08/10/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10059

DRUGS FINANCE TERRORISM

International terrorism is becoming ever more closely associated with narcotics trafficking. In the words of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, "Nearly one-third of the organizations on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations appear also on our list of targeted U.S. drug suppliers."

Speaking at the twentieth anniversary conference of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, Mr. Ashcroft said, "Drug traffickers, having grown in organization and sophistication in the 1980s, are now increasingly involved in terrorist activity as well." Striking hard at illegal drug networks is an important part of what Mr. Ashcroft described as U.S. law enforcement's mission "to prevent terrorist attacks by identifying, tracking, disrupting and dismantling terrorist networks."

The U.S. said Mr. Ashcroft, "has developed strategic enforcement plans that identify and target the most significant drug trafficking and money laundering organizations." Federal law enforcement agencies have produced, for the first time, a unified list of drug organization targets. "This will serve as our 'most wanted' list of targeted organizations, and provide a further benchmark of our progress," he said.

The U.S. is targeting "not only members of organizations who smuggle, transport and distribute drugs," said Mr. Ashcroft, "but also those individuals involved on the financial side -- financial backers, money launderers, and those who invested the proceeds of illegal drug revenues."

The Attorney General pointed out that "twenty years ago, America was under attack -- assaulted by an enemy that would not just take lives, but destroy freedom and extinguish hope." That enemy was illegal drugs. "Almost eleven months ago," he added, "America came under attack once again. Just as before, the enemy that attacked on September 11 aimed not merely to kill Americans, but obliterate our freedom." The U.S. is committed to defeating any threat to its security and way of life "be it the scourge of illegal drugs or the persistent threat of terror."