Drug Trade in Afghanistan and Its Effects on Terrorism - Assignment Example

Drug Trade in Afghanistan and Its Effects on Terrorism Introduction 9/11 attacks on the American nation forced NATO and American army to intervene militarily in Afghanistan against the terrorists in 2001. Since then US and the allied forces are fighting fiercely in Afghanistan against Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The battle for control on Afghanistan is still being fought with no clear conclusion visible. The war in Afghanistan has consumed many American lives as well as the lives of local people since its inception back in 2001. An important dimension to this war in Afghanistan is the drug lord mafia of the country and the role they play in the Afghan War. This is an important dimension of the war which is often ignored by the mainstream media. Terrorists continue to attack American and Allied soldiers in Afghanistan due to the financial support of drug lords and mafia members. These players have a significant role to play in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan because of the financial strength they enjoy due to their control on the drug trade. In this paper, the role of drug lords in the war against terror in Afghanistan will be explored. The aim is to find out how drug mafia helps Taliban and Al-Qaeda in their attacks against both American and local people. The domestic terrorism created by drug lords against American soldiers and native population will be revealed in the paper. Background of Drug Mafia in Afghanistan For a very long time, Afghanistan has been infested with drug trade. The lucrative opportunity drug trade has to offer attracted many people towards this illicit business. All this gave rise to drug mafia in the country. This mafia is controlled by drug lords who have become very strong over the course years by dealing in drugs. Afghanistan is the top producer of opium all over the world (IRIN News, 2004). The drug trade in Afghanistan started back during the era of Soviet Union in Afghanistan in late 1970s. This was the first time when drug trade flourished in the region because Afghan commanders needed to finance their resistance and found no easier way than to cultivate opium in different parts of the country (IRIN News, 2004). Since then drug lords have existed in the country because opium business is very lucrative for these drug lords and it offers them money no other would offer them. After Soviet Union existed from the region in late 1980s drug lords started their own battles for turf control. This led to an exponential increase in drug trade in the country. There was no centralized power in the country and therefore drug lords created their own territories. Drug lords fought to gain more turf and their battles were finance by the money that came from drug trade. During a brief period of Taliban rule in 2000 and 2001 drug trade was curbed to great extent (UN survey, 2004). This was mainly because of the compliance of Taliban leader Mullah Omar with the leaders of the world on the issue of drug trade in Afghanistan. But all this ended when United States of America attacked Afghanistan in 2001 and drug lords came back into power. Again they used the money from drug trades to wage war against the American and Allied soldiers. Drug trade still continues to plague the country as many farmers are involved in drug trade. Drug lords control large areas and facilitate the production of opium and other drugs. It is a win-win situation for the local farmers and drug lords because of the lucrative returns these dangerous drugs have to offer. From this money drug lords wage war against the native population, on suspicion of any support given to American soldiers, and against soldiers. Link between Domestic Terrorism against US Army and Drug Trade Domestic terrorism against the US army is strongly linked to drug trade in Afghanistan. Drug trade allows Taliban commanders and other drug lords to purchase weapons and fuel their resistance against American and Allied forces. Terrorists have no way but to finance their war and they use drug money to do so. It is a cheap way to get large sums of money and therefore drug trade has infested Afghanistan significantly after 2001. Drug lords have built an effective system through which they deal in drugs and finance their wars. Different territories are controlled by different drug lords and groups, and therefore it has become extremely difficult for American and Allied forces to curb the cultivation of opium in the country. There is no centralized mafia that controls drug trade in the country as many drug lords and commanders hold different areas. This is the main reason why drug trade in the country is done openly without any problem or restrictions in open markets (Nguyen, 2012). The money generated is used to buy arms and ammunition which is used against the US army and NATO forces in the country. Another important dimension of drug trade vis-à-vis domestic terrorism against US soldiers is that through drug trade terrorists have been able to gain a great support from the native population. The financial returns that drug trade offers force farmers to cultivate opium on their lands. The money they earn improves their lifestyle which is why they are also interested in cultivating drugs (IRIN News, 2004). Farmers of the country are not willing to stop growing opium because of the great benefits it has to offer. Through this way, terrorists have gain public support as regular farmers see terrorists as their friend and NATO forces as their enemies (or anyone who stops or hints to stop their lucrative business). This is how drug trade is being used in the region to gain wide spread public support. People of the country know that American soldiers do not allow opium cultivation and this threatens their lifestyle. This is why they implicitly support the terrorists and have their sympathies with them. Local public support plays an important role in the war against terrorism because native population can play a role in pointing out terrorist hideouts and locations. Local farmers are not willing to cultivate any other crop than opium in their fields (IRIN News, 2004). This gives rise to a serious conflict of interests for the local farmers and population. Their lifestyle is improved because of the drug trade and terrorists facilitate in overall drug trade. This is why it is not in the interest of local farmers that terrorists lose power in the region. Local public support is therefore with the terrorists and not with the Allied forces because it is the terrorists that offer a chance to lead a good life to farmers and their families. This is how drug trade affects terrorism against US and Allied forces. Terrorists are able to gain financial support through drug trade and any attempt to restrict the drug trade is resisted by local farmers. This is why drug trade is still a major problem in the country and is also plaguing the control of US and Allied forces in Afghanistan. Domestic Terrorism against Local Population and role of Drug trade Terrorists also attack local population in order to punish people who are suspected of supporting the American and Allied forces. These attacks are done in order to ensure that natives do not help foreign army in any way. This reign of terror has also been established from the money earned through drug trade. Taliban attacks on local civilian population are very common. Mostly the victims of these attacks are police and security forces of Afghanistan (Hopkins, 2013). Security personnel are mostly attacked using AEDs which are made or bought by drug money. Security personnel are also seen as western allies and therefore are targeted regularly by terrorists. This is how domestic terrorism is closely associated with drug trade. Terrorists also regularly attack humanitarian workers as they see then as infidels and western agents (King &Tran, 2010). These workers only aim to help the local population by providing them with medicine and other necessities of life. But terrorists do not want local population to receive such help as it will hurt their hegemony in the region. They want to remain in power and this can only be achieved if the local population is weak and inferior. This is another dimension of domestic terrorism. The same terrorists are involved in illicit activities like drug trade and deal with foreigners who help them smuggle the drugs out of Afghanistan but they don’t allow local population to take any help from foreigners. They don’t want a good image of foreigners in the hearts and minds of local population as it will make it difficult for them to recruit new soldiers for their war. There is clear evidence that terrorists in Afghanistan regularly coerce farmers to grow opium (Dodd, 2010). This is also a dimension of domestic terrorism in Afghanistan. Terrorists force farmers to grow drugs so that they can finance their war. This shows how domestic terrorism is closely linked to drug trade. Terrorists use all means at their disposal to coerce farmers in growing opium for their own benefit. Farmers have no choice but to follow the instructions of terrorists and therefore this is also a form of domestic terrorism. Taliban also use drugs to purchase weapons directly. There is evidence that Taliban commanders exchange drugs with weapons with drug smugglers (Starkey, 2008). This is how they fight their wars and they use the same weapons to force farmers to grow more drugs. The terrorists have made a system that is very difficult to break for American and Allied forces. Drug trade cannot be stopped because terrorists force farmers to grow drugs. Terrorists cannot be stopped because they have weapons that they have purchased through drug trade. This is why it is extremely difficult to fight terrorists in the country. Conclusion Drug trade in Afghanistan is growing rapidly and it is directly linked to domestic terrorism against NATO forces and local population. Terrorists use drug trade to finance their operations. They force terrorists to grow drugs and use these drugs to buy weapons. The terrorists have made a system that is difficult to penetrate. Drug trade is also used by terrorist to gain local support of civilians against the foreign army. The benefits that drug trade has in store for farmers make them attractive. Farmers that are not interested in drug trade are forced to grow drugs. Drug trade is closely related to terrorism and therefore it should be targeted in order to stop terrorism in Afghanistan. References Afghanistan: The risk of losing the peace. (2004). IRIN News. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?IndepthId=21&ReportId=62938 Dodd, M. (2010). Taliban drug cartels, not poverty, forcing Afghan farmers to grow opium. The Australian. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/taliban-drug-cartels-not-poverty-forcing-afghan-farmers-to-grow-opium/story-e6frg8yo-1225977830359 Hopkins, N. (2013). Taliban kill 1,100 members of Afghan security forces in six months. The Guardian UK. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/23/taliban-afghan-security-forces-nato King, L. & Tran, M, T. (2010). Taliban ambush kills aid workers. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/08/world/la-fg-afghan-ambush-20100808 Nguyen, D. (2012). The geopolitics of drug trafficking in Afghanistan. Open Democracy. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.opendemocracy.net/daniel-nguyen/geopolitics-of-drug-trafficking-in-afghanistan Press Briefing. (2004). Press Conference on Afghanistan Opium Survey 2004. United Nations. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2004/McCleanBriefing_041118.doc.htm Starkey, J. (2008). Drugs for guns: how the Afghan heroin trade is fuelling the Taliban insurgency. The Independent UK. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/drugs-for-guns-how-the-afghan-heroin-trade-is-fuelling-the-taliban-insurgency-817230.html Read More