Afghans In Marjah Have A Drug Trade To Defend

GlobalPost:

It is the worst-kept secret in Afghanistan: The "major offensive" set to begin within days, if not hours, will be for Marjah, a district just 15 miles from Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. The military has been scattering leaflets in Marjah itself and broad hints everywhere else, seemingly hoping that the insurgents will follow recent patterns and melt away.

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Comments

[deepfreezevideo]

02:19 PM on 02/11/2010

I used to think we were propping up the opium farmers, but have recently learned that the objective is to SEPARATE the Taliban from the "tax revenues" generated by the poppy farmers, which the Taliban use to buy arms and weapons.
We have no chance of stopping the poppy farmers but if we dont allow the Taliban to gain profit, we're gaining ground.
I could personally care less if the Taliban want to rule this goddam country, as long as we have assurances that they will not use their money and weaponry to attack us, our allies or our interests.

[nomadrdw]

11:52 AM on 02/06/2010

this just goes to show how much the war on drugs is a farce. poppy production was almost totally destroyed during the first 2 years of the war, and instead, they were supplied with poppy seeds by allies of the war effort, knowing it would be processed into opium and heroin.

[shahada2009]

10:39 AM on 02/06/2010

This is one of the most disturbing aspects of the Taliban regime that escapes me! Any strong practicing Muslim is aware of the forbidden spirits and the growing of narcotics for sale is against the Shar'ah! When the Taliban were in control, this poppy cultivation was protected and nurtured. This is direct violation of the sunnah and there are no hadiths, passages authorizing the use of narcotics! One of the reasons why the Taliban lacks the full backing of the Muslim world is their alleged involved in the drug trade! It is uncertain which of the (4) Taliban groups are responsible for involvement of the drug trade. Yes, the need to raise funds to help finance their war with NATO and the Afghan government is understandable but without insisting on the drug trade! It is widely believe in the Muslim world that this horrible practice in the drug trade will prevent the Taliban from obtaining total victory in ridding NATO from their land!

[F4Phantom]

09:38 PM on 02/05/2010

Aw Christ, why don't we just sit there with a pallet load of money and buy all of it up. Load it up in C130's and drop it in the middle of the ocean.

Instead we'll conduct a military operation and kill hundreds, and destroy the livelihoods of 1000's of others.

the cost will be thousands times higher in the long run.

Can't we do anything SMART?