Of Mice and Men: Gangs, Narco-Terrorism, and the USA

[Bill Moore]

http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_4_corruption.html

The Mexicanization of American Law Enforcement
The drug cartels extend their corrupting influence northward.

Far less widely reported is the infiltration and corruption of American law enforcement, according to Robert Killebrew, a retired U.S. Army colonel and senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. “This is a national security problem that does not yet have a name,” he wrote last fall in The National Strategy Forum Review. The drug lords, he tells me, are seeking to “hollow out our institutions, just as they have in Mexico.”

http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts...#comment-89222

British Muslim Gangs and the “Chemical Jihad”

Some law enforcement officials believe the British Taliban fighters may have links to criminal gangs in Britain whose members are Muslim and who have been connected to selling heroin on British streets. At least one other captured Taliban fighter was found to have British gang tattoos on his arms, according to a western law enforcement advisor to the U.S. military, and there is evidence that various British Muslim gangs have sent fighters to Afghanistan, or sell Afghan heroin on British streets. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin sold in Britain comes from Afghanistan.

"The big bosses have Taliban and al Qaeda connections and we're often told only to deal it to non-Muslims. They call it chemical jihad and hope to ruin lives while getting massive payouts at the same time," said a street dealer quoted in this British tabloid.

While the word tabloid makes me immediately suspect, there are probably legitimate sources that can validate this.

Although the DEA says less than 5% of the heroin sold on U.S. streets comes from Southwest Asia, some U.S. law enforcement authorities nonetheless fear that Afghan heroin could be headed this way. Currently the vast majority of criminal gangs tied to smuggling heroin into the U.S. are Latin American, not South Asian, in origin. That said, Canada's Royal Mounted Police recently warned that more than 60 percent of the heroin sold in Canada now comes from Afghanistan and links have been established between Indian crime rings and that emerging trend.

Interesting to see the Indian crime rings tied to the Muslim run drug trade. I guess tribal identity and patriotism only go so far. Then again they could be Indian Muslims (they only have a few million).

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...932030,00.html

A Major Blow to Mexico's Masters of Meth

Whether or not La Familia is Mexico's most violent drug cartel, it is certainly the weirdest. Arguably, it is the world's first "narco-evangelical" gang. During this week's raids, U.S. officials found numerous religious images, "on fireplaces, in closets, everywhere," says one. La Familia members purport to be devout Christians who abstain from drugs themselves. In fact, they insist that while they sell meth and cocaine to the U.S., they keep it away from Mexicans. They also study a special Bible authored by their leader, Nazario Moreno, a.k.a. El Más Loco, or "The Craziest One." The cartel's profits have helped it build a large network of support among the poor in Michoacán, which is also the home state of Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Insurgent like in that the cartel is attempting to mobilize the population using religion and money to in effect undermine the State's security forces.

All very interesting, and in my opinion this presents a very serious threat.

[davidbfpo]

An update on the NPS project to help the Salinas community:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...src=newsletter

In fact, the cavalry arrived in civvies, carrying laptops rather than M-16s and software instead of mortars. In this case, the most valuable military asset turned out to be an idea: Change the dynamic in the community and victory can follow.

Cites Mike F too.

[Bill Moore]

David, thanks for the post, good to see the intellectual capital of DoD being employed to help American towns solve tough challenges. I hope it works out.

[MikeF]

As discussed throughout this thread, the issue is more than a LE problem.

To secure Salinas, the mayor wants more boots on the ground, though finding the money to hire 84 officers became more problematic after local voters recently rejected a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, billed as "a penny for peace." More officers would mean less dashing from call to call and more time to demonstrate that police work for residents.

This sales tax was a county vote not just Salinas. It included Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Monterey. Frankly, I'm disappointed that it did not pass.

[slapout9]

Good job Mike. Can you tell us more of what you did?

[MikeF]

Good job Mike. Can you tell us more of what you did?

I didn't participate in the group. It was a bit too close to home at the time, and I was dealing with my own medical issues. Here's what they did.

They conducted FID- teaching, assisting, and advising

- Instructions on MDMP to help the local LE think smarter and learn new ways of problem solving.
- Social Network Analysis to define the problem set. Old school enemy and friendly templates using computers.
- Course of Action Development. Where should police stations be? How should one be patrolling (mounted/dismounted)? How do you flood an area with limited resources?
- Information Operations. How do you make residents feel safe and trust the LE?
- ROE and Fire Control Restrictions. "Dude, it's not okay to shoot up a car with two innocent teenagers in it b/c you were scared."

That's some of the basics to help LE reestablish security. As for the larger problem, it will require inter-agency cooperation, community involvement, and time.

[davidbfpo]

A week ago Bill Moore asked (Post 45) after some reporting on the British Muslim Gangs and the “Chemical Jihad” from: http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts...#comment-89222

Some law enforcement officials believe the British Taliban fighters may have links to criminal gangs in Britain whose members are Muslim and who have been connected to selling heroin on British streets. At least one other captured Taliban fighter was found to have British gang tattoos on his arms, according to a western law enforcement advisor to the U.S. military, and there is evidence that various British Muslim gangs have sent fighters to Afghanistan, or sell Afghan heroin on British streets. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin sold in Britain comes from Afghanistan.

The big bosses have Taliban and al Qaeda connections and we're often told only to deal it to non-Muslims. They call it chemical jihad and hope to ruin lives while getting massive payouts at the same time," said a street dealer quoted in this British tabloid (Added - The Daily Star).

While the word tabloid makes me immediately suspect, there are probably legitimate sources that can validate this.

My limited response.

Heroin importation into the UK has had an Afghan / Pakistani link for over thirty years, sometimes with a strong Turkish community role. With many arrests and convictions - often from the 'Usual Suspects' and inter-generational in one family I knew of. I cannot recall any evidence of an overlap between heroin smuggling and radical / terrorist groups. Nor Muslim gangs sending members to fight in Afghanistan.

Yes the crime-terror overlap is on the "radar" and much of the commentary is alarmist, one reason why I have doubts over some US reporting. There is little to support the overlap in the UK and as my comments show there are good reasons for the radical / terrorist to be wary of such contacts.

Would the Taliban or others accept gang members, whose loyalties pose a number of security issues and what value is there in sending their members to fight.

There have been references by arrested heroin dealers to 'chemical jihad' as a justification, spurious post-event IMHO. Heroin dealers rarely have the scruples of only selling to unbelievers, indeed there is ample evidence that many Pakistani and other South Asian communities are alarmed over heroin and other drug abuse in their own communities - primarily within their young.

In fact there are several UK references to radicals opposing the use of heroin and one of the 7/7 bombers MSK actively oppposed drug dealing in his community in Leeds (covered in My Brother the Bomber thread).

Yes the big bosses may have links to Taliban and AQ leadership. Personally I doubt this, can such people be trusted? Or is there merit "playing both sides" and gaining some protection, even legitimacy, from saying it is for "the cause".

Fifteen years ago a major heroin distributor moved between his homes in the FATA and Afghanistan when external pressure for action was applied. He was a Pakistani Federal Assembly member and when a prosecution finally got to court in Quetta he arrived with thousands of armed followers, needless to say the case didn't start.

Incidentally

At least one other captured Taliban fighter was found to have British gang tattoos on his arms..

This is very different to the original report: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...la-tattoo.html

A Taliban fighter killed in Afghanistan was found with an Aston Villa tattoo on his body, British soldiers claim.

Curiously the story was not confirmed or followed up.

[Jedburgh]

As discussed throughout this thread, the issue is more than a LE problem.

This sales tax was a county vote not just Salinas. It included Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Monterey. Frankly, I'm disappointed that it did not pass.

The Carmel and PB populations (Carmel includes Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley Village and Carmel Highlands, while Pebble Beach is part of the larger Del Monte Forest) especially tend to have a disproportionate influence on such county votes. They always turn out to vote against taxes for the local public schools as well as the policing improvements mentioned, whereas many of those who would most benefit from the measures don't bother voting.

The manning issue for LE in the county goes well beyond simply getting the money to hire additional officers. What also cripples staffing is county, city and town ability (or lack thereof) to pay salaries that will retain current officers and attract new recruits. Last I heard, many jurisdictions were understrength and more concerned with meeting existing organizational staffing levels than with increasing the number of approved positions. More rural areas like Gonzalez and Castroville have difficulty in maintaining a LE presence - and the gangs are well aware of this.

Then you have non-profit programs linking in the county justice system with the population that work - like the Monterey County Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, which targets juvenile offenders - that struggle to attain anything more than minimal effectiveness across the county due to lack of funding, support and participation.