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Canadians find link between Taliban, drug trade during furious firefight
CanWest News Service via National Post ^ | 2006-07-15 | Ethan Baron

Posted on 07/15/2006 7:43:34 AM PDT by Clive

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers have seized an estimated $3 million in opium from a mud-walled Taliban compound after an outnumbered Canadian reconnaissance patrol held off more than two dozen fighters until additional firepower arrived.

"It confirms what we knew but hadn't seen -- Ethe physical evidence that there is a direct connection between Taliban activities and the drug trade here," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Canadian battlegroup in southern Afghanistan.

"The Taliban is funded in large part by the opium trade."

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, which is refined into heroin.

In the 30-minute firefight Thursday, one Canadian soldier survived a bullet to the back when the slug hit the armour plate in his flak vest.

Thursday's engagement was followed on Friday by more fighting for Canadian troops, who engaged twice twice with the Taliban in Helmand province but suffered no casualties.

After Thursday's battle, troops found five dead Taliban but believe many more were killed.

"The enemy is very good at policing up their own battlefield," said Capt. Jon Hamilton, who led the reconnaissance mission.

"They'll pick up their own dead."

The 12 soldiers set out early Thursday morning to probe a suspected cell of Taliban making improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are often homemade bombs concealed on the sides of roads.

The patrol crossed a small footbridge in a lush area of orchards, fields and trees in the Helmand River valley and spotted the Taliban less than 50 metres away, hurrying into one of two mud-walled compounds.

Once the fighters were inside, they opened fire through windows and holes punched through walls.

"They began to launch RPGrockets, lots of small-arms fire," Hamilton said.

A group of Taliban began shooting from trees to the soldiers left.

"We got a good volume of fire down. We were beating them back, and then they decided to try to flank us on our right," he said.

"We were receiving fire from three different sides. We were quite outnumbered and did our best to hold them and fight back."

Four Canadian light armoured vehicles (LAVs) armed with machine-guns and rapid fire cannons, arrived.

"They started to get the 25-millimetre cannons down on the enemy, and began to push them back," Hamilton said.

The fighters retreated about 250 metres before fleeing.

A search of the compound turned up sacks of opium paste, totalling more than 70 kilograms, an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)launcher, four rockets, an AK-47 and ammunition, a passport and documents.

"We did achieve some element of surprise," Hamilton said. "If they knew we were coming, they probably wouldn't have left that stuff out."

On Friday, Canadian troops engaged twice with the Taliban in Helmand province. A reconnaissance platoon inspecting bridges came under attack by RPG rockets and small arms.

Reinforcements arrived within 10 minutes, and a Canadian artillery group seven kilometres away fired one of Canada's four new 155-millimetre Howitzer guns in support.

The Canadians suffered no casualties, but believe the enemy did, Hope said.

Close to the same time, and 11 kilometres to the south, American soldiers also doing bridge reconnaissance were fired upon. Four Canadian LAVs joined the U.S. soldiers in a 40-minute battle. No Taliban dead were found, but there was evidence of casualties, Hope said.

"There's body parts and blood trails," he said.


TOPICS: Canada; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; drugtrafficking; gwot; killforafeeling; moneytrail; oef; taliban; warondrugs; wod; wodlist

1 posted on 07/15/2006 7:43:36 AM PDT by Clive
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To: Alberta's Child; albertabound; AntiKev; backhoe; Byron_the_Aussie; Cannoneer No. 4; ...

-


2 posted on 07/15/2006 7:44:00 AM PDT by Clive
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To: Clive
"The Taliban is funded in large part by the opium trade." Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, which is refined into heroin.

Like, duh.

3 posted on 07/15/2006 7:45:21 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
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To: Clive

Excellent Ping! It's great to have you as an ally. Thank you.


4 posted on 07/15/2006 8:03:55 AM PDT by Chgogal (2006 - The US Military fights for Freedom of the Press while the NYT cowers in a traitorous pose.)
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To: fanfan

Canadian troops doing good.


5 posted on 07/15/2006 8:06:12 AM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Clive

"Link between Taliban and drug trade"

That's a shocker.
Next they'll be shocking us with the revelation that there's a link between the Iranian regime and the drug trade.


6 posted on 07/15/2006 8:23:35 AM PDT by nuconvert ([there's a lot of bad people in the pistachio business])
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To: Clive

Where is that captain obvious image??


7 posted on 07/15/2006 8:32:54 AM PDT by Walkingfeather (u)
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To: Clive

The link between terrorists and the drug trade is that terrorists depend to a large extent on drug money to carry on their terrorists activities.

Americans who use "recreational" drugs are directly aiding the terrorists.

The dope-heads haven't the slightest clue that they are helping terrorists. Even if they knew they are too weak to stop using dope.


8 posted on 07/15/2006 9:37:43 AM PDT by R.W.Ratikal
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To: Clive

WMD (Weapons of Massing Dollars for terror) bump


9 posted on 07/15/2006 9:58:47 AM PDT by VOA
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To: R.W.Ratikal

When selling drugs is outlawed, only outlaws sell drugs. Nonetheless our soldiers done good again.


10 posted on 07/15/2006 3:53:07 PM PDT by Squawk 8888 (Yay! It's Riding Season!)
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To: Clive
"The Taliban is funded in large part by the opium trade."

Opium is THE MAJOR CASH CROP OF AFGHANISTAN, it always has been and always will be! The only issue is who rakes in the profits and what they use the profits for!

Hmmmhhh, just like some countries to the South of us???

11 posted on 07/15/2006 3:57:38 PM PDT by ExSES (the "bottom-line")
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To: R.W.Ratikal
The link between terrorists and the drug trade is that terrorists depend to a large extent on drug-war-inflated drug money to carry on their terrorists activities.

Americans who use ban "recreational" drugs are directly aiding the terrorists.

The dope-heads WOD-worshippers haven't the slightest clue that they are helping terrorists. Even if they knew they are too weak to stop using banning dope.

12 posted on 07/16/2006 12:56:40 PM PDT by Know your rights (The modern enlightened liberal doesn't care what you believe as long as you don't really believe it.)
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To: Clive

bttt


13 posted on 07/16/2006 12:58:48 PM PDT by shield (A wise man's heart is at his RIGHT hand; but a fool's heart at his LEFT. Ecc. 10:2)
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To: R.W.Ratikal
According to our government almost all the heroin used in this country comes from the Americas, south of our border. Hardly any of that produced in Afghanistan ever gets here. It gets used in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. According to our government surveys at least less than half of one percent of Americans use heroin. Most American illegal drug users only smoke marijuana and that consumed here is for the most part grown here and in Mexico and Canada. The average drug user in America may be spending money likely to find its way to unsavory people, but it's doubtful any of that money is going to Middle Eastern terrorists.
14 posted on 07/16/2006 8:13:22 PM PDT by TKDietz
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To: TKDietz
There you go again, spoiling a perfectly good rant with your pesky facts.
15 posted on 07/17/2006 3:30:51 PM PDT by Know your rights (The modern enlightened liberal doesn't care what you believe as long as you don't really believe it.)
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To: Clive

The entire Afghan economy, Taliban and non-Taliban, depends on the opium crop. Its one of the reasons we allow it to thrive.


16 posted on 07/18/2006 4:54:14 AM PDT by Wolfie
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