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Gordon Duff:
Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran, a combat infantryman, and Senior Editor at Veterans Today. His career has included extensive experience in international banking along with such diverse areas as consulting on counter insurgency, defense technologies or acting as diplomatic representative for UN humanitarian and economic development efforts. Gordon Duff has traveled to over 80 nations. His articles are published around the world and translated into a number of languages. He is regularly on TV and radio, a popular and sometimes controversial guest.
– CIA-operated drones protect drug lords in Pakistan: Duff (PressTV, Dec 3, 2012):
An analyst says Obama’s drone strikes on Pakistan are war crimes and are not to target terrorists, but to secure an 80 billion dollar US opium empire.
In the background of this, the United Nations has condemned Washington over these illegal drone strikes that have killed hundreds of civilians and even whole families in northwestern Pakistan. The Pakistani government has also complained that the war provocations violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and has also been criticized for their lack of resistance exercised against the continuing strikes. Targets for killing are approved personally by President Obama holding up the United States as judge, jury and executioner from what has become known as Obama’s kill list.
Press TV has interviewed Mr. Gordon Duff, Senior Editor of Veterans today, Ohio about this issue. The following is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: The US kills what it calls suspected militants. How is it that the US kills people based only on suspicion? There is no evidence based on the ground of these people or targets being anti-US. Even footage before these drone strikes show no signs of military intention, at least?
Duff: It’s interesting. You are dealing with a part of the world where every male over 10 years old owns a weapon. Any person with a weapon is considered a militant. Anyone who is killed either falls into the category of militant or collateral damage.
The real issue, the justice of war, the respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty are never brought up.
Pakistan will be looking at a new government next year. It is very likely that Imran Khan will be the leader of Pakistan – one of my good friends. And he has sworn to bring an end to all strikes across the border.
Then we are going to be dealing with the issue – and he will enforce it – the issue we have is Afghanistan.
The insanity that claiming that everyone with a gun, every tribal member, every Pashtun in Pakistan, every person that has refused to join the Narcotic Republic that the United States has built there is a militant – If one looks at this quite honestly there is no reason for American involvement in Pakistan other than to protect an 80 billion dollar drug empire. That’s what we’re really doing.
It’s all that we’ve done there – We control none of the country; we have built no police force; we have built no army; we have no consensus government; we have no policies; we’ve found no weapons of mass destruction; we’ve found no members of al-Qaeda; we certainly didn’t find the people responsible for 9/11 as they were never as any person of common sense knows. No. We are there for another reason.
We are there to make money; we are there to steal; and we are there to grow opium, process it into heroin and distribute it around the world – nothing else.
Press TV: The Obama kill list, the so-called Obama rule book by which the Obama administration tries to legalize these drone strikes – Why is it that the US gives itself the right to legalize and define rules for other countries. Why is it that it gives itself the right to decide who is to live and who is to die?
Duff: Well, the literal point here – and it’s my own government and frankly I’m a supporter of President Obama – On the other hand it’s impossible to see these actions as anything other than a war crime; that there has to be an accountability on behalf of anyone that violates the rights and sovereignty of any nation and any people and the United States can no longer be above the law.
More info:
– Afghanistan: Opium Cultivation Rose Substantially In 2012 (New York Times)
– Afghan Opium Poppy Farming Increases 20%, Fuelled By High Opium Prices (Guardian)
– CIA Created Afghan Heroin Trade (Veterans Today)
– Afghanistan: Is Creating A ‘Narco-State’ Considered ‘Nation-Building?’ (Veterans Today)
– Breaking News: Afghanistan – America’s ‘Total Lie War’ (Veterans Today)
– Afghan Opium Production Increases By 61 Percent, Opium Yield Rises 133 Percent From 2010