DRUG AND ARMS TRAFFICKING IN AFGHANISTAN.

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Paper Abstract: Analyzes the situation from 1973 to 2001. Posible solutions to problems created by drug and arms trafficking. Afghanistan black market economy (opium, heroin, arms) related to political & economic devastations. Civil unrest. Soviet invastion. U.S. backed revolt against Soviet rule. Drug eradication efforts. The Taliban. Impact of trafficking on other countries. Paper Introduction: NARCOTICS AND ARMS TRAFFICKING IN AFGHANISTAN This research paper describes and analyzes drug and arms trafficking in Afghanistan since 1973, places them in historical context, examines their effects outside of Afghanistan and discusses possible remedial solutions to the problems they have created. 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

1791). After the Taliban seized power of most of Afghanistan inSeptember, 1966, the Europa International Yearbook said "levels of[international] aid to Afghanistan fell markedly . It went on to state that since early 1997 "Kyrgyzstan wasconcerned by unrest on the country's border with the People's Republic ofChina caused by members of an organization called For a Free EasternTurkestan, which was seeking to create an Islamic state on the territory ofChina's Xinjiang Uygur (Uigur) Autonomous Region (p. 63). II (pp. 163). Meyer, K. (1999, October 4). Its degree ofinvolvement in the Afghan war drug trade is unclear. In 1997 the United Nations estimated that one millionAfghans were directly engaged in the opium trade (Afghanistan, 2 , p.356). Preliminary steps had been taken towardexploiting the nation's natural gas, oil and mineral resources. Much of the opium that enters Iran ends up in heroinprocessing laboratories in eastern Turkey and is later transhipped toEurope and Russia. . . Houston Chronicle News Service. (1992, July/August). They say India and the United States have a commoninterest in fighting terrorism and in promoting democracy, pluralism andsecularism (p. (1999,December 6). II (pp. Following the military coup in Pakistan in October 1999 led byGeneral Pervez Musharraf, relations between Pakistan and the Taliban havecooled. India has cooperated with the United Nations and the UnitedStates in attempting to stem the flow of drugs, arms and terrorism out ofAfghanistan and Pakistan. North, A. Karabekov, K. Ironically,successive moderate Pakistani regimes, acting through the ISI, channeledthe bulk of their support to the most radical and fundamentalist Islamicelements among the mujahiddin who Nydrop & Seekins (1986) said "wereideologically and organizationally the most coherent groups in theresistance" (p. Pakistan Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan were tense after 1948because of the disputed Durand line by which the British delineatedAfghanistan's eastern boundary with prepartition India and divided largePashtun populations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. A furor over the CIA anddrugs. Opium became the mostprofitable cash crop in Afghanistan. In defence: Kazakhstan: Defending Central Asia. (1999). MacDonald, S. NARCOTICS AND ARMS TRAFFICKING IN AFGHANISTAN This research paper describes and analyzes drug and arms traffickingin Afghanistan since 1973, places them in historical context, examinestheir effects outside of Afghanistan and discusses possible remedialsolutions to the problems they have created. These activities have developedout of the devastation, political fragmentation and economic dislocationproduced by nearly thirty years of civil unrest and the Soviet invasion andten year occupation of Afghanistan (1979-1989), and their tumultuous andviolent aftermath. (1996, November). Rashid, A. At times Iranian customs guards and armed caravans fromAfghanistan have fought pitched battles across the porous 19 kilometerborder.The Economist (1998, June 4) estimated that 3 , Iranian border guardshave been devoted to interdiction efforts and that 2,6 of them have beenkilled since 1983s (Ally, p. However,after 3 years of war, devastation, blood feuds and economic dislocation,they cannot do it alone but should be supported by the internationalcommunity to a massive degree. Land (1996) said that in 1996 "raw opium has . Rubin, B. B. In the Soviet Afghan war, the CIAwas encouraged, not discouraged, by Congress and was not lacking in fundsto support the Afghan resistance. Most of thecontraband passes through the wild, mountainous provinces of Khorassan andBaluchistan. Rashid, A. Afghanistan's drugtrade. 355). 3973). According to Rashid (1987), "communist attempts to impose acentralized regime clashed with the free, decentralized and religioustraditions of Afghan society" (The Afghan, p. Introduction Over its long history, the course of events within Afghanistan hasbeen powerfully influenced by its geographic location, forbidding highmountainous, rocky and barren terrain, at the crossroads of Central, West,and South Asia and astride the traditional invasion route into India fromCentral Asia and Persia. MacDonaldsaid that prior to the 1973 coup Kabul, the capital, also briefly became ahaven for 'turned-on' Westerners. Tournament of shadowsthe great game and the race for empire in Central Asia.Washington, D. (1986). Uzbekistan isshaping up as a major ally of the United States in the wake of theSeptember 11, 2 1 attacks. Those activities are alsoinextricably related to a particularly malignant form of radical Islamicfundamentalism which has no place in the modern world and potentiallythreatens international peace and stability. American encouragement. It appears to have suffered less thanits neighbors from the drug trade and Afghan-originating terrorism. The PRC joined with Russia, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, Tajikstan andUzbekistan in the Shanghai Pact of June 6, 2 1 under which they pledgedmutual cooperation against terrorism and extremism and the illegal drugsand arms trade (Pomfret, 2 1, June 16, p. Kyrgystan. Afghanistan the great gamerevisited. 159). 1).

Turkmenistan. 4 . B. Najibullah fellfrom power in early 1992. 46). In Central America, it has been accused but has deniedany active involvement in contra efforts to sell illegal drugs to streetgangs in Los Angeles (Heyboer, 1996, November, p. Opiumproduction rose from 4 metric tons in 1979 to 15 metric tons in 1989(Labrousse, 1999, p. Morgan, M. 46). The current Northern Allianceis too narrowly based (with ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks as its leaders) toserve as an adequate foundation for a post-Taliban government. (1995,Spring). (2 ). American Journalism Review, 18: 1 -11. Rashid (1999) saidthat between 1982 and 1992 35, Muslims volunteers from 43 countriesfought for the mujahiddin in Afghanistan (The Fires, p. C.: Counterpoint. The Wahabbi conservative Saudi school of Islam has influencedfundamentalist radicals in a number of Central and South Asian countries.In 1998 the Saudis broke off relations with bin Laden and recentlydiplomatic relations with the Taliban. (Ed.) (1987). Heyboer, K. Until the Taliban seized power, Rubin saidthe drug trade flourished unimpeded due to the existence of "highlyfragmented power and no effective central state" (p. 2 85-21 2). Land, T. E., & S. 38. The Afghan resistance: its background,its nature, and the problem of unity. (1997, December 1 ). In Europa International Yearbook 2 Vol. The holy men of heroin: Afghanistan has been ruined by war. Referring to the 199 s, Rubin (2 ) said that the drug-based economyin Afghanistan "developed in response to the demands of warlords forresources and of the Afghan people for survival in a country devastated byover 2 years of war" (p. Drugs, Arms and Resistance Before the political instability of the 197 s and the Soviet invasionAfghanistan was a poor country (annual per capita income in 1979 of $13 ,among the lowest in Asia) in which most persons derived their living fromsubsistence agriculture or nomadic herding (Amstutz, 1986), p. say, "a particular problem in India" (1995,Spring, p. Although in the early 198 s, Iran gave some assistanceto Shi'ite Muslim mujahiddin fighters, Iran currently opposes the effortsof radical Sunni Muslim fundamentalist groups in Afghanistan to spreadtheir doctrine and politics to Iran. . Asian leaders target Muslimextremists. Economist, p. London: Europa Publications.----------------------- 2 Over the past thirty years, Afghanistan has sustained itself largelyfrom the proceeds of a clandestine or black market economy based on theproduction, processing and export of opium, heroin and other narcotic drugsand the smuggling of arms and other goods. The only truly effective solution to these problems lies in thecomplete revamping of the Afghan political system and the reconstruction ofits economy so that it is self-sustaining without the narcotics trade andother forms of smuggling. Rashid (1997, May 1) saidthe Taliban had made some effort to discourage domestic consumption onreligious grounds, but has had no hesitation in 'drugging the infidels'(Drug, p. 6 % more opium hits market; Afghanistan crop is large chunkof boost. It hasa vital interest in opposing the growth of radical Islamic fundamentalistmovements, curbing the drug and illegal arms trade and in suppressingterrorism. Money laundering activities relating to thedrug trade are, Morgan et al. Communal, tribal andvillage allegiances and codes have for centuries taken precedence over asense of nationhood. Heroin processing laboratories were established in Pakistan,primarily as a source of cash to finance the purchase of arms and to payfor food needed by the rebels in Afghanistan. (1995, Spring)report that more than 2 million small arms left over from the Afghan warshave spilled into India (p. [possessing] anindependence born of geographical remoteness and of loyalties incompatiblewith the centralized state" (p. MacDonald said that in 199 Afghanistan was thesecond largest producer of opium (behind Myannmar) and hashish (behindLebanon) (p. (1988). Martin's Press. In particular, Afghanistan is "one ofthe few Muslim states never to be subjugated by a non-Islamic power"(Nydrop & Seekins, 1986, p. 1 4). becomeAfghanistan's most lucrative agricultural product, with more than 71,5 hectares of prime irrigated land under poppies in eight of the thirty twoprovinces" (p. Economist, p. Newsweek, p. The war produced over 5million refugees, over 3 million of whom migrated to Pakistan (Amstutz,1986, p. xxii). 1798). (1993, November 23). India's proximity to Afghanistan has ledto "large flows of drugs and addiction, into northwestern India" (Morgan etal., 1995, Spring, p. References Afghanistan. 2). Deadly heroin makes acomeback. 1). Inflation (198 -1983) was in the 8 -1 percent range (Amstutz, p.246). 41. 48). Some highlights by countryare as follows: According to Karbekov (1994, August 24), the Russian Mafia protectssmugglers by wholesale bribery of law enforcement officials in Kyrgystanand Kazakhstan (p. 1793). Klass (Ed.). Toronto Star. In Europa International Yearbook 2 Vol. . Such sense of national unity which existed prior tothe 2 th century was due to the efforts of unifying kings who arose to meetforeign threats from 1747 onward, the Durrani shahs, such as Ahmad Shah inthe mid-18th century and King Amanullah Khan (19191929), and the commonallegiance of almost all Afghans to Islam and its concept of a community ofbelieving Muslims or umma. (1999, September 11). In Europa International Yearbook 2 Vol. . Pakistan's army secret intelligenceservice, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), through which most American andother foreign aid to the mujahiddin was channeled, and Pakistani merchantsshared in the graft involved with the drug and arms trade. Under pressure from the United States, relations between theTaliban and Pakistan have further deteriorated since the September 11, 2 1attacks. Islamicfundamentalist groups such as the Islamic Renaissance Party, the UnitedTajik Opposition, the Hizb-ut Tahrin al Islam and the Islamic Movement ofUzbekistan "well-armed and financed, highly motivated, and with extensivesupport from the wider world of Islam and drug smuggling mafias based inAfghanistan" sought "to overthrow the ruling elites, impose upon the regionan imagined Islamic community of believers . Serious food shortages, acollapsed industrial sector, a seriously damaged infrastructure, a newinflux of refugees (4 million more after 1988) and rampant inflationcharacterized the Afghanistan of the mid-199 s and subsequently(Afghanistan, 2 , p. 244). The post-coup regime suppressed opiumproduction, but several external factors led to increased demand for opiumand heroin (which is derived from morphine paste yielded from the poppyplant and its further chemical processing) from the Golden Crescentcountries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) in the 198 s. or China . The first step in that direction is the removalof the Taliban as the rulers of Afghanistan and the extermination of the alQaeda, formidable tasks. Newsweek (1999, December 6) said that Afghanistan was "the world'sundisputed leader in the production of opium" and the source of 75 percentof that output (p. Pakistan together withonly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were the only nations toaccord the Taliban diplomatic recognition. Urban, M. Turkmenistan is perhaps the most richly endowed of theCentral Asian Republics in natural gas of which it is the world's fifthlargest producer and petroleum (Europa International Yearbook, 2 , p.3654). Pomfret, J. . 277). Heroin has emerged as a morepopular narcotic than cocaine. Latin heroin is purer andkid-friendly. (1999). World PolicyJournal, 18: 45-48. The political economy of war andpeace in Afghanistan, World Development, 28: 1789-18 3. 1793). In 1997 a senior local Uzbek government official wasassassinated, a crime believed by many to be related to a dispute overparticipation in the profits of illegal drug-trafficking crime but whichthe government blamed upon Islamic groups associated with a Saudi Arabianbased Wahhabi sect (Uzbekistan, 2 , p. 235). Effective solutions require a much higherdegree of internal unity within Afghanistan and international cooperationthan it has been possible to attain in the recent past. Labrousse, A. Meyer & Brysac (1999) described mid-19th centuryAfghanistan as "less a nation than a congerie of tribes and clans rooted incity-states with fluid boundaries and loyalties, whose rulers were . 2). The ISI made repeated andlargely unsuccessful attempts to forge unity among the many Afghan

exilegroups. London: Europa Publications. New York: Freedom House. (2 1, June 16). (1999, March 22). Washington Post, p. There are about 6 , heroin users in the UnitedStates (Fields, 1999, October 4, p. .ambitious modernization schemes," which included land reforms, centralplanning and other centralized challenges to the power base of locallandlords and other tribal and local officials (Nydrop & Seekins, 1986, p.274). The Economist (2 ,October 28) said "economic woes force farmers to grow poppies and encourageyouths to become recruits for extremist groups" (p. Morgan et al. 46). The extreme poverty ofKyrgystan ($48 per capita income in 1997) placed it at a severe handicapin combating these influences and increased its dependence on Russian aid(p. Iran has an estimated addict populationof one million. The Taliban took United Nations observers to poppyfields they claimed to have burned and heroin processing they haddestroyed. MacDonald (1992, July/August) said "though opium [derived from thecultivation of the poppy plant] has a long tradition in Afghanistan as anarcotic for consumption (by relatively few addicts and for medical andculinary purposes), usage was never widespread or as socially disabling [inAfghanistan] as in neighboring Iran . They include Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan,Tajikstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 1). . Seekins (Eds.). (1996, November). Saudi Arabiaalso funded most of the madrassa schools where the current Taliban leadersstudied. He says the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistanhas close ties with bin Laden's cells which help train Uzbek extremists inAfghanistan (p. With the departure of the British Raj in1948, a power vacuum developed which resulted in a gradual increase inSoviet influence. Poppy crop limitations in Kandahar province were promulgated.This was mostly pretense, since a 2 percent zakat or tax on wealth imposedon the drug trade has been the Taliban's principal source of revenue andpractically its only source of foreign exchange. Middle East,p. The Afghans, who have more oftenthan not in the past failed to resolve their internecine differences, mustin the end provide the solutions to their own desperate plight. In R.Klass (Ed.), Afghanistan the great game revisited. 8. The Economist (2 1, March 3) characterizesKazakhstan as facing a major threat arising out of "terrorism as a resultof religious extremism, and organized crime" (p. 4 ). 2). According to Carpenter (1997, December 1 ),the price for raw opium escalates from $14 per kilogram in Kabul to $1, in Osh, Kyrgystan and $11, in Moscow (p. Drug the infidel. II(pp. Itborders Afghanistan on the Southeast. War in Afghanistan. Insight on the News, 14: 4 -42. Economist, p. The conservative Arab statessuppress vigorously the drug trade within their borders; however, Rubin(2 ) says that "Afghanistan [is] the second largest trading partner ofthe United Arab Emirates" and that extensive illegal smuggling, which Rubinsays is amounts to billions of dollars, passes through the customs freeport of Dubai (p. 4). (2 ). This only increased the economic importance of illicit criminalactivities. Time International, p. But itdoes one job better than anyplace else in the world: produce opium. Greed rides the SilkRoad. 1). Throughout the 199 s, "relations with Afghanistan were strained bythe apparent inability of the Afghan Government to prevent mujahiddinfighters and consignments of weapons from crossing the frontier intoTajikstan" (p. Klass, R. 35 9). In Tajikstan in 1999, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported an 8 percent increase in the rate of armed crime since 1998 (Tajikstan, 2 , p.35 7). Uncle Sam's junk. (1987). Brysac. 8). It claimed that Islam was opposed to narcoticsbecause they made it impossible for the Muslim faithful to worship Allahwith a clear mind. 61). Afghanistan the first five years ofSoviet occupation. . Insight on the News, 15: 3. Otherwise unruly Afghanistan will representa serious threat to peace and stability in the region and elsewhere. The drug and arms trade and associated politicalextremism have had seriously deleterious effects on the nations therebyimpacted by them, especially those which border Afghanistan. 3972-3985). In 1999 the governmentblamed the attempted assassination of Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimovin the capital Tashkent for another fundamentalist Islamic group, theHezbollah (p. M. Nydrop, R. Index on Censorship,5: 1 -1 5. UNDCP has financed European aid to Iranian interdiction effortswhich has taken the form of British vehicles and night vision equipment,flak jackets and training and French sniffer dogs (North, 2 , November,p. The Silk Road in Kyrgystanis another important route for drug traffickers. During most of the 19th and early 2 th centuries, Afghanistan was abuffer state juxtaposed between the conflicting imperialist ambitions ofTsarist Russia and British India, both of which constantly interfered inAfghan politics. Impacts in Specific Countries Iran. The growth in illicit trade in drugs, arms and othersmuggled goods from Afghanistan and associated facilities in Pakistan hasassumed very substantial proportions. (2 ). Ganguly (1999, March 22) says roughly 65 percent of theheroin destined for Russia and Europe is transiting through the CentralAsian Republics, especially Tajikstan (p. (2 ). Klass, R. Many Soviet soldiersbecame drug addicts during the war. Amstutz (1986) said that GDP during 1978-198 fell to 1971 levels and by 1983 to levels not seen since the 194 s (p.243). In 1999terrorists from the Islamist Movement of Uzbekistan took a number offoreign and Kyrgystan persons hostage (p. Some of these groups, includingal Qeada, at least initially, according to Nydrop & Seekins, supportedPakistan on "the Pashtunista issue" (p. . Current Digest of the Soviet Press, 46: 19-2 . 35 9). (2 , October). Overrun and occupied by more powerful foreignpowers, including the Macedonians under Alexander the Great, Persians,Mongols and Moghuls, Turks, British and Russians, the Afghan peoples havefiercely resisted alien conquerors. Iran's drugs war. In R. Turkmenistan. During the Vietnam War it closed its eyesto drug trafficking. The linkage between the narcoticstrade and political extremism became even stronger. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in199 , a series of independent, but economically weak and politicallyunstable republics emerged along the southern border of the new Russianfederation and north of Afghanistan. ., partly in responseto Taliban's harsh treatment of women and other abuses of human rights" (p.355). 2 7). Heroin derived fromAfghan poppy plants is known for its purity. Opium plot in downtownBishek. Afghanistan: thegreat game revisited (pp. Transportation links have been upgraded such asthe ancient Silk Road through Kyrgystan, which was used for centuries toship the spices and other riches of the East to the West, and whichCarpenter (1997, December 1 ) says "has been transformed into one of theworld's primary drug routes" (p. 164). . 22). 2 3-228). Tajikstan was torn apart during 1992-1997 by a civil war in whichTajik mujahiddin from northern Afghanistan participated. Rashid (1999) said that fundamentalist Islamicagitation in the Fergana Valley was associated with efforts by sectsassociated with the Taliban to reinject "the ideology of Jihad or holy warinto Sunni Islam" (1999, p. New York:Freedom House. B. A 15. 19). The Pakistani army has utilized Afghan refugee and Pakistaniterrorist sects to foment trouble with India over the disputed province ofKashmir. 65). India. . ." (p. Most of the mujahiddin were dependent on the soil and/or theirlivestock for their livelihood. Pakistani sympathy for the AfghanPashtuns; 2. Tajikstan, the poorest nation in the region ($33 percapita income in 1997), heavily relies on the Russian military to guard itssouthern border (p. Society, 29: 61-66. Klass (1987) said that by 1985, "theSoviets entered the opium trade, fixing prices and buying the entire crop"(p. Finally, it switched its support in the 199 s to the most radicalAfghan group of all, the Taliban, an amalgam of Pashtun-dominated studentswho had studied at Pakistani-based madrassas or religious schools,dissident army officers, mullahs and others. . Washington Quarterly, 18:155-187. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University. (2 1, March3). . com. 2192). 4 ). Annual GDPgrowth in the early 197 s was about one percent per annum (Amstutz, 1986,p. Between 1992 and 1996, various factions foughtwith each other for control of the government. 62). Carpenter, D. 38). Pakistan gave theAfghan mujahiddin indispensable support in their struggle against theSoviet

invaders for several reasons: 1. Meanwhile, the United States, which throughthe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), had financed much of the revoltagainst Soviet rule, lost interest in Afghanistan and greatly reduced itsfinancial assistance (from about $6 million per annum to less than $4 million). & D. II(pp. The CIA has been involved in the drug traffic in Vietnam, Laos,Central America and in Pakistan. 2 . . However, 75 percent of the heroin seized inthe United States in the early 199 s came from South America (Seperi, 1993,November 23, p. The Afghan resistance to Soviet rule, even thoughit eventually induced the Soviets to withdraw, was plagued by internaldivisions among the various Afghan factions. Middle East drug traffic set to rise.Middle East, p. Another was the reduction in thesupply of heroin which followed upon the communist takeover of Laos,Cambodia and South Vietnam in the mid to late 197 s. (5th ed., 1986).Afghanistan a country study. One was rising demandfor drugs in Europe and the United States. 1799). Most ofAfghanistan's opium crop in the 197 s was smuggled into Iran. In Europa International Yearbook 2 Vol. India has experienced numerous terroristincidents in the Punjab and more recently in Kashmir from Islamicfundamentalist groups based in Pakistan. Under those circumstances, the proceeds fromdrug running, smuggling and other criminal activities became the principalsources of revenue for whomever was in charge of the Afghan government andfor their opponents as well. Nevertheless, the attacks of September 11, 2 1clearly demonstrate that Islamic-inspired terrorism if not drug exports arematters of the highest concern to the United States. Pakistani fears of Soviet encroachment and anti-communistsentiment in Pakistan; and 3. (2 ). Russia Russia faces Islamic radical agitation and terrorist threats alongits entire southern Asia border and in some of its provinces, notably inChechnya. 3654). 4 ). London: Europa Publications. 1985). London: Europa Publications. Conclusion Civil unrest, foreign invasion, political fragmentation, factionalstrife, economic decline and decay have produced in Afghanistan a clearlyimpossible situation in which its economy, its elites and most of itspeople depend primarily on revenues derived from drug and arms traffickingand the smuggling of other goods to survive. . Internet:Yahoo. Although Afghanistan's 2 th century kings tookpreliminary steps to modernize the nation's economy and to temper somewhatthe excesses of authoritarian rule, King Muhammad Zabir Shah (1933-1973)was forced to abdicate by a modernizing Prime Minister Mohammad Daoud whoseleft-wing republic (1973-1978) was ousted by a communistarmy led coup in1978. According to Land (1996), anotherresult was "a flood of weapons . The drugtrade is extremely lucrative. (1998, July 4). 1792).The growth in the Afghan narcotics industry was, therefore, a directresponse to the need to prevent famine and to provide funds to keep rebelbands in the countryside in the field and armed. Rashid, A. At the same time it has frequently banned fundamentalistdemonstrations within Pakistan, supported United Nations sanctions againstAfghanistan, cooperated with the United States and the United Nations inthe apprehension and extradition of terrorists, and closed down some heroinprocessing laboratories within Pakistan (most of which reopened inAfghanistan). The EuropeanInternational Yearbook (2 ) states that "a serious issue facingKyrgystan's Government following independence was the rapid increase incriminal activity-in particular the cultivation of, and trade in, illicitdrugs" (p. and restructure CentralAsia through an anti-Western and anti-Russian crusade" (Rashid, 1999, p.45). According to Labrousse (1999), Pakistani support wasextended to the Hezbi Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the even moreradical Osama bin Laden al Qeada network. Only the drug, transit, and gemtrades are worth taxing" (p. Fields, S. Even the Sovietsin Afghanistan became enmeshed in the drug trade. 164). Persian Gulf region Saudi Arabia and other conservative Muslim states provided strongsupport to the Afghan mujahiddin against the Soviets. 22. (2 ). Political fragmentation has been encouraged by thetopography and the evolution over time of a hodgepodge of distinct andoften warring tribal groups, including the Pashtuns, which have providedmost of Afghanistan's leadership class and which constitute roughly 4 percent of the population, the Persian-influenced Hazaras, the CentralAsian Tajiks and Uzbeks, Turkic peoples and others. (2 ). have also beendisruptive of the unity of the Afghan resistance" (The Afghan, p. 1 ). The main trade routes for illicitnarcotics originating in Afghanistan has shifted from Iran to the CentralAsian Republics. 4 ). Pakistan in effect sought to export radical Islamist activity bytolerating their activities within Pakistan and as such contributed to itsown domestic political instability and that of surrounding countries.Pakistan itself has more than two million heroin addicts (Carpenter, 1997,December 1 , p. 4. According to Rubin (2 ),"the money involved in the drugs and arms trade is undermining stateinstitutions throughout Central Asia" (p. 219 ). Kazakhstan. M. 25). Central Asian Republics. New York: St. Owing to the war itself and later consciousSoviet counterinsurgency efforts to destroy the small farmer's base ofsupport through the use of bombing, defoliation chemicals and other means,cultivated acreage declined from 3.3 million hectares in 1975 to 1.25million hectares in 1982 (Amstutz, 1986, p. As noted above, smuggling of drugs and other goods into Iran(Persia) is centuries-old. Ganguly(1999, March 22) said "a bumper crop and thriving [opium] traffic belie theTaliban's claims to be fighting drugs" (p. 22). Impact Abroad of Afghani Drug and Arms Exports and Terrorism General. Urban (1988) characterized Afghanistanas "one of the world's most unruly states . In order to avail itself of financial aid offered by the UnitedNations Drug Control Programme in Vienna (UNDCP) to pay for thesubstitution of other crops for opium, the Taliban pretended that it wasopposed to the drug trade. 35 3-3519). White. In all probability the CIA chose not topay any attention to the drug running but no proof has as yet emerged thatit actively sponsored it. And, according to Rubin (2 ), "in some regionsthe yields are the highest in the world" (p. G., K. In the contra war,Congress restricted American government participation which led the CIA toseek funding from a variety of sources. Its cities are being flooded with Afghan-origin narcotics. As the eventsof September 11, 2 1 demonstrate, the close nexus between illicitnarcotics and arms sales and terrorism suggest that they are an inseparablepart of an immediate and serious threat to political stability in theregion and elsewhere. Ally against drugs: Iran. R. 22). Thesecountries are deserving of financial and material assistance from wealthiernations in the West and Russia, and mutually cooperative efforts such asthe Russian and PRC-sponsored Shanghai offer some promise of aiding theCentral Asian Republics in dealing with the scourges of Afghan origin whichthey face. the emergence of heavily armed gangsand the collapse of public order" (p. A 15). (1999). 2189-22 3). Subrahmanyan, & R. 1-4. Washington, D.C.: GovernmentPrinting Office. It sends arms to the NorthernAlliance. 2193). Rubin (2 ) said "whoever rules Afghanistan, the incentivesfor misgovernment are nearly irresistible. By 1989, Rubin (2 )said food production fell by a half to two thirds of 1979 levels (p. London: Europa Publications. The United States, Russian and China all flewmilitary equipment into Uzbekistan in August 2 to help the government eject radical Islamist terrorists from Afghanistan (p. . Newsweek (1999) said the Talibans drug-eradication efforts "lack credibility" (p. Despite some efforts to broaden its political base, the communist-dominated government led by Dr. Najibullah who succeeded the Soviet puppet Head of State Babrak Karmal in 1986 was unpopular and opposed by important elements in the Afghan army and most of the mujahiddin. 45). Internet: Yahoo. The new geography of conflict. Uzbekistan. (2 , November). Past efforts to curb such operations have been undertaken on a piecemeal basis. 2193). It said that 9 percent of the heroin consumed in Europe originated in Afghanistan (p. India and the United States. Drug and arms dealers inAfghanistan are linked with cross-national facilitators including money laundering banks in places as remote as Dubai and the Philippines,

crookedcustoms inspectors and other officials, supplementary heroin processingfacilities, such as in Turkey, and strong links with international gangs such as the Russian Mafia. New York: Freedom House. 2 3) According to Rashid (1987), "geography and history have combined to create in Afghanistan a decentralized and fiercely individualistic society"(The Afghan, p. . 349-356). London: Europa Publications. Total revenues from drugexports are estimated to be in the billions of dollars range. This is likely to continue to be the case so long as thedrug trade is an indispensable mainstay of the utterly disrupted Afghaneconomy and the principal source of revenue and foreign exchange for itsrulers.Drug interdiction efforts by Afghanistan's neighbors is also unlikely tomake much more than a small dent in this trade because, as MacDonald (1992,July/August) said: "the combination of political instability in Afghanistanand the financial gains to be reaped from the trafficing make the drugpolicies of outside countries, a losing proposition" (p. Far EasternEconomic Review, 16 : 25. Amstutz, J. Peoples' Republic of China China has been concerned over agitation and violent attacks byKyrgystan-based separatists on the Han (Chinese) majority in Xinjiangprovince. 1792). (1987). Uzbekistan. In Europa International Yearbook 2 Vol. Possible Solutions American and United Nations efforts to curb the illegal narcoticstrade in Afghanistan by offering to finance farmers in cultivating othercrops have failed. 234).Progress had been made in building infrastructure (roads, airports, portsand electric power sources). 3974). 275). Meanwhile, the Pakistanigovernment and merchants had become inextricably enmeshed in the AfghanPakistan drug trade and arms smuggling businesses. Even so it is "one of the poorest republics of the former USSR" and"has experienced significant economic decline" since 199 (p. com, 1-3. In Europa International Yearbook 2 Vol. 129). Europe and the United States Until September 11, 2 1, it appeared that Europe which obtainsalmost all of its heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan was much moredirectly affected by illegal traffic emanating from those nations than didthe United States. As Rashid (1987) has pointed out, "thehistorical traits that inspired the rising of the Afghan people against theCommunist government in Kabul and the Soviet invasion . I (pp. ateach others' throats" (p. Refugees thrived on the smuggling ofarms and of consumer goods and drugs. 66). F. The Northern Alliance, which has been battling the Talibanregime since 1995, also deals in illicit drugs and produces three percentof the opium cultivated in Afghanistan (Rubin, 2 , p. Seperi, J. The economic dislocation caused by the war between the Soviet armyand the mujahiddin (Soldiers of God and the foot soldiers of the Afghanresistance) was tremendous. Ganguly, M. 2 4). Tajikstan. Talk ofconvening a loya jirgah or conclave of regional and tribal leaders underthe auspices of the 86 year old former king would be a useful first stepfor addressing inter-factional strife. The Soviets seized power in Kabul in December 1979 when strong manHafizullah Amin, who had Daoud's successor Nur Taraki killed, failed (inthe view of the Kremlin) to hue sufficiently to the communist party line.Strong resistance to Daoud-Taraki-Amin rule developed in the late 197 s,primarily as a "traditionalist uprising, a violent repudiation of . Inhalable exports. (1994, August 24). The drug trade is increasingly verywell financed and sophisticated in its operations. 1798). Both the Shah before 1979 and the Khomeiniregime vigorously sought to prevent these activities. After the Soviets withdrew their troops in 1989, the illicit trade indrugs and arms as well as other contraband increased instead of decreasing.The Europa International Yearbook (2 ) summarized the situation in the199 s as follows: "over the past 2 years the traditional economy has beenlargely replaced by a criminal economy based on drugs and smuggling" (p.355). MacDonald said that "Afghanistan's river valleys are well suited foropium production" (p. Even after the Taliban assumed power, raw opium production continuedto rise, from 2,3 tons in 1995 to 5, tons in 1999 (1999, September 11,p. Losing the opium war: InAfghanistan bumper crop and thriving traffic belie the Taliban'sclaims to be fighting drugs. II(pp.365 -3662). (1996). 41). The great game revisited (pp