Cannabis News Media Awareness Project
  Strong Views on Ads Linking Drug Use to Terrorism
Posted by FoM on April 02, 2002 at 08:05:07 PT
By Allison North Jones 
Source: New York Times 

justice The Bush administration's new antidrug advertising campaign seeks to strike a chord with young people by linking drug use to supporting terrorism. But it has struck a nerve with critics who contend the message is inappropriate and goes too far.

The criticism, from both traditional foes of White House drug policy and individuals who typically support antidrug messages, has produced parodies, editorials, debate and even research, although the advertisements have been out for only two months.

Proponents call the advertisements powerful and factual. Critics say that the link between drug use and terrorism is overreaching wartime propaganda.

John P. Walters, director of the White House drug office, said the idea for connecting drug use and terrorism came after the State Department identified 28 terrorist organizations and linked nearly half of them to drug trafficking.

The campaign began with two 30-second spots by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, part of the WPP Group, during Super Bowl XXXVI for about $1.9 million each. The commercials are running on at least eight networks or cable channels, including NBC, ABC and ESPN, while print ads are in nearly 300 newspapers.

The first 30-second spot, called "I helped," shows a series of young people saying things like: "I helped murder families in Colombia — it was just innocent fun." "I helped a bomber get a fake passport — all the kids do it." "I helped blow up buildings — my life, my body." It ends with the tag line: "Drug money supports terror. If you buy drugs, you might, too."

The second 30-second spot, called "AK-47," follows the style of MasterCard's "priceless" advertisements by McCann-Erickson Worldwide Advertising in New York, a unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Images of rental cars with trunks full of automatic weapons, a safe house and a man buying box cutters — poignant images for American viewers after Sept. 11 — are flashed on the screen followed by: "Where do terrorists get their money? If you buy drugs, some of it might come from you."

Variations of the "I helped" advertisements are running in more than 300 newspapers.

Critics, including some parents, say that the advertisements' negative-niche strategy is unlikely to be effective.

"It's a colossal waste of money," Jane Marcus, a mother of two and member of the Parents and Teachers Association in Palo Alto, Calif., said of the advertisements. "The argument is fallacious to begin with and plays on people's fears — the two aren't connected," she said of the link between terror and drug abuse.

Ethan A. Nadelmann, executive director for the Drug Policy Alliance, which favors a strategy based more on treatment, said: "This is a shameless exploitation of the war on terror. The government is trying to bolster a failing war on drugs by linking it to the war on terrorism." His nonprofit group paid $8,000 to parody the ads in Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Mr. Walters said that while there was no way to measure the effectiveness of the advertisements yet, reaction to the spots had been enough to persuade him to extend the campaign through the summer and to add several new advertisements.

The drug office used focus groups and consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration to develop the advertisements. They are the most widely tested spots since the media campaign began in 1998, when Congress approved nearly $1 billion over five years for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, Mr. Walters said.

The campaign's Web site: http://www.mediacampaign.org -- includes a list of several events, from the detonation of terrorist car bombs in Colombia to the murder of Mexican officials with AK-47's, to support the claims of the ads.

The campaign supplants the free advertising that was organized for years by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, a coalition of communications and advertising professionals.

In the late 1990's, black-and-white advertisements by Keye/Donna/Pearlstein featuring the slogan "This is your brain on drugs" illustrated the negative effects of illicit drug use on the body with a frying pan and egg. The ads played on what the campaign's creators thought would be a desire by young people to have healthy bodies, a notion that may not have been effective.

"There's always been a problem, especially with teenagers, that they're not as sensitive to personal physical harm or risk as people at other ages," Mr. Walters said.

Now the strategy is to play on pride and ideals rather than personal health. "They're idealistic, they care about what the world is going to be like for them, they care about what they stand for in the world as they become adults," Mr. Walters said.

The National Survey of Parents and Youth, a report commissioned by the drug office and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is monitoring the effectiveness of the campaign. Westat Inc. and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania are conducting the study.

Robert C. Hornik, a professor at the Annenberg School, said the study has generally found that people recall antidrug ads based more on the number of times they see them rather than the messages the ads actually contain.

Some youth education and development professionals see the value of such advertisements that deviate from a more traditional and positive message.

"This presents and brings together the connection between substance abuse and other social problems," said Sue Stepleton, president and chief executive of Parents as Teachers National Center Inc. in St. Louis. The organization develops family support and education programs for parents.

Source: New York Times (NY)
Author: Allison North Jones
Published: April 2, 2002
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/

Related Articles & Web Sites:

Drug Policy Alliance
http://www.drugpolicy.org/

Critics Decry Ads Linking Drugs, Terror
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12341.shtml

Saying No To Propaganda
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12208.shtml

To Fight Terrorism, Quit Fighting Drugs
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12185.shtml


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Comment #25 posted by qqqq on April 06, 2002 at 05:50:41 PT
one q,,plus three additional qs,,=4
...Thank you Hope and idbsne1,and SansSuperego,,,..as my uncle Elliot once said....
;"All compliments will be greedily gobbled up like a starving vulture who just found a pile of fresh carion,,, however,, all criticisms will be closely scrutinized and debated with the fervor of an OJ dream team."

....I like Ddcs color postings,,,in fact I'm sorta jealous,,,but I decided I dont wanna know how it's done because ,,,as you may have noticed,,I am prone to excess,and I would probably end up being banished from Cnews,and many computers would crash , after 4Q attempted to make some flambouyant,gaudy 4Q banner,,,,,that blinked,and had little animated cartoon goblins that marched to some cheap midi applet that played "The Baby Elephant Walk", while a Java-script/Firewire thing made a tie-dyed kaliedascope background desktop pattern ,, which would have caused old hippies to have a Jefferson Airplane/Big Brother and the Holding Company ,Acid "flashback",,but it turned out that most people didnt have the right plug-in,,,,,,but that was OK,,because they were then automaticly re-directed to 4Q.com,, where they could order the proper software thru the latest "Trust-Q" online payment system!...It's so easy too!...Simply download the Trust-Q shareware program at the Trust-Q website...4Qs secure servers will never pull an "AOL" on you!..any 'cookies' that you get or accept from Trust-Q are protected by our HonorSoft Spam Eagle system...Only non-spam emails are allowed to be sent to you,,and if you dont wish to recieve further emails,,then all you do is simply reply and write "remove" in the subject line!..What could be more fun,nice,,and easy!

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Comment #24 posted by DdC on April 06, 2002 at 03:33:57 PT
Subvertize
Whats wrong with advertizing?
http://www.subvertise.org/subvert/asub0004.html
Smashing The Inage Factory
http://www.subvertise.org/subvert/asub0001/asub0001.html
Subvertize
http://www.subvertise.org/

P e a c e o r W o D
L i b e r t y o r D E A t h
N o J u s t i c e N o P e a c e
DdC

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JC/DC
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionlinx.showMessage?topicID=76.topic
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/40/40295.gif


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Comment #23 posted by michael on April 03, 2002 at 07:16:07 PT:

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Gee. Some one already responded to my "LETTERS". Sooooooo, it sure would keep them busy if thousands of "US" went into a high state of mindless toggling back and forth between the send and back buttons. I realize this won't stop them, but it makes me feel better:-) Michael

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Comment #22 posted by michael on April 03, 2002 at 06:53:42 PT:

-------FUN------
Yeah, i know. It wasn't nice of me to contact the above mentioned government media web site. Ooops, I guess after winding my way through to their "contact" site, I accidentaly sent my poison pen note dozens of times. I guess some one on their end wll have to deal with it. It was weird. I just kept hitting the send button and then the back buttom, all the while looking outside and enjoying the mornng. Immature? Yep, but was fun. Feel free to send them your thoughts, over and over and, you know:-) Michael

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Comment #21 posted by Rev Bookburn on April 02, 2002 at 18:07:05 PT:

war on terror propaganda more absurd than ever
Perhaps W. Bush still has effects from his old cocaine days. Maybe he got a bad batch that put him in a permanent Forrest Gump-like state. Regardless, his propaganda has reached new levels of absurdity. Even in this age of post-9/11 hysteria, people are not buying his implausible claims. One could say that supporting international oil cartels such as the Carlyle Group (membership includes the Bushes and bin Laden's family) may have a little more to do with supporting terrorism than somebody looking for a joint. It's a shame that W's eyes lit up after 9/11 with thoughts of what a great opportunity was at hand to push his thoroughly sick agenda.

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Comment #20 posted by idbsne1 on April 02, 2002 at 18:03:25 PT
Keep it coming qqqq.....
Refreshing, funny, and to the point......

qqqq, just keep it coming.... I think I speak for everyone when I say that your words have been missed...

BTW..I cracked up too.....shoot.... lights are out...gotta leave work....

idbsne1

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Comment #19 posted by qqqq on April 02, 2002 at 17:30:57 PT
...4q,,,ribald humor and secret crusades
..MassCrusader...I'm glad you explained your situation...I've been in similar situations.....Imagine,, somehow the word got spread amongst your stoic status quo employers,,,someone told them that you were actually living a double life,,and you were only pretending to be normal to keep your job,,but after work you transformed into a pot-head freak who calls himself the Mass Crusader!...you have no idea about any of this until you are called into a meeting with the big boss and he says;"Have a seat.",,he calmly asks;"Do you ever use drugs?"..
..you say;"no",,and you look him in the eye,,pretending not to be bewildered by his strange question.....after a long moment of silence,,,,he comes over,and gets right in your face,,and he says;.."Then you wont mind if we give you a drug test..MassCrusader!!!???"...
..you are stunned!..your mind is racing ,,trying to react to this abstract confrontation..You were already kinda stressed out that day,,and you wrecklessly kick the door off the closet,,,stand up,,and get right back in your bosses face.......and you reply in a pissed off Clint Eastwood voice........."...Yes,,,,,as a matter of fact I am the Mass Crusader!,,,and I reckon that I like to use Marijuana .....You got some kinda problem with that?"..

Sans Superego...Thank you for reporting that I cracked you up..I really appreciate the appreciation......I do alot of offbeat clowning around,and I know that alot of it is confusing jocular trash,,but it really makes my day to know that I cracked someone up,besides myself.........


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Comment #18 posted by Nuevo Mexican on April 02, 2002 at 16:10:56 PT
A Follow-up to Operation Green Quest...
Here's what the Post doesn't tell you, while making it seem like this is true investigative journalism, which it is not. Please ignore the anti-'Nader bias of this site, it's spot on in every OTHER way! Norquist-Moonie Times Fiasco' http://mediawhoresonline.com/ The previous bush administration made sure Clintons' hands were tied behind his back for 8 years, largely by the Mellon-Scaife Foundation to the tune of 2 million to kick start the sordid affair. See David Brocks number one bestseller 'Blinded by the Right'. I recommend everyone that reads C=news (Cannabis News equals NEWS!, I thought it was a typo), read this book, and challenge any right winger to a debate about who is destroying this country. Bush is no different than Sharon, and the only difference is the time-lag before we feel like Palestinians and Israelis). Remember, we ALREADY had a coup de tat' in this country on the last 'selection', what makes anyone think it ain't gonna happen here? What goes around, comes around, and shrub it egging everyone on to shut him up! What does this have to do with Cannabis? The tide is turning, and people hunger for the truth when they are being lied to so blatantly. Thus the success of Michael Moores book, Stupid White Men, and Brocks' book, show the tide turning and as David Icke says: It's not turning back! Who is going to write the Cannabis Solution and make sure it is a best seller? Duh...Bill Maher and Woody Harrelson! Pass this on to them somebody, and tell them what the cause needs is a Michael Moore type Cannibis based best seller! I think the book is already written and just needs a Major Cannabis Stars' or two name attached. Then everybody will come out of the closet, dddd, Kap, FOM, E. JOhnson, dCd , GCW, and all the rest of you prolific, articulate, funny and pissed posters here will be so happy we'll think were stoned! Cannabis is fun, Cannabis is medicine and Joyce and shrubs days are waning...let's get the truth out to as many people as we can, and seem to be doing, before the web is silenced. Actually, when that does happen, the streets will swell and the need to communicate with each other via internet will disappear, we'll all meet each other in person and celebrate the new high day!!!

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Comment #17 posted by Hope on April 02, 2002 at 15:49:36 PT
Actually, I spoke too soon about Comment 12
It has more than just that one lol!

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Comment #16 posted by Hope on April 02, 2002 at 15:41:25 PT
Laughed Out Loud at qqqq's Comment 12
..after all,,you dont necessarily have to swing open the closet door,and scare the shit out of everyone..

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Comment #15 posted by SansSuperego on April 02, 2002 at 14:09:10 PT:

Response Part II
masturbatius interuptus!

Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

You cracked me up yet again, qqqq.

I should, then, amend my comment to say that closet masturbaters should feel comfortable remaining in the closet. And those who want to smoke cannabis in the closet--fine, but please do speak out for reform, even if you don't want anyone to know whether you partake or not. I no longer partake (haven't in 16 months!), but I still participate in the debate (such as it is).

That's it for now.

SansSuperego

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Comment #14 posted by SansSuperego on April 02, 2002 at 14:02:51 PT:

In Response to qqqq . . .
I understand your frustration with the closet cannabis users, and I agree that if the majority of cannabis smokers would step outside their closets and into the front pages of their newspapers, the war on some drugs would be over before you can say "Jack-Diddley." Why? Because the police cannot arrest, let alone jail, all of those people, and because too many friends and relatives of those closet cannabis users would suddenly be hip to the horrific reality of "zero-tolerance" if the police/DEA/FBI/insert-federal-organization-with-initials-here tried to do so. We would have a mass panic as millions of people across the country are rounded up and put into "temporary" concentration camps (NEWS FLASH: Prisons are concentration camps!). Of course, people like me who no longer use the herb but support drug policy reform (including re-legalization of cannabis) would also be joining the masses in the concentration camps. BUT (and this is a BIG BUT! . . . ["Why does everybody have a big but?"--PeeWee Herman]) it is always darkest before the dawn, my friends (cue Wagner's "The Valkyrie" here), and as soon as the war on some drugs is shown to the masses to be the horror that it is, you can bet that reform will be just around the corner.

So, jump on out of those closets, cannabis smokers, and let the world know who you are! (cue "What the world needs now, is cannabis users, sweet cannabis users . . .") That's right; step on up and be counted among the elite who partake in this glorious herb! Let your "representatives" know that you are mad as hell and you're not gonna take it anymore! Demand freedom! Demand Equality! Demand Justice. If you don't do it for yourselves, do it for the herb!

Peace.

SansSuperego

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #13 posted by MassCrusader on April 02, 2002 at 13:50:50 PT
The deal on me
I am sort of what you say I am, two sided. I hide in my local town, but when I head for events in Boston, I make it clear what I stand for. I hope one day that when I am self-employed I can push myself onto the local community. However as it stands now, I just work for people who are very well known throughout the area and probably would not be associated with an employee that is against the status quo. I cannot wait to see our neighbors up north make our politicians look bad by creating lots of revenue in coffee shops and tourism, while small town Indiana cannot get any tourism or help with their economy.

But for now the talk now is traffic ticket style fines of 100 in Boston for possesion, and medpot for the sick. Lots of support seems to be popping up from Quincy and even parts of Western MA.

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Comment #12 posted by qqqq on April 02, 2002 at 13:21:40 PT
yup,,,you're right MassCrusader
..I'm gratefully amazed that you took the time to wade thru my commentary...I understand,,and it's true..;..
.." When faced with decisions presented to us with emotional intent, things are done hastily and are hacked. I am sorry if it isn't that easy for every pot smoker to leave the closet and say enough is enough."....
...well said my friend,,,,no apology needed for the uneasiness of exiting the closet..after all,,you dont necessarily have to swing open the closet door,and scare the shit out of everyone..I think that before leaving the closet,,it would be wise to peek out and see who is outside!..I didnt mean to "blame closet smokers",,,..I do wonder how many closet smokers are out there,,but I dont have a problem with anyone who feels more comfortable behind the door....ya know,,,maybe we could make some big plan,,where all the closet smokers would throw open the door at the same time and shock the hell out of everyone who they thought didnt know they were in there...(I've known alot of people who thought that their use of the closet was a big secret!,,I'll never forget the time when my friend Frank decided to reveal his closet activities,,thinking it would be a big shocking suprise to his wife and brother ,he spent a week or two trying to figure out just how he would gracefully emerge from the closet in a respectful manner...Frank finally worked up the nerve to tell them about it,,he broke the news over dinner and was somewhat chagrined to find that they had been aware of his closet activities for the last year or so,but they didnt want to embarass him by asking about it..they respected his privacy......quite rare...
..Heck,,,in some cases,it might be better to stay in the closet..it's kinda like a drug war bomb shelter!..only a fool is not afraid of getting busted.....
....but the main thing I want to say in response to your comment ,MassCrusader;,is that I did not mean to give the impression that I "blame" closet dwellers in any way!...What kind of cruel sonuvabitch do you think I am anyway?,,I'm not the type of guy who would whip open the closet door,and start blaming whoever was hiding inside for anything!....no way...if I did decide to expose closet pot smokers by hunting them down,and throwing open the closet door,,with my luck I'd throw open the door,and find that there was no pot use,,instead I'd curdle and gasp in grotesque awe to find that the person in the closet was only trying to masturbate!!!..I would feel terrible,,and the person who was attempting to masturbate in the closet would never be able to enjoy a relaxing closet masturbation again!..nope,,they would have to put a bunch of crackhouse type locks and bolts on the closet, ,,and even then the trauma of masturbatius interuptus, would mar them for life!..they would have to start smoking Marijuana to relax!.......
...also I want to welcome you to continue commenting...Dont be shy,,and be careful no one catches you in the closet because you might have a hard time explaining why someone named MassCrusader is in the closet....maybe you could get a cape that has a MassCrusader logo on it,,and you could tell them that you are actually Milton Kent, ,you know,,Clark Kents little brother.


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Comment #11 posted by p4me on April 02, 2002 at 13:20:39 PT
current situation
I say this mainly in response to comment one. The people that sponsor the war as in DEA, remind me of the college student that is flunking out. He knows he is flunking and even a miracle on the final exam will not keep him from getting expelled. He just has to follow the path and wait for the school to kick him our.

Our politicians know they have failed us all miserably in the WoSD, and they are just waiting for us to kick them out. I am quite willing to help them. VAAI

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #10 posted by Jose Melendez on April 02, 2002 at 12:07:00 PT:

Operation Green Quest
from:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020402-86569840.htm<>
The Clinton administration shut down a 1995 investigation of Islamic charities, concerned that a public probe would expose Saudi Arabia's suspected ties to a global money-laundering operation that raised millions for anti-Israel terrorists, federal officials told The Washington Times.
     Law enforcement authorities and others close to the aborted investigation said the State Department pressed federal officials to pull agents off the previously undisclosed probe after the charities were targeted in the diversion of cash to groups that fund terrorism.
     Former federal prosecutor John J. Loftus said four interrelated Islamic foundations, institutes and charities in Virginia with more than a billion dollars in assets donated by or through the Saudi Arabian government were allowed to continue under "a veil of secrecy."
     "If federal agents had been allowed to conduct the investigation they wanted in 1995, they would have made the connection between the Saudi government and those charities," said Mr. Loftus, now a St. Petersburg, Fla., lawyer who filed a lawsuit last week accusing a Florida charity of fraud.
     "Had the charities been shut down, they would have been unable to raise the millions that since have been used by terrorists in hundreds of suicide attacks," he said.
     Federal agents last week began a new investigation, known as "Operation Green Quest," into the funding by charities of suspected terrorists, raiding 14 Islamic businesses in Virginia. Agents from the U.S. Customs Service, Internal Revenue Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service and FBI, coordinated by a Treasury Department counterterrorism task force, seized two dozen computers, along with hundreds of bank statements and other documents.
     Records in the case have been sealed and no arrests have been announced, although the probe is continuing.
     The Loftus suit, filed March 20 under the Florida Consumer Protection Act, accuses the Saudi government in a massive scheme involving charities in Virginia and Florida that routed cash to terrorists.
     The suit's main target is Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor who created or was associated with several Florida charities or think tanks, including the International Committee for Palestine, Islamic Concern Project and the now-defunct World and Islam Studies Enterprise.
     Warrants served by agents in the Virginia raids last week targeted, among others, the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, a major source of funding for Mr. Al-Arian's World and Islam Studies Institute.
     The warrants sought information on Islamic Jihad, Hamas, the Islamic Concern Project, the World and Islam Studies Enterprise, and Mr. Al-Arian. They also sought information on the SAAR Foundation, an educational and health charity founded by the Al-Rajihi family of Saudi Arabia.
     The Islamic Concern Project and the World and Islam Studies Enterprise have been named by the State Department as front organizations that raised funds for militant Islamic-Palestinian groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas. They have been tied to the diversion of millions of dollars to terrorists for weapons, safe haven, training and equipment.
     Nail Al-Jubeir, spokesman for the Saudi information office in Washington, called the accusations "simply nonsense," adding that Saudi Arabia has cracked down on terrorists and those who fund them.
     "There is not one iota of evidence to support these accusations," Mr. Al-Jubeir said. "It is nothing more than an effort to smear our name. If there is any proof, I would suggest it be taken directly to the U.S. government."
     Mr. Al-Arian and Mazen Al-Najjar, director of the Islamic Concern Project, have been the focus of federal investigations since the mid-1990s. No criminal charges have been filed against the two, although the government shut down the World and Islam Studies Enterprise.
     Mr. Al-Najjar, who is Mr. Al-Arian's brother-in-law, was detained and ordered deported by the INS on visa violations after the September 11 attacks on America. He is being held at a federal detention center in Florida pending appeal.
     In the aborted 1995 investigation, the FBI said in a sealed affidavit that the Islamic Concern Project and World and Islam Studies Enterprise — working with charities in Virginia — committed fraud and "served as a vehicle by which [Islamic Jihad] raised funds to support terrorist activities in the occupied territories."
     In that probe, investigators found that checks drawn on a bank account of the International Committee for Palestine had been cashed by people in the Middle East. They said the checks had been signed by Mr. Al-Arian.
     Mr. Loftus is seeking an injunction blocking Florida charities, including those headed by Mr. Al-Arian, from transferring "money, weapons, equipment or communications gear" to terrorists.
     Mr. Al-Arian has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, calling the Loftus lawsuit a "publicity stunt." His attorney, Robert McKee, did not return calls to his office for comment.
     Julie Payne, spokeswoman for former President Bill Clinton, did not repond to inquiries about State Department policy in 1995 during his administration.
     Accusations that the Saudi government used charities as front organizations to fund international terrorism are long-standing, first surfacing 20 years ago when U.S. intelligence officials warned Congress that the Saudis had taken over the direct funding of terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
     One former and three current federal law enforcement officials said the new probe began after U.S. officials learned that intelligence agents in India had wiretapped the telephone of a Pakistani charity funded by the Saudi government and discovered the transfer of $100,000 to Mohamed Atta, one of the 19 al Qaeda hijackers in the September 11 attacks.
     That information helped U.S. officials identify the 19 hijackers, 15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia, the officials said.
     After the suicide strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the officials said Treasury's interagency task force was created to investigate ties between charitable organizations in this country and international terrorist groups.
     That ongoing probe, according to the officials, has focused on accusations that several tax-exempt and nonprofit charities operating from Virginia to Florida have contributed millions of dollars to international groups that support terrorism, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

copyright © 2002 News World Communications, Inc.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #8 posted by DdC on April 02, 2002 at 11:48:37 PT
Drugs Now Legal If User Is Employed...
April 1, 2002
Drugs Now Legal If User Is Employed Seeking to "narrow the focus of the drug war to the true enemy," Congress passed a bill legalizing drug use for the gainfully employed Monday. "Stockbrokers, lawyers, English professors... you're not the problem here," said DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson at a White House press conference. "If you are paying taxes and keeping your yard tidy, we're not going to hassle you if you come home from a hard day of work and want to enjoy a little pot or blow. But if, on the other hand, you're one of these lazy, shiftless types hanging out on the street all day looking for your next high, we're coming after you."
Read More
http://www.theonion.com/onion3811/drugs_now_legal.html

Bush, Ashcroft, Walters Have Change of Heart...
from Richard Lake
http://www.drugpolicy.org/changeofheart

LP John the Terrorist 3:16
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/39/39850.jpg
Follow-up on USA Today ads by Ron Crickenberger
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionprohibitionistwodjunkies.showMessage?topicID=54.topic

Coalition for Compassionate Access
http://www.compassionateaccess.org/nytimesad.html
MMJ Love it or Leave it Alone!
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/39/39914.jpg

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. (Ezekiel 34:29)

In the later times, some shall speak lies in hypocrisy commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
(Paul: 1 Timothy 4:1-6)

If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. (Prov. 29:12)

"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7).

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you will be no priest to Me for I desired mercy and not sacrifice." (Hosea 4:6, 6:6)

"The Lord hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." (Isaiah 61:1)

"Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me" (Jesus)

"shall not bear false witness"

Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind, And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. (Matthew 15:13-14)

As troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests commit murder in the way by consent. (Hos. 6:9) (Ps. 119:86)

AsacondA
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/40/40163.gif

Captain Kangaroo
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/40/40189.gif

(Jesus:) He beheld them and said, "What is this then that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner'?" (Luke 20:17)

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning: and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. (Proverbs 1:5)

LAKOTA, HEMP, AND GLOBALIZATION
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionorgs.showMessage?topicID=15.topic Indigenous Environmental Network
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionorgs.showMessage?topicID=16.topic

Corporate Predators...
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionorgs.showMessage?topicID=17.topic


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Comment #7 posted by MikeEEEEE on April 02, 2002 at 11:48:15 PT
Wasted energy
Don't waste your energy on Joyce, some people will never learn or change. If you tell these people a car was invented they'll insist on still using a horse. Ignore her and she'll go away.



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Comment #6 posted by MassCrusader on April 02, 2002 at 11:35:31 PT
qqqq
You can blame and vent all your frustrations on everyone else but it gets you nowhere. Joyce blames drugs as the evil in society. You blame closet-smokers. When faced with decisions presented to us with emotional intent, things are done hastily and are hacked. I am sorry if it isn't that easy for every pot smoker to leave the closet and say enough is enough. It seems too many people in places to harm us indefinetly can and will.

The day will come soon

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Comment #5 posted by qqqq on April 02, 2002 at 11:11:14 PT
..pardon me..strong language is unavoidable!.
..I have some very strong views on this topic,,but I've already over-commented......so,,all I'm gonna say,,,is that I hope that readers of this site,will not hesitate to take the time to comment.....and I also want to say "SHAME ON YOU!",,if you are one who agrees that the war on drugs is out of control,and is hiding behind the scenes..lurking in the shadows and reading stuff here and there.....Hoping that things will get better,and wishing luck to those who are trying to fight,,that's no good nowdays!..
..I think that only an idiot would say something like,,;'if you're not for us,you're against us'....but unfortunatly it seems that very few people think such a statement disturbing enough to be worthy of questioning...I think that there are alot of people who are living in fear of the government..They realize that things aren't quite right,but they dont want to say too much.Perhaps they are wise to hide their secret Marijuana use and opinions.No one wants to bring the terror of a SWAT team to their door...A no-knock drug raid on an american home is true terror.It's terror done right...I cant blame anyone for being scared because I'm scared,,and alot of people who speak out here are scared..FoM is scared.......Maybe there is someone out there who is not at all scared,and they may go for years without being scared,,"if you're not for us,you're against us" will seem like a glorious and normal slogan for "us patriots",,but then the day will come when you realize what I am saying,,and they come to your door and tell you that you are no longer considered one of "us"...in fact ,,they have recieved reports that you,and your family were actually "thems",,who are not for "us".........I pity da fool who thinks everything is fine,,,drivin' around in a new SUV,,on a cell phone,,faking themselves out by thinking that nothing is wrong, ,convinced that their grandchildren will be happy and healthy in the year2047,,,,but the brutal true picture of the grandkids in the future,would reveal disturbing views of Brent,,the oldest,,joining the Navy,and dying in the China-Tiawan conflict of 2022.,,and Brianna,who perished from drinking infected rainwater out of a puddle during the Iowa water crisis of 2029...the only one who survived past 2047 was 'lil' Elliot.He just happened to be one of the few people who..._______________
..what a whacko four Q is....I think that 4q may have gotten that name because there is only four Qs in his IQ.


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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on April 02, 2002 at 10:58:11 PT
Attack Afghanistan
to kill terrorism, and harvest a bumper poppy crop.

Farging drugs support terrorism which must be pulled out from the roots and killed.

If we kill terrorism, will people stop using drugs? There will be no terrorism to support, therefore no one will have to use drugs.

This is a laugher.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #3 posted by krutch on April 02, 2002 at 10:53:14 PT:

Incompetence
The state department may be able to link some terrorist organizations with drug trafficking, but I have not seen any evidence. I am confident that Arab terrorists do not have their money in reefer. They also fund themselves thru donations and legal businesses, like honey shops.

This is all a PR campaign to divert attention. Since Ron and Nancy started the drug war the goverment has wasted massive resources trying to enforce prohibition. Now it becomes clear that we had much bigger problems we should have been addressing.

The government does not want to admit this. They would much rather make it look like those evil drugs that they have been fighting helped cause the whole terrorist problem.

News flash for George W: Nobody believes this nonsense.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #2 posted by rose on April 02, 2002 at 08:23:52 PT:

darnit
that subject line is suposed to say The disease called "idiocism" seems to be spreading through the goverment like wildfire bluh bluh bluh....doh?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #1 posted by rose on April 02, 2002 at 08:17:09 PT:

the disease called "idocism" seems to be spre
That is incredibly stoooopid! I almost would like to say that I can't believe our goverment, but than again, I know that it will continue to go to such extremes. It also makes me so angry how this ridiculous "war on drugs" is going absolutly no where, and yet they continue to spend great amounts of money on it when they could be using that same money on much more important things that can be fixed/helped with time. gr!

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