Afghanistan urges drug lords: Keep profits here

Pakistan Tribune ^ | 16 March 2006 | Staff

[Racehorse]

Afghanistan will encourage its powerful drug lords to invest their illegally earned profits back into the war-shattered country, according to the governor of the nation’s top opium growing region.

The offer comes amid warnings of another bumper poppy crop that will fuel a booming narcotics trade that already accounts for 35 per cent of the impoverished nation’s income.

"We as a government will provide them the opportunity to use their money for the national benefit," said Helmand Gov. Moham-med Daud during a two-day trip this week to the region by United States Ambassador Ronald Neumann.

"They must invest in industries. They must invest in construction companies," he said.

So profitable is the drug trade that it employs about one in 10 Afghans and brought in US$2.8 billion last year, Afghan and U.S. officials say. The vast majority of that goes to traffickers and only a fraction to the impoverished farmers.

[R.W.Ratikal]

Drug lords are capitalists. They deal in large amounts. They must invest their huge profits somewhere that can offer protection to their investments.

They look for a country that has freedom of movement, liberal laws, a stable government that is nonspecialist (to protect against nationalization of resources), and who enforces laws and contracts. Significantly, drug lords deal in dollars just like any other large multinational operator.

Drug lords want to put their assets in the same safe and secure place that oil lords, other nations and individual holders of great wealth, put their money. What country does that sound like? If you said America move to the front of the class

Drug lords leave investment in Afghanistan to others such as the World Bank who have nothing to lose..

[endthematrix]

BTTT!

[Wolfie]

ping

[headsonpikes]

"We as a government will provide them the opportunity to use their money for the national benefit," said Helmand Gov. Moham-med Daud

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Finally, a high-ranking government official who takes your advice, Mr. G.!

Protecting the opium backbone of Afghanistan's farmers is surely Job #1 for the Afghan government.