{"id":886,"date":"2015-01-07T05:50:51","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T04:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.economistes-arabes.org\/fr\/?p=886"},"modified":"2017-05-23T05:56:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-23T04:56:18","slug":"are-isis-fighters-fueled-by-piles-of-cocaine-the-new-york-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.economistes-arabes.org\/fr\/are-isis-fighters-fueled-by-piles-of-cocaine-the-new-york-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Are ISIS fighters fueled by piles of\u00a0cocaine?, The New York Post"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Victoria Craw, News.com.au<\/span><\/p>\n

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January 7, 2015 |<\/span> 10:46am<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A laptop, a knife and a bag of cocaine were found in the house of an ISIS leader in Kobane, Syria. Vice News\/YouTube<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The video in Kobani<\/a>
\nAs the Islamic State continues its deadly rampage across the Middle East, fears are growing that the group may have another weapon in its arsenal: cocaine.<\/p>\n

Video footage obtained by VICE purports to show a large stash of cocaine<\/a> found inside the home of ISIS leader Emir Abu Zahra in Kobane, along with a knife and a laptop.<\/p>\n

The organization also reports allegations that leaders dished drugs out to militants for courage, while Kurdish fighters tell of finding pills, capsules and syringes on dead ISIS militants.<\/p>\n

The video remains unverified; however, it comes following reports in November last year that billions of dollars worth of cocaine is smuggled to Europe each year along routes controlled by terrorist groups that have pledged support to the Islamic State.<\/p>\n

The profits have been used to fund armored vehicles, missiles and guns, according to the International Business Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Spanish intelligence sources said jihadist groups including ISIS\u00a0are using drugs to finance their quest in Iraq and Syria<\/a>, using knowledge of smuggling routes to export arms and drugs including cocaine, heroin and hashish.<\/p>\n

Around one-fifth of those detained in Spain under terrorism laws have previously served prison time for drug trafficking or creating counterfeit documents, intelligence reports.<\/p>\n

Monash University\u2019s director of the Center for Islam and the Modern World, Professor Greg Barton, said it\u2019s difficult to know to what degree the Islamic State is involved in the drug trade, though the group has been ruthless in exploiting opportunities to make money such as kidnapping for ransom and seizing control of oilfields.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know they are involved in a range of illegal business and we know they have no compunction about what they\u2019re involved in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Besides cocaine, Kurdish fighters in Kobane have found pills, capsules and syringes on dead ISIS militants.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe do know they\u2019re involved in weapons, smuggling, oil. The question of drugs would largely be a question of opportunity and what drugs are available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barton said reports suggest the Islamic State has daily cash flows in excess of $2 million, but exactly how much of that is garnered through the drug trade is unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s much less clear what production and transport levels they control. It\u2019s a different dynamic to the Taliban, who controlled considerable opium production and distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extremist group\u2019s influence has been rapidly expanding since mid-2014, and it now controls large parts of northern Iraq and Syria, home to 8 million people. It also controls large parts of the border between Turkey and Syria and traditional smuggling routes along with it, Barton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat border has for a long time been a source of smuggling and contraband routes. Now that [ISIS] controls that territory, it\u2019s not surprising whatever was going on in the past is now under their control. It\u2019s reasonable to assume there are some sort of flows going through, but I don\u2019t know the mechanics of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While drug smuggling might be at odds with Islamic State ideology, experts agree it\u2019s a case of the end justifying the means for militants.<\/p>\n

The Quilliam Foundation\u2019s Haras Rafiq told Newsweek<\/a>\u00a0that smuggling is part of ISIS \u201cheritage\u201d under al Qaeda.<\/p>\n

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Besides drugs, ISIS is known to finance its operations through kidnappings and oil smuggling.AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSmuggling drugs, arms, even alcohol is considered forbidden in Islam, so the way ISIS excuse it is they see they are fighting a greater jihad,\u201d Rafiq told the organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn times of war, they believe more is permitted to achieve their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barton agrees the basic logic used by militants is that they are in a complex situation and the \u201crules of war apply.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ethical dimensions and moral questions are summarily dismissed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is obviously paradoxical, but hypocrisy is not a problem [ISIS] is burdened by \u2026 The overwhelming issue is that they recruit on the basis of idealism, but everything they do is at odds with what they believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The professor said that while he hadn\u2019t heard of specific cases, it\u2019s also possible that drugs are used as a tactic by leaders to indoctrinate militants, as has been seen in West Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re trying to reprogram the mind and sensibilities of young men \u2026 apart from the atmosphere of indoctrination, camaraderie and the adrenalin rush of a conflict zone \u2026 one would expect the practical element,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

The orignial article<\/a>
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