Narcotics & Arms Trafficking in Afghanistan T

Over the past thirty years, Afghanistan has sustained itself largely from the proceeds of a clandestine or black market economy based on the production, processing and export of opium, heroin and other narcotic drugs and the smuggling of arms and other goods. These activities have developed out of the devastation, political fragmentation and economic dislocation produced by nearly thirty years of civil unrest and the Soviet invasion and ten year occupation of Afghanistan (1979-1989), and their tumultuous and violent aftermath. The drug and arms trade and associated political extremism have had seriously deleterious effects on the nations thereby impacted by them, especially those which border Afghanistan. As the events of September 11, 2001 demonstrate, the close nexus between illicit narcotics and arms sales and terrorism suggest that they are an inseparable part of an immediate and serious threat to political stability in the region and elsewhere. Past efforts to curb such operations have been undertaken on a piecemeal basis. Effective solutions require a much higher degree of internal unity within Afghanistan and international cooperation than it has been possible to attain in the recent past.

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ar province were promulgated. This was mostly pretense, since a 20 percent zakat or tax on wealth imposed on the drug trade has been the Taliban's principal source of revenue and practically its only source of foreign exchange. Newsweek (1999) said the Taliban's drug-eradication efforts "lack credibility" (p. 40). Ganguly (1999, March 22) said "a bumper crop and thriving [opium] traffic belie the Taliban's claims to be fighting drugs" (p. 22). Rashid (1997, May 1) said the Taliban had made some effort to discourage domestic consumption on religious grounds, but has had no hesitation in 'drugging the infidels' (Drug, p. 25). The Northern Alliance, which has been battling the Taliban regime since 1995, also deals in illicit drugs and produces three percent of the opium cultivated in Afghanistan (Rubin, 2000, p. 1793). Impact Abroad of Afghani Drug and Arms Exports and Terrorism General. The growth in illicit trade in drugs, arms and other smuggled goods from Afghanistan and associated facilities in Pakistan has assumed very substantial proportions. The drug trade is increasingly very well financed and sophisticated in its operations. Total revenues from drug exports are estimated to be in the billions of dollars range. The drug
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Approximate Word count = 5503
Approximate Pages = 22 (250 words per page)

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