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CIA Connection

NCJ Number
133614
Journal
Progressive Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1991) Pages: 20-26
Author(s)
A W McCoy
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The author contends that American diplomats and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents have been involved in the narcotics trade during the Cold War at three levels: coincidental complicity through covert alliances with groups actively engaged in drug trafficking; support of drug trafficking by covering up for drug lords; and active engagement in the transport of heroin and opium.
Abstract
Covert CIA operations in Afghanistan, for example, have transformed South Asia from a self-contained opium zone into a major supplier of heroin for the world market. The author reviews President Carter's policies in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Drug Enforcement Administration efforts, heroin production and trade in South Asia, the role of Pakistan in supporting the Mujahideen resistance fighters in Afghanistan, and involvement of Pakistan in channeling U.S. aid to the Afghan resistance. He emphasizes the role of the CIA in U.S. foreign policies toward the region and its complicity in the narcotics trade. He also examines the significance of host government corruption in relation to CIA operations.