JUST SAY NO ... TO FUNDING TERRORISM

WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks changed the way we
thought about airport security, led to the passage of the Patriot Act
in the United States and resulted in the creation of a new
cabinet-level department by the Bush administration. Will terrorism
also force America to kick its drug habit?

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Robert Charles calls for a drastic
bolstering of the war on drugs, in his terse but informative Narcotics
and Terrorism. Charles, who wrote the book before his State Department
nomination last year, makes the case that illegal drugs and terrorism
are tightly linked. The book features forewords by former first lady
Nancy Reagan, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and former attorney
general Edwin Meese.

Charles knows his subject. Before heading the State Department's
Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, he was
staff director at the House National Security Subcommittee and chief
counsel to the House Speaker's Task Force on Counter-Narcotics.

Charles discusses how eight "incontrovertible, recently active, and
deadly" terrorist organizations are linked to the drug trade,
including al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah. In some instances, such as
al-Qaeda's Afghanistan operation and FARC's in Colombia, Charles's
narcotics evidence is comprehensive. In others, such as his portrait
of Turkey's terrorist Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, Charles relies on
foreign press reports and what State Department reports say "may be"
true. He also lists terrorist groups that are only "suspected of links
to the narcotics trade" -- some with adequate evidence and notation,
others without.

Of course, both terrorists and narcotics traders are shady operators,
deliberately trying to hide their actions and links. If only half of
the terrorist groups Charles discusses have ties to narcotics, then
his point is valid and the situation troubling.

Particularly worrisome is Charles's description of drug and terror
connections in North America. He points to Mexico as a "major source
of methamphetamine, black tar heroin and marijuana consumed in the
United States" and linked to a California-based terror-financing
operation that was busted in 2002. Two Pakistanis and one American
were arrested in California for trying to provide al-Qaeda with
Stinger missiles in a missiles-for-drugs exchange.

Charles quotes a California Department of Justice report as finding
that the money from the California drug cells was sent to "Yemen,
Israel, Brazil, and Jordan -- countries that have been infiltrated by
terrorist organizations such as ... Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda."

Charles also writes of "the American addiction" to narcotics. He
fingers American and European buyers for providing the money that
flows to terrorists. Responsibly, Charles also points out the
"medical, economic, political, and cultural effects" of drug-use
problems in addition to its funding terrorism. Charles also gives good
news about American narcotics use -- he credits drug education and
confiscation programs as leading to a decrease in narcotics use at
home. "Narcotics dependency -- for an individual or a society -- can
be reduced," he writes.

Charles's writing is clear and fact-filled. His arguments are
understandable even to those without a deep knowledge of terrorism or
narcotics. Still, this is not a book to curl up with at night -- it is
heavy on information and targeted to the professionally interested.

Refreshingly, Charles not only points out a problem in his
illustration of terrorists' ties to narcotics, but he also proposes
solutions. He writes that legalizing drugs is one fix to be ruled out
- -- drugs are addictive, so making them legal would not necessarily
drive down the price that consumers are willing to pay. Worse, Charles
writes, legalization may widen the demand, helping terrorists grow
profits.

Instead, Charles proposes increased, nationwide drug education that
would explain not only the dangers of narcotics themselves but also
their link to terrorism.

He suggests more resources for narcotics police officers, giving them
the same support other terrorism-fighters have received in the
post-Sept. 11 environment.

After an unfortunately overextended analogy comparing fighting the war
on drugs and fighting in Iraq, Charles makes a good point: "Securing a
nation against attacks from abroad and from within requires a similar
commitment, sacrifice, and level of knowledge -- and should engender
similar public appreciation."

In fewer than 100 pages of text, Charles presents a troubling problem
and helpful solutions in Narcotics and Terrorism. It is to be
recommended to any reader with an interest in national security,
narcotics and the ties that bind them.

"Narcotics and Terrorism: Links, Logic and Looking Forward," by Robert
Charles is part of the series "Securing the Nation: Issues in American
Security Since 9/11," and is published by Chelsea House.

Reprinted from The Hill