The government’s drug war funds terrorism

USA Today:

Vice president [Dick Cheney] was to push Karzai to take steps to extend Afghanistan’s governance beyond Kabul and conduct successful elections next year. The discussion also was to address ways the Afghan government can curb corruption and deal with rising production of poppies, which are used to make narcotic drugs that fund insurgent operations.

Politicians claim that since profits from illegal drug sales fund terrorism, we ought to blame illegal drug use for terrorism.  But this is a reversal of causality.  It is only because politicians have made certain substances illegal, that the production of those substances in areas beyond the reach of the authorities is highly profitable.  If it is true that the drug war funds terrorism, it is yet another demonstration that the destructive consequences of a rights violation ultimately harm everyone, even when the banned activity is legitimately immoral.

The fact that the combined might of the U.S. military is utterly unable to eliminate drug production in a third world country under its control is at the same time laughable and comforting, since I can be assured of an ample supply should politicians declare their next war on a product or service I actually value.

3 responses to “The government’s drug war funds terrorism

  1. TokyoTom

    Excellent point. It is also the “drug war” that directly drives corruption and undermines governance abroad, even as it leads to urban stagnancy, crime, high imprisonment and to the SWAT militarization of our police at home.

  2. Bruce Williams

    The U.S. Government and Wall Street have been involved in the Drug Trade for decades. Drug money is an important part of our banking system. Drug Laws only protect the market and are a form of price fixing.

  3. MatthewWilliam

    The next logical step for the US government to take is to brand all Californian marijuana users ‘terrorists’.

    Oh yeah, and I just recently saw the most ridiculous report on the BBC. It claimed that the ‘silver lining’ of the current food crisis is that now Afghan farmers are finding it more profitable to produce wheat, and are thus growing grain – not poppies.

    It’s as if fighting drugs was a value in itself.

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