Occupation Forces Support Afghan Narcotics Trade

The proceeds of this lucrative multibillion dollar contraband are deposited in Western banks. Almost the totality of revenues accrue to corporate interests and criminal syndicates outside Afghanistan. The Golden Crescent drug trade, launched by the CIA in the early 1980s, continues to be protected by US intelligence, in liaison with NATO occupation forces and the British military. In recent developments, Brit- ish occupation forces have promoted opium cultivation through paid radio advertisements. "A radio message broadcast across the province assured local farmers that the Nato-led International Secu- rity Assistance Force (ISAF) would not interfere with poppy fields currently being harvested. "Respected people of Helmand. The soldiers of ISAF and ANA do not destroy poppy fields," it said. "They know that many people of Afghanistan have no choice but to grow poppy. ISAF and the ANA do not want to stop people from earning their livelihoods." ( Quoted in The Guardian, 27 April 2007) While the controversial opium ads have been casually dismissed as an unfortunate mistake, there are indi- cations that the opium economy is being promoted at the political level (including the British government of Tony Blair). Please go to the link below for this very interesting article: © Copyright Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2007 The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=5514 © Copyright 2005 GlobalResearch.ca

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