September 1, 2002
War On Drugs Department
The Truth About the Link Between Drugs and Terrorism.
According to an AP story, the DEA has shown that some illegal drug sales in the US are used to fund terrorism in the Middle East:
"There is increasing intelligence information from the investigation that for the first time alleged drug sales in the United States are going in part to support terrorist organizations in the Middle East,"DEA administrator Asa Hutchinson said Friday.
I have to admit, I've always been skeptical about the supposed use of drug profits to fund terrorism, but the DEA appears to have found a smoking gun. Conveniently, this discovery coincides closely with the DEA's announcement of an exhibit illustrating the drugs-and-terrorism link:
"This is the first exhibit that connects drug trafficking and terrorism graphically and unequivocally for the American public. Opening with a sculpture composed of rubble from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the exhibit uses the events of September 11 to tell the historic story of the connection between the violent drug trade and terror, from the Silk Road to the present,"said Director Hutchinson.
But wait, going back to the AP story we find this:
There is no evidence that any of the money was connected to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials said.
So why is there a piece of the World Trade Center in the exhibit if there's no connection? Could it be that somebody at the DEA just wanted to exploit September 11th to punch up the message?
And another thing from the AP story:
Hutchinson has been warning for months that illegal drug money provides a compelling opportunity for terror groups to siphon support from the United States, but the DEA investigation provided the first evidence of a direct flow of money.
So those earlier warnings were based on guesswork with no evidence? And what does this say about all those millions of dollars of TV commercials claiming that drug users were helping to fund terrorism? If this is really the smoking gun the DEA claims it is, then all those other claims must have had no basis in fact. It was all lies.
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