Seeds of Terror 1st (first) edition Text Only

by Gretchen Peters

September 11 cost al Qaeda only $500,000. Terrorist groups can now earn that from the dope trade every week.”We think of the Taliban and al Qaeda as jihadis fighting an Islamic crusade from caves in Afghanistan. But that doesn’t explain why, eight years after the war on terror was declared, the CIA says these groups are better armed and better funded than ever. Seeds of Terror will reshape the way we think about the Taliban and al Qaeda, revealing them less as ideologues and more as criminals who earn half a billion dollars every year off the opium trade.With the breakneck pace of a thriller, author Gretchen Peters traces their activities from the vast poppy fields of Helmand to heroin labs run by Taliban commanders, from drug convoys protected by Stinger missiles to Dawood Ibrahim's money-laundering services in Karachi and Dubai.In this book, information gleaned from hundreds of interviews with Taliban fighters, smugglers, and law enforcement and intelligence agents is matched by intelligence reports shown to the author by frustrated U.S. officials who fear the next 9/11 will be far deadlier than the first––and paid for with drug profits. Seeds of Terror makes the case that we must cut terrorists off from their drug earnings if we ever hope to beat them.This war isn’t about ideology or religion. It’s about creating a new economy for the the war on terror must equally be a war on drugs.

Hardcover

First published August 7, 2012

Reviews

[Fizzy Rant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book (non-fiction) covers topics, most of which happened way before I was born. And having passed history lessons like a sleeping fish, I could not imagine the importance of these events. But lately their ripple effects have affected us in our everyday life and thus, my interest. Terrorists are funding their activities by dope profits, it is known. Well the world governments knew about it way before the general public did. Their inactivity led to its growth and subsequent disasters like 9/11 and 26/11. And this is what the book is about.
Even the author, Gretchen Peters a journalist, regrets not following the leads when she was asked in a hush hush manner by an official to look into it. Instead her recruiters directed her to get stories on the plight of Afghan women and the downward spiralling society of Afghanistan. A little backdrop would help you get the feel of the book and how it covers the growth and menace of the drug trade.

Afghanistan has always had poppy cultivated on its soil. Its climate and terrain is perfect for the crop to thrive. When Soviet tried engulfing Afghanistan; according to the author, following an agenda of giving the soviets a black eye America ignored the rising drug trade in Afghanistan, to top it up they outsourced their aid and job of helping the rebels to Pakistan’s ISI! America was content as long as the Soviets were losing and their soldiers turning into addicts. The agenda behind supporting the rebels against the Soviet was not only fuelled by human rights but also to act as a soother for its Vietnam wound.



The book mentions two DEA officers who took it on themselves to fight the trade when drugs were considered a distraction. Fighting narcotics was considered straying from the main target- the war. While nobody wanted to accept officially that the same war was being funded by the drug trade. Even if they did, they decided to ignore it if it meant victory at the end. These two men grew their beard, wore a head gear and in company of some mujahideen located and destroyed around 16 drug labs, turning raw opium into morphine base and heroin.



As soon as the Soviets retreated, the then Bush government withdrew its aid by 60% and when Clinton got to the office he ended the entire funding. After all, the Cold war had finally ended. Money is required to build a nation and it is twice as important in the wake of a war. Providing money through the right channel is another equally important task. Withdrawing funds at a time when Afghanistan needed a steady government led to power falling in the hands of people who had illegal sources of money. Drugs were the main source of it. The mujahideen who fought the Soviets were now a pain. People who relied on the police to control drug trafficking were pulled ranks on by military personnel who were neck deep in the trade. The lax trading rules of Pakistan made drug smuggling easy to the west. And also the funding from Arab countries sponsored the illicit activities.



Things went so out of hand that the mujahideen was now rogue and American officials regretted having not killed certain elements when they had the chance. Taliban rose to counter the mujahidden and turned into a force that even ISI was unable to harness. And drug trade got a new face. Now fighting drug labs required an entire ground force (mainly British) to attack and if things went out of control (i.e. the Taliban jumped in) which always did, U.S. air support was sent for.



The author who interviewed drug traders, mujahideen, Taliban, the local farmers who are forced to grow poppy and even the American government officials; has found solid evidence of money going through spurious channels to terror groups. She also refutes the government’s aim at eradication of poppy fields by arguing that it only increases the price of the drug in the market and more cash inflow for the terrorists. A tactic used even by the radicals to appease the world governments. She has come up with a nine step solution for the problem, which if considered could actually reap the results the world needs.



Warning, the book can scare you with its details and the ground level reality. If you really want to know the facts behind the rise of Afghanistan drug trade and its impact on terrorism, thereby on our lives do not give this book a miss.
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