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Title details for Seeds of Terror by Gretchen Peters - Available

Seeds of Terror

How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al Qaeda

by Gretchen Peters
Laural Merlington
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Most Americans think of the Taliban and al-Qaeda as a bunch of bearded fanatics fighting an Islamic crusade from caves in Afghanistan. But that doesn't explain their astonishing comeback along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Why is it that eight years after we invaded Afghanistan, the CIA says that these groups are better armed and better funded than ever?


Seeds of Terror will reshape the way you think about America's enemies, revealing them less as ideologues and more as criminals who earn half a billion dollars every year off the opium trade. With the breakneck pace of a thriller, author Gretchen Peters traces their illicit activities from vast poppy fields in southern Afghanistan to heroin labs run by Taliban commanders, from drug convoys armed with Stinger missiles to the money launderers of Karachi and Dubai.


This isn't a fanciful conspiracy theory. Seeds of Terror is based on hundreds of interviews with Taliban fighters, smugglers, and law enforcement and intelligence agents. Their information is matched by intelligence reports shown to the author by frustrated U.S. officials who fear the next 9/11 will be far deadlier than the first—and paid for with drug profits.


Seeds of Terror makes the case that we must cut terrorists off from their drug earnings if we ever hope to beat them. This war isn't about ideology or religion. It's about creating a new economy for Afghanistan—and breaking the cycle of violence and extremism that has gripped the region for decades.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 16, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400192939
      • File size: 226172 KB
      • Duration: 07:51:11

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Author Gretchen Peters's 10 years of on-the-ground research and immersion in the cultures of Afghanistan and Pakistan are evident in her depth of knowledge regarding the Taliban and its developing interconnections with Al Qaeda. Both are experiencing a strong and sinister resurgence based less on religion and ideology than on the huge profits of the heroin trade. Narrator Laural Merlington is a particularly apt choice. Her mature, steady voice is totally credible as she presents the straightforward and detailed picture Peters creates. The author's clear writing, coupled with Merlington's clear delivery, allows the listener to absorb the complexities and implications of an emerging narco-state that is aligned with a terrorist movement. This is a particularly timely text, well written and well presented, fascinating and frightening--a definite must-read. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 16, 2009
      Journalist Peters draws on 10 years of reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan for this important examination of “the nexus of smugglers and extremists” in the global war against terrorists. Citing firsthand testimony, classified intelligence reports and specialized studies, Peters builds a solid case for her contention that the “union of narco-traffickers, terrorist groups, and the international criminal underworld is the new axis of evil.” Ground zero is Afghanistan, where the rejuvenated Taliban depend on opium for 70% of its funds and there is “overwhelming circumstantial evidence” of Osama bin Laden’s involvement in the drug trade. Peters argues that the failure to halt this money flow to terrorist networks is “the single greatest failure in the war on terror,” and warns that stanching the flood of drug money into terrorist coffers is essential. The author offers a less-than-convincing strategy to sever the link, including “military strikes against drug lords,” “alternative-livelihood programs” for small farmers, regional diplomatic initiatives and a public relations campaign. Prescriptions aside, Peters has exhaustively framed one of the thorniest problems facing policy makers in this long war.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 26, 2009
      Peters, a journalist who has covered Pakistan and Afghanistan for more than 10 years, reveals that the Taliban raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually—and finance terrorist cells—by cultivating and exporting poppy to make narcotics. It's an important work of investigative journalism, but the book occasionally gets bogged down in details. Laural Merlington's monotonous narration only enhances the dryness: while the book certainly deserves a certain gravity of voice, Merlington's approach is so somber as to be tedious. Moreover, such a fact-heavy book does not lend itself well to the audio format; listeners can't easily digest the complexities nor can they quickly return to retrieve key information later. In this instance, the book's print version is preferable for marking significant details and also skimming the less compelling parts. A St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 16).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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