Afghan Drug Trade Assault Hindered By NATO Infighting

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A drive by the NATO alliance to disrupt Afghanistan's drug trade has been hobbled by new objections from member nations that say their laws do not permit soldiers to carry out such operations, according to senior commanders here.

The objections are being raised despite an agreement two months ago that the alliance's campaign in Afghanistan would be broadened to include attacks on narcotics facilities, traffickers, middlemen and drug lords whose profits help to finance insurgent groups.

During a recent visit here, Gen. John Craddock, NATO's supreme allied commander, expressed surprise upon learning of what he described as a gap between the decision by alliance defense ministers to authorize aggressive counternarcotics missions and the lack of follow-through because of objections from several of the countries that make up the NATO force in Afghanistan.

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Comments

[mydogshakespeare]

For about $1B/yr, American (and/or International) Pharmaceutical companies could buy up the entire crop to make medicinals. American (and/or Foreign taxpayers) purchase the excess, driving the warlords out of business in a few years.

Of course, that means many billions more NOT being funneled to Blackwater/Haliburton/KBR mercernaries, American Warriors, and the myriad arms manufacturers and dealers who profit by having the warlords/Taliban/Al Quaeda as targets for their goods and services.

[yappnmutt]

too fn funny. must not be much to do except to incite another segment of the population.

funny how the taliban stopped the opium trade but are now accused of encouraging it.

thailand must be happy about this operation. i bet they will send a christmas card to the general.

i bet heroin addicts aren't that concerned about their connections because of this operation.

[goodgravy]

wouldn't it just be cheaper in human lives and $$$ to just buy the opium from the farmers thereby depriving war funding for the warlords?

[acudoc]

Another f****ing war on drugs that we will surely lose. Just make the damn things legal and be done with it. Nope, can't do that....all that money bribing its way up the government food chain.

[Info08]

Why is Gen. John Craddock surprised? It's a $100 million dollar cash crop

[orangepetal]

Maybe we can get the pharmaceutical industry to buy it all.

[leftLibertarian]

Legalize all drugs and the problem will go away.

[vtlt8]

You do realize heroin will the go corporate. I know how you libs love corporations.

[philinburb]

Fight on brave little drug warrior!

[orangepetal]

Listen, Afghans want to earn money just like anybody does. Can't we find positive ways to use FLOWERS. Have landing strips to fly out the fresh flowers to the fresh flower wholesale markets in the world. Have the locals make potpourri components or even mixes. Dry them or press them for making hand made cards. I'm really not familiar with the flowers or the whole thing but maybe we could try to start to think more creatively as we go into the future. Maybe my thinking is too primitive. Maybe we are in a more technological age and I'm way behind.

[senorlou]

They already are growing and selling flowers and selling them to wholesale markets in the world. They're growing marijuana and poppy flowers. This whole problem they're having here has to do with flowers, so what I'm saying is that your idea is already being put into practice.

[orangepetal]

Duh, heroin is not POSITIVE, at least not in my opinion.

[TimNorman]

Afghanistan needs to legalize opium. Larouche says that MI5 created Pakistans secret police to keep the heroin flowing. Opium make you fall asleep if you smoke too much. Heroin kills people.

[vtlt8]

Opium isn't nice either. They fought a war over it 150 years ago.

[S1m0n]

NATO can have a hearts-and-minds campaign to try and win over the people of afghanistan, OR it can attack the drug trade. It cannot do both of these things.

[jsarets]

Yeah, and NATO wants us to believe that they are in favor of LESS drug money to launder through Western financial markets? The last time that over 90% of Afghan opium production was successfully eliminated, NATO forces promptly invaded to overthrow the regime that did it. If NATO allied forced left Afghanistan today, the Taliban could probably destroy the most of the opium crops before the spring harvest. We're the drug runners!

[helonias]

BUt didn't the taliban stop them?

[TJCole]

It's never been a war on drugs but the war, over drugs..!

Everybody both sides are getting their share of the money you can count on that, and Heroin addiction in Iran is the highest in the entire world with it also growing rapidly in Pakistan...

Now is that an effort to undermine Iran and or even Pakistan on our part as a strategic policy..?

[phasechange]

The EU and US should join in a subsidized opiates market whereby we jointly buy local Afghani heroin at 10% above local fair market value. That supply would be used to provide at-cost heroin to addicts who could also receive social services and anti-addiction treatment. Local Afghani farmers would survive but the criminal middle men, from Afghani warlords to the Los Angeles biker gangs, would be squeezed out. The net financial result? Savings of 100's of billions of dollars each year from reduced crime and the elimination of wasted anti-drug programs and prisons. Would there be an increase in drug use or social degradation? Unlikely, based on experience in the Netherlands and Sweden. Next after that, an agreement with Morales for a similar effort for coca, although it might be better to leave cocaine distribution to the free market. Amphetamines? Perhaps a little more complicated, but it's probably better to deal with it the way we handle alcohol.

[senorlou]

I agree. We could also let the pharmaceutical companies buy up the crop and turn it into pain meds for the third world. I guess too many people who are making money off this war on drugs want to keep their jobs a little longer.

[indyleftist]

I fail to see how destroying their farmland helps anyone
And further more I fail to see the legality of troops going into a foreign nation to go after drugs
Terrorism maybe, but we really have no business telling them what plants they can grow

Especially when we are the primary consumers of opium, both legal and otherwise. After all we pay the country of Turkey to grow opium for our prescription drug industry

[djgonebad]

DO YOU THINK TH CIA WILL ABANDON THEIR BIGGEST CASH SOURCE? DOUBTFUL!!

[senorlou]

Good point.