[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 130 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1955-E1956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                9/11 RECOMMENDATIONS IMPLEMENTATION ACT

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                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 8, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 10) to 
     provide for reform of the intelligence community, terrorism 
     prevention and prosecution, border security, and 
     international cooperation and coordination, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise to address the 
Amendment offered by Mr. Kirk of Illinois which would require that the 
President submit a report to the congressional intelligence committees 
detailing how the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) can be 
integrated into the intelligence community. I believe it is important 
that we recognize the vital role the DEA has played in our War on 
Terror and we should study how effective it would be to officially 
include the DEA in our intelligence apparatus.
  Many of the terrorist groups including Al Qaeda that are targeting 
our Nation derive much of their income from the sale of drugs which 
finances their terror network. It is clear that narcoterrorism is 
becoming a larger threat to our security and the DEA is playing a 
significant role in reducing this threat. Just last December the USS 
Decatur intercepted a boat in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz that 
was found to be carrying almost two tons of hashish valued at up to $10 
million. The boat was found to have direct connection to the Al Qaeda 
terror network. While this large shipment was intercepted we can safely 
assume there are many others that are out there that pose a threat to 
our national security.

  In Afghanistan, we replaced the brutal Taliban regime that was 
harboring Al Qaeda terrorists, but today Afghanistan faces many threats 
from those same terrorist networks. President Karzai himself has said 
that the cultivation of drugs namely the poppy crop is one of the 
biggest threats that Afghanistan faces. The U.S. State Department has 
indicated that poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is expected to jump by 
40 percent this year. In fact, Afghanistan is one of 22 nations listed 
by President Bush in his annual report to Congress on ``major'' drug-
producers. Our own Pentagon is reporting that the drugs trade is 
corrupting Afghan government institutions and that without vigorous 
eradication, security will not improve quickly. The U.N. released 
figures earlier this year saying three-quarters of the world's opium 
poppy was now grown in Afghanistan. These figures are staggering and 
indicate the battle we face to eliminate these drugs so that they can 
not benefit our terrorist adversaries.
  The DEA has played a critical role in challenging Al Qaeda and other 
terror networks that engage in narcoterrorism. The DEA currently has an 
international presence with 77 offices in 55 countries that gather drug 
enforcement intelligence, take part in host-country drug-related law 
enforcement operations, and train host-country law enforcement 
personnel. An indication of DEA's effectiveness in foreign operations 
can be found in the intelligence information the DEA gathered to reveal 
that Osama bin Laden himself had been

[[Page E1956]]

involved in the financing and facilitation of heroin-trafficking 
activities, which were then shut down by our military operations in 
Afghanistan. Today, the DEA continues to push forward in identifying 
narcoterrorism threats that are vital to maintaining our national 
security. I look forward to seeing a report from the President that 
will indicate the efficacy of officially including the DEA in our 
intelligence system. Clearly, the DEA plays an important information 
gathering and enforcement role in our War on Terror, this report will 
simply clarify their position in our national intelligence system.

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