BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Heroin production is booming in Afghanistan, undermining democracy and putting money in the coffers of terrorists, according to a U.N. report that calls on U.S. and NATO-led forces get more involved in fighting drug traffickers.
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"It would be an historical error to abandon Afghanistan to opium, right after we reclaimed it from the Taliban and al Qaeda."
An historical error, indeed! Yet another example of our best intentions gone awry by spreading our resources too thin to reasonably finsh what we've began.
Kabul yesterday warned the US and Britain against spraying herbicide on poppy fields in Afghanistan, saying this would constitute an affront to national sovereignty.
The warning underscored the potential for controversy as Afghanistan's allies step up efforts to combat the country's booming opium industry, which is the world's leading supplier of raw material for heroin. It followed indications that unidentified aircraft had sprayed fields in an eastern province with chemicals.
US officials said recently they were considering aerial crop spraying to combat the poppy harvest, but Kabul is against the proposal.
"Anything that's related (to counter-narcotics) has to be done on the basis of an understanding between the government and the international community," Jawed Ludin, spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said. "It is a question of the sovereignty of the country."
Kabul launched an investigation 10 days ago into claims by villagers in Nangahar province that low-flying aircraft had sprayed a chemical on their fields at night. Mr Ludin said soil samples showed a chemical had been sprayed in two districts, although it was unclear how or by whom. Investigators were trying to identify the chemical, he said.
Mr Karzai held talks with senior British and US officials in Kabul, who denied any involvement in crop spraying, Mr Ludin said. Britain has been co-ordinating Afghan and international efforts to tackle the opium industry for three years. The US this month announced a plan to spend Dollars 800m (Euros 603m, Pounds 422m) next year on counter-narcotics including eradication, law enforcement and rural development. The US embassy in Kabul said yesterday it could not comment on the issue.
Afghanistan's opium output accounts for 87 per cent of the world's supply. The UN estimates the industry involves about 2.3m Afghans and represents 60 per cent of gross domestic product.
The US has been looking into crop spraying as a more efficient way of eradicating poppies, which must otherwise be cut down by scythe. Western officials believe that if spraying were to be pursued, the US would contract Dyncorp, a security company involved in US-funded eradication efforts in Afghanistan and in coca spraying in Colombia.
Kabul said it objected to crop spraying because it could damage benign crops, cause skin disease and harm livestock. Mr Ludin said crop spraying was "morally wrong". He said the health ministry had registered recent cases of skin complaints and diarrhoea in the area but that there was no proven connection with the alleged crop spraying.
"Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those who say this are witless." ~Ayatollah Khomeini
Great - maybe they'd rather set the fields on fire instead? They oughtta do something if they're serious about restricting drug trafficking. If instead they simply piss & moan to the international community when they get complaints from "field owners" when their crops are attacked, it's clear that they're not serious about cooperating. The first thing they should have done was arrest the "field owners" and then plow the field under and put corn or something in its place...
The heroin problem in Aghanistan has increased exponentially since we sent troops there looking for osama bin laden.
Haven't caught o bin laden and heroin production makes up the majority of the countries "GDP."
Another "mission accomplished????????????????????????"
Truth is we don't know what the hell we are doing in the middle east.
Send the boy scouts in or something cuz I am sure they'd do a better job than this.
How do you know there are more poppie feilds now than before? Is the an AG report on this or what? Show us the link that shows the exponential increase.
I have a hard time belieing this report because they were completely unguarded before.
I also fail to see what this has to do with America fighting the taliban.
Do we now turn our toops into the DEA ?
"Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those who say this are witless." ~Ayatollah Khomeini
Why don't YOU go to Aghanistan yourself, or ask your little buddy to go over there for some R/R and scout it out for ya?
So guarded poppy fields are better than unguarded ones?
Problem is we go to Aghanistan for our own little project (which has been in my book unsuccessful since OBL still walks free)...and turn the country into an even more lawless society....
Oh, but they now have elections, you say? Yeah and who do you think they'll vote for, heh?
The men who will look the other way on their little poppy empire that's who.
And why should the USA act as the DEA?
Great question....I'll take it even further....why should the USA be the policeman and "liberator" for the world.....???
If we're gonna stick our noses into everything...why not go all the wayyyyyy???
While opium is the mainstay of the Afghan economy the place will be violent, poor, lawless and corrupt, run by gangs, criminals and warlords, who's vested interest will be to keep the country lawless and corrupt.
It's three years since we bombed the place and we obviously haven't been paying enough attention to what's been going on there. Any guesses why? Iraq maybe? It seems governments are very willing to cough up the cash to destroy things, but not to rebuild them.
Incidentally, a recent report states that despite Western economies becoming richer over the last 30 years, aid since the 1960's has HALVED. Is anyone surprised or even just a bit outraged?
gaoxiaen said this in post #11 : It's how people feed their families in Afghanistan.
I'm not knocking it on moral grounds, just economic. Ultimately it's up to Afghanistan what they grow and if Americans or anyone for that matter is buying and using cocaine and heroin that's their problem, not Afghanistan's. Neither America nor Britain have any right to moralise how a country makes money as they are number 1 and 2 peddlers of weapons in the world.
But while most of the world criminalises these drugs, the profits are astronomical and criminals are involved and that means Afghan remains a lawless, unstable and poor country for the majority. The Taliban were originally welcomed to sort just this kind of mess out and to a large extent, heroin production dropped although I've no idea what that did for the Afghan economy.
The Taliban stockpiled heroin and then banned production to drive up the price of their own holdings. The US and UN funded the Taliban's eradication of opium, unwittingly helping their market ploy. This caused the price of raw opium to go from $35 to $750, spurring a major production increase after the Taliban departed.
USA1 said this in post #5 : How do you know there are more poppie feilds now than before? Is the an AG report on this or what? Show us the link that shows the exponential increase.
I have a hard time belieing this report because they were completely unguarded before.
I also fail to see what this has to do with America fighting the taliban.
Do we now turn our toops into the DEA ?
Satellite pictures, State Dept. and DEA press releases, News, etc..
11-19-2004 11:35 PM
