Are America's Mercenary Armies Really Drug Cartels?

(CINCINNATI, Ohio) - News out of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India reports massive corruption at the highest levels of government, corruption that could only be financed with drug money. In Afghanistan, the president's brother is known to be one of the biggest drug runners in the world.

In Pakistan, President Zardani is found with 60 million in a Swiss Bank and his Interior Minister is suspected of ties to American groups involved in paramilitary operations, totally illegal that could involve nothing but drugs, there is no other possibility.

Testimony in the US that our government has used "rendition" flights to transport massive amounts of narcotics to Western Europe and the United States has been taken in sworn deposition.

American mercenaries in Pakistan are hundreds of miles away from areas believed to be hiding terrorists, involved in "operations" that can't have anything whatsoever to do with any CIA contract. These mercenaries aren't in Quetta, Waziristan or FATA supporting our troops, they are in Karachi and Islamabad playing with police and government officials and living the life of the fatted calf.

The accusations made are that Americans in partnership with corrupt officials, perhaps in all 3 countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, are involved in assassinations, "unknown" criminal activities and are functioning like criminal gangs.

There is no oil. There is nothing to draw people into the area other than one product, one that nobody is talking about. Drugs.

The US got involved in massive drug operations, importation, processing and distribution during the Reagan years, supposedly to finance covert CIA operations involving death squads tasked with murdering Sandinista "infrastructure" in Nicaragua.

The deal involved Israel, Iran and the Colombian cartel. Saddam was even involved. In the end, President Reagan was put on the stand only to remember little or nothing of his tenure in office. Lt. Col. Oliver North was convicted as was Secretary of Defense Weinberger and many others. Pardons and "other methods" were used to keep the guilty out of jail.

Now we find what was supposed to be a CIA operation with one company only, Xe, operations that were meant to hunt a couple of terrorist/Taliban leaders in and around Quetta, a city of 1 million in remote Baluchistan has turned into a honeycomb of operations involving millions of dollars and personnel of all kinds, perhaps even ranking diplomats and high government officials, the highest.

The cover of hunting terrorists in remote areas with hundreds of armed men in cities on the other side of the country, cities filled with 5 star hotels, country clubs, polo, cricket and fine restaurants is not really cover, even by CIA standards.

The reports, bribes, actions that look and smell like drug gangs at work, tell a story that nobody wants to talk about.

With 50 billion dollars of opium from Afghanistan alone and crops in Pakistan and India also, managing the world's heroin supply is, by my estimation, how all of this "muscle" is staying busy. When you see a black van full of armed men, is there a sign somewhere saying:

"We are counter terrorists working for the Central Intelligence Agency and we are only in town here, hundreds of miles from the nearest terrorist because we need a hot shower and to get a noise in the transmission checked out."

Everyone can choose to believe what they want. It's time we stopped lying. Its about drugs, always has been, always will, drugs and money. It buys men, it buys guns and it can buy governments and has, as anyone with eyes can see.

Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran and a regular contributor to Veterans Today. He specializes in political and social issues. You can see a large collection of Gordon's published articles at this link: VeteransToday.com.

He is an outspoken advocate for veterans and his powerful words have brought about change. Gordon is a lifelong PTSD sufferer from his war experiences and he is empathetic to the plight of today's veterans also suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to feature Gordon's timely and critical reports on Salem-News.com, a news organization staffed by a number of veterans, particularly former U.S. Marines.

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Matt January 12, 2010 9:18 pm (Pacific time)

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses. I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag. I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket. - Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (1881-1940) (Because of man's desire to ever be lead and mislead by Pharisees, many a wise man's quote seem to be ever timeless.)

Wolf December 30, 2009 7:40 am (Pacific time)

Lets not forget the late great Gary Webb, his chronicles in the San Jose Mercury News, and his book DARK ALLIANCE, The CIA THE Contras, and the Crack Explosion.. And Terry Reeds Compromised.. They did it and still do..

pot-you-mentary.com December 28, 2009 9:37 pm (Pacific time)

CIA's history is so incredibly shady and devious. I will refrain from citing examples.~~ Well said Josh. But,Who can forget Ollie North and Fawn Hall making the headlines. Sex,Drugs,and R and R still remain the most profitable businesses to be in. The GOLDEN TRIANGLE of Thailand is nothing compared to the profits of oil and drugs that the SANDBOX WAR opportunities presented to the unaccountable powers of Government. Remember the song, Smugglers blues by Glen Frey. Listen closely.

Osotan; December 28, 2009 5:05 pm (Pacific time)

based on what I see everyday, "military intelligence" is right up there with "political transparency".,they are both non-existant. We should declare victory in Iraq and Afghanistan, bring the troops home and inplement a "Marshall plan" to properly rebuild the infrstructure of both, is the intelligence I'd apply. We attacked them without provocation, karma is bigger than Wash. D.C.

Oregon Reader December 28, 2009 2:42 pm (Pacific time)

When I was in military Intelligence, the NSA was still argued to be a fabrication. We finally admit it exists, but most of what these operations do remain heavily guarded. And, please, no jokes about the oxymoron of "military intelligence"!

Jeff K - December 28, 2009 2:28 pm (Pacific time)

We need to include the CIA and every "black" project in Senator Webb's "Top Down" reassessment of what's going on with our nation's ridiculously mismanaged local, national and international "law enforcement", and get rid of these shady unaccountable mercenary groups on the US taxpayers' payroll. I don't like my tax money going to import heroin for our children to get hooked on. Tons of it are being smuggled in by these covert untouchables. Of course, that hush-hush industry is so lucrative, it's paying for itself now; no taxes needed, and none imposed on the products brought in. Where is the "transparency" we were promised by our new Executive branch? How deep does this conspiracy go, and how much longer do we have to fund (and tacitly condone)the downfall of our own society? Why are these Blackwater/Xe, whatever-the-hell-they call themselves next, allowed to operate without following the rules which apply to everyone else? Too many questions - too few answers=goodbye American security and status as leaders in this world more and more ruled by druglords. They are the enemy. From afar, and here at home, from without and within, they're here and they're winning this war on our very way of life. They don't fight fair - so why should we? Time to take off the kid gloves and take up the surgical steel necessary to excise these cancerous lesions (and legions) spreading across the globe to enrich a few, at the ultimate cost of world anarchy. The truth (yeah, whatever that means) will come out, mangled as it always is by the tainted testimony of terrorized witnesses and "experts" paid for by the very back-room characters responsible for these irresponsible organizations executing operations bringing our country to the brink of the abyss. On the bright side, opium is a very lucrative, "growing" industry providing jobs to thousands of otherwise destitute peons.

Steve Saari December 28, 2009 1:43 pm (Pacific time)

I read some of these comments and it reminds me of that character on that television program of the 1950-60s "77 Sunset Strip", ahh, Ed Burns' characters name? I cannot remember, but somthing about him lending his comb.

Josh A. December 28, 2009 8:28 am (Pacific time)

CIA's history is so incredibly shady and devious. I will refrain from citing examples. five minutes just looking at some of their declassified stuff will have your stomach turned. Imagine whats still classified? I like when Jesse Ventura talks about CIA. If you haven't yet, Do a youtube search for Blueprint for Truth. That will start up your brain on this war for oil/money/drugs issue. It is after all, the source of both wars we are now in.

douglas benson December 28, 2009 9:12 am (Pacific time)

No suprise here . Allmost every conflict we have been involved in Panama ,columbia ,bolivia ,afghanistan has been about drugs the canal ,drug money ,and drugs . Afghanistan cut opium production 80-90% and all of the sudden we come charging in not to SAUDI Arabia where they all came from but to the place we were losing our drug profits .The new CIA director said he would raise funds diffrently LIAR .DE-classify the Iran -contra hearings and the CIA would be in big political trouble .I was really hoping Kerry would have won as I believe he would have shone the light on what we really are doing in these countries .The Dark Alliance by Gary Webb gives a good picture of what is going on now just in Afghanistan instead of Columbia and Panama .Bin Laden witheld the drugs trying to get Afghanistan recognized as a country so they could rebuild after decades of war .Idiot.Here comes invasion forces to take everything and step up production .I have heard from several military sources that this war is about drugs and the allmighty dollar not terrorists.

Oregon Reader December 28, 2009 5:20 am (Pacific time)

Back in the early 1980's a book was written, called "The Cocaine Wars" that detailed Bush's involvement in the drug smuggling. I believe it happened, and I think you are probably right that there is continuing involvement in the Middle East. The "street" saw highly potent heroin not too many years ago, and that would coincide with America's "new found" involvement in the area. However, you said, of the $60 found in the Swiss accounts, that "there is no other possibility" then your drug-dealing involvement. Did you forget about the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CASH that were taken to the Middle East that were "LOST" by the U.S. military??? OK, the cash was not lost, but there is no accounting of it anywhere, and Congress gave up trying to follow the trails.

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Are America's Mercenary Armies Really Drug Cartels?

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