Iraq and Drugs - Opening A New Front in War on Terror

By Robert Charles

Iraq and Drugs: Opening a New Front ... Insurgents on Drugs?
Odd? Maybe. Predictable? Probably. Worrisome? Definitely. Word is trickling back from Iraq, through official and unofficial channels, that �opiates� (likely of Afghan origin) may be showing up in dead Iraqi insurgents. Five questions flow from that trickle.

First, is it true? Is there a possibility that, consistent with anecdotal reports of heroin and methamphetamines being discovered more often (especially in the southern Iraqis cites of Basrah and Najaf), insurgents are getting a dose of mind-numbing from heroin prior to suicide attacks? There are ways to find out. First, add that question to standing and future interrogations. Second, do basic testing where possible on remains. Third, do a drug test on those apprehended within a short period of apprehension, as we often do after arrest in this country. What we might discover would be worth the outlay in time.

Second question: If insurgents are getting �juiced� to commit horrific, suicidal acts � largely condemned by the Koran � what would adherents to so-called Radical Islam make of that? What would fence-sitters who count themselves Islamic fundamentalists say? Is that even vaguely Islamic? The word should spread, if these reports are true.

Third question: Where is the heroin coming from, if it is heroin or a similar potent opiate? One guess.

The obvious answer is the country now supplying 82 percent of the world�s heroin � namely, Afghanistan. The drugs would have to be moving into Iraq via a sea route or across Iran. The latter is more likely, given porous borders on both sides of Iran, a history of smuggling drugs across both borders, and close ties between Shiites in southern Iraq and Iran.

Notably, earlier this year, the International Narcotics Control Board just observed that "high levels of insurgent violence and porous borders have drawn traffickers to Iraq," and that "Jordan has seized large quantities of drugs on the Iraq border."

Fourth question: What is to be done? The answer is simple: Engagement of the Iraqi Shiites to assist in closing down transshipments, public discussion of the issue, and a more aggressive effort to address the problem at its source, namely inside Afghanistan.

Final question: What does the possible link mean operationally? Not much in terms of stopping a VBIED or mobile suicide attacker, since there is little difference between an insurgent exercising murderous irrationality and an insurgent exercising drugged-up murderous irrationality. On the other hand, implications for intelligence gathering, cross-fertilization of drug-related and insurgent-related information, increased counter-drug training for Iraqi police, greater reliance on DEA and other counter-drug experts in country, and a potential for leveraging this connection to find more bad guys could be real.

Importantly, there is no official confirmation of the link yet, and anecdotal reports offer little comfort for those who have to make the critical decisions. Multi-point verification, never mind proof beyond a reasonable doubt, is not in hand. Still, the power of logic, scattered reports of an emerging link, a glance at the map, and the value of proving that insurgents are drugged when they explode, raise some poignant questions � for everyone. The questions are worth asking; answers are worth pursuing. If the link is real, it tells us a lot.

Robert B. Charles, President of The Charles Group, in Washington, D.C. and Gaithersburg, MD, is the former Assistant Secretary of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, 2003-2005. RChaerlesZZ@aol.com, 202-546-2265 or 301-922-3796

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