Afghani drug traffickers. The Albanian mafia are also believed to have a connection.

So as you can see the danger here is not only because of the inherent dangers of distributing illicit drugs. This operation serves as a support network for Chechen and Islamist insurgents and possibly terrorist cells in Europe. The longer it continues unobstructed, the further it is likely to spread. Chechen mafia is already notorious in Europe, and one can only guess as to what ties they have to European Al Quida cells.

[edit on 28-2-2010 by maloy]

Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by Crito

 

Wow.

Hey thanks. I found this surprising. From your link.
I have a question. Where does all the Heroin go after it leaves Afghanistan and enters Iran?

[edit on 28-2-2010 by SLAYER69]

It goes everywhere dude. Afghanistan is the worlds #1 producer of heroin right now. The USA is actually one of their number one customers as well so i wouldn't be surprised if the CIA was using it fund some of their operations like they did with coc aine during the Reagan administration.

reply to post by maloy

You can guess as to why Karzai is opposing destroying the crops. When there is so much money involved, I doubt that the new government isn't involved in the trade at least partially. After all, the production of Afghan heroin did increase substantially under their rule. Even if Karzai personally isn't involved, he fears reprisals against his regime from the influential warlords involved in the drug trade.

This latest offensive is called Operation Moshtarak (Dari for Together). Generally the objectives are as follows:

- The AQ will never be defeated but the goal is to render them ineffective by denying central population areas such as Kandahar and Marjah as bases of operation. If forced to the countryside they are much less able to launch sizable offensives.

-Deny the AQ access to the poppies. Helmand alone produces more heroin than any country on the planet, and Marjah is at the center of that trade. By some estimates, this center alone supplies the Taliban with a monthly income of $200,000.

-As AQ is forced out of population areas there is a governance vacuum taken over by agents of the Afghan government. Ie. Karzai will install a Government In A Can, pro Karzai and everything else Karzai stands for Inclucing Poppi Production!

For better or worse, everyone seems to either support or officially ignore the heroine production and the only ones apparently upset is the Russian government!