I see a lot of talk about the growth of international crime networks, and how often there are connections between these profit motivated organizations and politically motivated organizations. These "strange bedfellows" type of arraingement make a lot of sense, but they don't in turn blend the purposes of the organizations. There is a significant community within the military that want to take the war to the criminal organizations because they can make such linkages to AQ or Hezbollah, etc. This is dangerous ground.
We must be careful to resist the urge to make easy conclusions and stay focused on what an organizations primary purpose for action is when determing how to best engage them. Otherwise we risk expanding the war to defeat AQ far beyond its actual parameters, and risk actually lending credence to Bin Laden's propaganda and dragging otherwise disenterested populaces into the fight that prior to our engagement were simply out to make a buck.
If I ran AQ, I would absolutely want to use existing drug networks to raise cash through the sale of Afghan opium, and more importantly to gain covert access to the U.S. Similarly, if I ran a Latin American drug cartel, I would want access to quality, inexpensive opium, and also to leverage source of personnel who are willing to assume tremendous personal risk in delivering my product to market. This does not in any way change or blend the original primary purpose for either organizaiton. They are just maximizing their common ground.
Originally Posted by Bob's World
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