Narco-Terror: the United States, the Drug War, and the War on Terror

Narco-Terror: the United States, the Drug War, and the War on Terror Introduction The United States has had a long-standing policy of intervening in the affairs of other nations when the country has thought it within its best interests to do so. Since the 1970’s the United States has tried to impose its will on other nations to combat the most pressing political enemy of the day often linking the war on drugs to the matter to stoke support both domestically and abroad. In the times of the Cold War, this enemy was communism and the government tried to make the connection of the â€Å"Red Dope Menace† insinuating drug links with China, Castro’s Cuba, and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. However, as the world has evolved and communism’s prominence has waned, there is a new enemy whose existence has become intertwined with the drug war. That enemy is terrorism. The connection has gone so far that politicians and journalists have coined a new term to describe the link calling this new problem of our time â€Å"Narco-terror.† This pa per will examine US efforts to control the drug trade and fight terrorism in Colombia, Peru, Afghanistan and the desired and often undesired consequences that have come about because of those efforts. Colombia Narcoterrorism has a long past in the history of Colombia, focusing mainly on the market development of one drug: cocaine. Colombia, with its arid tropical climate and lush land, is an ideal place for the sowing and reaping of the coca plant whose extracts are synthesized into the powder cocaine drug. As Colombian cocaine production skyrocketed in the 1970’s and 1980’s thanks to booming demand for the product in Americas, drug kingpins in Colombia began to wield immense power in the country. ... ... Connection Between Drugs and Terror.† June 20, 2002. 10. Sly, Liz â€Å"Opium Cash Fuels Terror†¦Ã¢â‚¬  February 9, 2004. 11. â€Å"Colombia’s Crimson Night.† 12. Gray, Mike. â€Å"Drugs and Terrorism.† 13. Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. â€Å"Plan Colombia.† March 14, 2001. 14. Taylor, Robert â€Å"Peru: Sendero on the Offensive – in Court† April 2003. 15. â€Å"Sendero Luminoso Attacks.†