Were drugs another reason America entered Afghanistan?
By: Dr. Samori Swygert
I hate to be accusatory, but you must always ask questions to distill truth from situations. I was reviewing some old articles I read from the The Economist magazine (a very reputable geopolitical news source). July 14th, 2005, the Economist magazine published an article entitled; After Victory, defeat- Nature takes a malign hand.
This is the link: http://www.economist.com/node/4174642
The ulterior motive and “high” hopes
Afghanistan’s geographical landscape is home to one of the largest supplies of poppy from which opium is produced. The United States engaged the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the tragedy of 9/11. This led to a witch hunt for Osama Bin Laden across various regions of the Middle East. America ultimately landed in Afghanistan.
According to the article in the Economist, in one year alone in 2003, Afghanistan harvested 4,200 tonnes of opium. 1 Ton = 2000 pounds, and 1 kilo= 2.2 pounds. This translates into 3,817,800 KILOS of RAW opium in 2003 alone. The typical street value of a kilo averages ~$23,000 (give or take). $23,000 multiplied by 3,817,800 kilos = $87,809,400,000.00. Remember this is raw uncut, un-manipulated opium.
When I looked at that, I was forced to rethink a lot of things.
I remember reading an article in the New York Times about bags of “ghost money” being sent to Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. That article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/world/asia/cia-delivers-cash-to-afghan-leaders-office.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
I then recalled how General Colin Powell ruined his credibility by selling misinformation to the UN as a pretext for war against Sadaam Hussein, and accused him of possessing “weapons of mass destruction”. The war against Sadaam never revealed any such weapons, but America had disposed of one of their long-term targeted enemies.
The war on terror is a masterpiece of military, political, and capitalistic strategy. There are legitimate concerns that should be addressed as far as national security and defense. However, I can only look at the data supplied and form my own thoughts. That is called independent thinking and connecting the dots.
I won’t go further into speculation because it’s irresponsible and reckless to make accusations you can’t substantiate and prove. However, I’d like to know your thoughts, and if it perked your curiosity as well.
