A war on drugs and terror

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Global terrorism and international drug trafficking are partners. If we are to win the war against the terrorists, we must also win the war against the drug lords.

The most recent United Nations report on drug production in Afghanistan concluded that opium production generated $2.3 billion in 2003. This report also acknowledged that al Qaeda and the Taliban generate revenue from Afghan drug production. It is clear from these and other field reports that the resurgence of terrorism in Afghanistan and, indeed, in other parts of the world, is at least partly funded from illegal drug trafficking. If the international community fails to adequately address this narco-terrorist threat, democracy and stability in Afghanistan will fail and the threat of narco-terrorism likely will spread.

When coalition forces in Afghanistan discover arms caches, they often find indications of drug trafficking, such as opium stores, safe houses, and information that reflects the methods by which drugs and terrorists move in and out of Afghanistan.

A conservative assumption that the terrorists take 10 percent of the Afghan drug profits means they generated at least $200 million in 2003 from drug trafficking alone. Despite their defeat on the battlefield, the terrorists continue generating revenue to fuel their worldwide operations.

The relationship between Afghan drug trafficking and terrorism is real and growing. A tenet of the war on terror is understanding that the international community must combat the terrorists' ability to generate revenue to fund their operations, logistics, travel and weapons procurement. So long as they are able to freely generate these funds, their efforts to buy weapons, information, logistical support and, perhaps, weapons of mass destruction will remain unhindered. Ominously, other terrorist groups, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Jemaah Islamiah and state actors such as North Korea are learning drug trafficking provides large amounts of cash for other nefarious purposes.

Terrorists generate revenue from drug trafficking with frightening ease. In Afghanistan, for example, they generate revenue by "taxing" farmers and local officials a percentage of the revenue from opium production. Additional revenue comes from taxing the transportation or processing of the opium or, alternatively, providing transportation for hire.

The routes by which the traffickers move drugs throughout Afghanistan are similar, and sometimes, identical, to the routes by which terrorists move and operate. Historically, Afghan-produced opium was transported to Europe and Russia north through the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Additionally, drugs are moved east through Iran and west through Pakistan. Proceeds are not deposited in regulated financial institutions, but, rather, the informal "banks" al Qaeda continues using to move its resources.

The tools the international community uses to combat drug trafficking are identical to those needed to combat this terrorist resurgence. For example, 11 nations work together in the Caribbean with U.S. federal law enforcement agencies, the intelligence community and the Defense Department to collect, analyze and disseminate information on the clandestine movement of ships, planes and people possibly carrying drugs.

This effort, led by the United States' Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West, Fla., includes a unique international cooperation. Under this headquarters, nations pool resources ships, planes and law enforcement, intelligence and military resources to locate suspect shipments and interdict them for prosecution.