Disinfo: The US launched war in Afghanistan in order to guarantee US control over drug trafficking routes

Summary

In 2001 there was a severe scarcity of heroin in the global drug market because the Taliban had suppressed poppy cultivation. The US launched a war in Afghanistan in order to restore drug trafficking to its previous levels and guarantee US control over drug trafficking routes. The US had to resume the economic war against Iran, Russia and China. The war in Afghanistan was the CIA’s vengeance against the Taliban.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that aims to discredit the US presence and intervention in Afghanistan by inventing the claim alleging that the US and the CIA are involved in illicit drug trafficking operations in Afghanistan.

First of all, it is not true that the US intervened in Afghanistan in October 2001 in order to “control drug trafficking routes” or “increase levels of drug trafficking”. US military intervention in Afghanistan was a response to the multiple September 11 terrorist attacks in America, carried out by Al-Qaeda, the terrorist organisation of which Osama Bin Laden, based in Afghanistan, was the leader. On 7 October 2001, the US military, with the support of the British military, and others later, launched a campaign, named Operation Enduring Freedom, against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, it is not true, as the article suggests, that the US government and US intelligence were or are involved in drug trafficking operations in Afghanistan. On the contrary US government agencies - including the military, law enforcement and intelligence communities - have conducted major counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan since 2002.

U.S. counternarcotics programs and policies over the past 16 years have included efforts to develop Afghanistan’s licit economy, build Afghan government counterdrug capacity, and deter farmers and traffickers from participating in the cultivation and trade of opium.

Drug cultivation and trafficking in Afghanistan have been one of the main income sources for the Taliban insurgency, which seriously weakened international stabilisation efforts. For this reason, the US spent over 15 billion dollars over 15 years on efforts to deprive the Taliban of their profits from Afghanistan's opium and heroin trade, conducting counternarcotics operations from poppy eradication to airstrikes and raids on suspected labs.

Read similar cases claiming that The US created a drug laboratory on a global scale in Afghanistan and that US intelligence involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities in Afghanistan

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 258
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 02/09/2021
  • Article language(s) Italian, English
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Iran
  • Keywords: CIA, Terrorism, Islamic extremism, Drugs
see more

Disinfo: Polish fence on the border with Belarus is meant to frighten Poles with a perspective of war

The ruling Polish elite is trying to cut all ties with the East using the rhetoric of war. The most recent manifestation of this process is the construction of a fence on the Polish-Belarusian border. This border fence has a primarily a symbolic meaning – it is supposed to introduce a permanent division between "us" and "them", creating an additional barrier against the East. The border fence sends a message that it is necessary to prepare for war – it frightens the society with the perspective of war.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative about the ongoing migration crisis on the eastern border of the European Union directly caused by the Belarusian authorities.

On 23 August 2021, the Polish authorities announced the construction of the fence on the border with Belarus to stop the ongoing influx of irregular migrants orchestrated by the Belarusian regime. According to the position of the Polish authorities, the ongoing situation on the Belarusian border is a hybrid attack on Poland in order to destabilise the country and the entire EU.

Disinfo: Lithuania does not want to help investigate the genocide of the Belarusian people

Lithuania refuses to provide legal aid for Belarus in the criminal case regarding the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War. Earlier Belarus asked to interrogate identified members of the Lithuanian punitive battalion, including Valdemar Hubert Laimutis Adamkevicius who is non-other than the former president of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus.

Disproof

The message exploits a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi/Fascist Baltic States.

The current “genocide of Belarusian people” case by Belarusian prosecutors lacks evidence and is based on doubtful legal and historical ground (see public broadcaster LRT publication “Minsk seeks to extradite members of ‘Lithuanian SS batalion’ that never existed”).

Disinfo: Poland replaces the anniversary of the WWII outbreak with the date of the Soviet invasion

Poland appears on the way to oblivion. For several decades, the anniversary of 1 September has been gradually pushed out of public awareness by the commemoration of 17 September. There is a slow process of transformation of historical consciousness and the historical identity of the Poles in the direction consistent with the current political interests.

Therefore, in the sphere of historical symbolism, 1 September is mentioned less and less, and is replaced by 17 September. This situation fits the artificially constructed historical and international identity of Poland. Today, Poland looks for its only ally overseas [the USA], while it appears in conflict with all its neighbours.

Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism – it repeatedly accuses Poland of the “falsification and re-writing” of its history for political goals.

The claims that Poland tries to replace the 1 September anniversary [date of German invasion - WWII outbreak] with the commemoration of 17 September [date of the Soviet invasion] is untrue. Every year, September 1 is commemorated on the highest state level with the participation of the top-level Polish officials (annual ceremonies at Wieluń and Westerplatte).