Domestic Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Domestic Terrorism - Research Paper Example Since they are illegal, terrorist organizations often resort to illegal ways of financing their activities such as extortion, violent robbery, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and arms smuggling. In recent years, drug trafficking has emerged as the biggest income source for these organizations (Crews and Tarzi, 2008). A number of studies have shown that the link between terrorism and drug trafficking is strong particularly in countries that are either the hubs of terrorism planning and organization or the main target of terrorism. It is for this reason that drug lords create domestic terrorism against the United States troops and the indigenous Afghanistan population (Shanty, 2011). This paper will discuss how drug lords in Afghanistan create domestic terrorism against United States troops and indigenous population in Afghanistan. According to the American government and Afghanistan government officials, the profits from drug trafficking in Afghanistan was estimated to be about $3.2 bil lion in 2012. The bulk of this profit went to Taliban warlords, as well as other militants. It is estimated that Afghanistan is currently producing nearly 90 percent of the global supply of illegal opium and about 85 percent of the world’s heroin supplies and morphine come from the country (Piazzo, 2012). Opium is the largest cash crop in Afghanistan; in 2006local export revenues from the crop constituted about 35 percent of the nation’s gross national product. At the same time, opium production employed nearly 14 percent of the country’s population. While it is clear that opium production in Afghanistan is critical for the country’s economy, illicit opiate production and trade is considered by many policy analysts, media commentators, academics, and politicians as a crucial contributor to terrorism acts in the country targeting indigenous population and United States troops. The Afghan Taliban extremist group uses opiate drug revenues to finance itself, mainly by taxing refined products, stocks of harvested poppy, and drug crop cultivation (Peters, 2009). Typically, media sources report the Taliban resistance within the borders of Afghanistan, training camps within Pakistan borders, and daily opinions of United States troop conflicts with Taliban forces. However, there is little reporting in regard to drug lord territory and border control in Afghanistan, as well as the drug lord contribution to terrorist acts against the indigenous population and the United States troops within the borders of Afghanistan (Crews and Tarzi, 2008). Various investigations have revealed that drug trafficking significantly supports terrorism in today’s world, particularly after the United States invasion in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is no doubt that drug trafficking is a very lucrative business and it generates big profits that are used for illegal activities including supporting terrorism (Leu, 2008). Drug trafficking has extensively benefited fr om political, economic, social and technological. Al Qaeda, Sunni extremists, and Taliban are some of the terrorist organizations that significantly benefit from selling and shipping of illegal drugs. Investigations have found that the proceeds and profits realized from drug trafficking are usually laundered through certain legal business and pumped back to terrorist organizations and their associates who then use to fund terrorism (Dolan, 2005). The Afghanistan