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Drug Trafficking in North Africa is directly linked to Al Qaeda: An article in yesterday’s LA Times speaks about the clear link made between the cocaine smuggling routes in North Africa and an Al Qaeda group in the Maghreb. “Reporting from Washington - Three men alleged to be Al Qaeda associates were charged Friday with conspiring to smuggle cocaine through Africa -- the first U.S. prosecution linking the terrorist group directly to drug trafficking.” The terrorists provide protection along these dangerous routes in exchange for large sums of money. They then use the cocaine profits to acquire better weaponry, expand recruitment and buy off corrupt governments. An even scarier element of this story is that the personal relationships being formed between the terrorists and the drug organizations can become operational in the future. It is time that this dimension of the global terror threat gets more attention in the media.