Sunday, December 12, 2010

Beyond Wikileaks: Afghanistan Review & The Story of the Afghan Drug Lord who was US Informer!

Jailed Afghan Drug Lord Was Informer on U.S. Payroll
By James Risen, New York Times, December 11, 2010

WASHINGTON — When Hajji Juma Khan was arrested and transported to New York to face charges under a new American narco-terrorism law in 2008, federal prosecutors described him as perhaps the biggest and most dangerous drug lord in Afghanistan, a shadowy figure who had helped keep the Taliban in business with a steady stream of money and weapons.

But what the government did not say was that Mr. Juma Khan was also a longtime American informer, who provided information about the Taliban, Afghan corruption and other drug traffickers. Central Intelligence Agency officers and Drug Enforcement Administration agents relied on him as a valued source for years, even as he was building one of Afghanistan’s biggest drug operations after the United States-led invasion of the country, according to current and former American officials. Along the way, he was also paid a large amount of cash by the United States.

At the height of his power, Mr. Juma Khan was secretly flown to Washington for a series of clandestine meetings with C.I.A. and D.E.A. officials in 2006. Even then, the United States was receiving reports that he was on his way to becoming Afghanistan’s most important narcotics trafficker by taking over the drug operations of his rivals and paying off Taliban leaders and corrupt politicians in President Hamid Karzai’s government.

For complete article, click here
Related:
Scenarios: U.S. reviews Afghanistan war ahead of crucial period - Reuters
Afghanistan Review – A Show Without any Substance - A New Way Forward
Afghanistan in 2010: A Survey of the Afghan People - Asia Foundation
War in Afghanistan - The December Review - Carnegie Endowment
For Obama, A Mixed Report Card From Afghanistan - NPR

1 comment:

Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall said...

http://stuartbramhall.aegauthorblogs.com/2010/11/28/afghanistan-and-the-road-runner/ Many local Pakistani commentators blame the US occupation of Pakistan and Afghanistan on fierce US competition with their major economic rival (China) over limited Middle East oil and natural gas resources. Which really makes sense to me - in view of the Chinese-built port in Gwadar; CIA support for the Baloch separatist movement; and the critical importance of Balochistan as an energy transit route - moving Iranian oil and natural gas via Pakistan to China.