The Threat of Narcoterrorism: How the Strange New Iran Case Affects the Definition

Time ^ | Oct. 17, 2011

[nuconvert]

Two seemingly unrelated events unfolded last week. On Tuesday in Washington, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the stunning disruption of an alleged plot by a former used-car salesman from Texas and members of Iran's Quds Force to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. using the hired muscle of Mexican drug traffickers. Then on Wednesday, a House subcommittee held a hearing on "Narcoterrorism and the Long Reach of U.S. Law Enforcement." By all accounts these were separate phenomena. Yet both center on the same question: Is narcoterrorism the latest, greatest threat to U.S. national security? Or are we moving toward a redefinition of huge tracts of criminality as terrorism?

The U.S. Justice Department representatives insist the alignment of the hearing and the announcement of the arrest were completely fortuitous. But, on Wednesday, the hearing before the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, originally slated to discuss Afghanistan, Mexico and Colombia (countries at the front lines of the drug war), was dominated by Iran. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a Brookings Institution fellow who testified, said, "The Republican side of the committee, in particular, [was] very focused on Iran's activities in Latin America and very concerned about it, and doesn't think the U.S. is taking a tough enough position on that."

[algernonpj]

More accurate assessment is that the plot, if real, demonstrates threats of our wide open borders which allow drug and human traffickers, as well as terrorists free access to the US.

[nuconvert]

“More accurate assessment is that the plot, if real,”

There is no question that it was real

[MarkL]

Frankly, I doubt the Obama regime's story about this entire episode. Iran hiring a used care salesman to assassinate a Saudi ambassador? And the regime outraged over this, but over the last decade or more, we've known that Iran was directly supplying Afghan and Iraqi insurgents with weapons and IEDs, killing American servicepeople in the field.

I find it interesting that this is happening now, with Solyndra and Fast & Furious, and who knows what the next scandal dejour will be.

Mark

[nuconvert]

Suggest you read this ....

http://www.irantracker.org/analysis/zarif-irgc-qods-force-terror-plot-october-11-2011

[stevie_d_64]

It just proves the point made many years ago when this problem was just coming up on the scene...

Anyone can be bought for the right price...

The cartels in Mexico can be bought, as long as you don’t mess with their game...