As you may know, poppy production in Afghanistan was essentially eradicated by the Anti drug Taliban. Once Bush attacked them as threatened before 9/11 occurred and the Taliban turned down Bush's request to put an oil pipeline through Afghanistan the Taliban started defending the poppy fields. They started guarding the poppy fields to earn millions to fight us.
They now make almost 100% of the worlds opium. Now trying to eradicate the poppy fields by destroying the poppy fields the people make their living on, while trying to win hearts and minds we are destroying hearts and minds. I have to first ask, when the Taliban prohibited them from growing poppies what did they grow to survive? We are finding that most of the Taliban seems to hit and run in Helmund province while melting back into Western Pakistan.
We seem to be fighting every one including the civilians. At the same time despite Pakistan's recent success in Waziristan many of our enemy, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are crossing the border and melting back into South Waziristan. Al Qaeda which Bush lured into Iraq to fight the infidels have now left Iraq to join the Taliban in destroying the infidels and they brought their IED knowledge with them.
25 years of recent war including with Russian Afghanistan and IED's were never used. IED attacks are now used routinely under the tutelage of Al Qaeda who has now joiner the fray with their so called brother terrorists to repel the infidel us! They are now being used more and more and their use and the increasing attacks will get much worse and deadlier.
This is happening at the same time we are increasing our force levels. As of yesterday morning with another American soldier killed in a Taliban ambush July while not over is the deadliest month there since this began in 2001. 40 dead Americans and 69 coalition forces total! Knowing the Taliban and the situation can you possibly imagine anyone stupid enough to do this?
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters an ex army intelligence officer I have yet to find any proof of combat duty is willing to condemn PFC Bergdahl captured by the Taliban for desertion. He said if Bergdahl betrayed his fellow soldiers by deserting while in Afghanistan that he would not mind if the Taliban killed him and save the US time and money.
Anyway this will continue to get a lot worse unless Karzai and Afghanistan stands up. I said it too many times but I believe to the average Afghani we are the enemy. I do not believe they have a clue as to how tenuous their situation is. The citizens themselves must get involved as they have in Pakistan because they know the threat to them and their autonomy. I do not believe they do in Afghanistan even while under Karzai women's rights are increasingly constrained! Women's rights 'in decline' in Afghanistan - Asia, World - The ...
While we are in the poppy fields in Helmund province the "Taliban" have stepped up their attacks on towns and Government buildings. Seven suicide attackers strike at Afghan facilities
Women's rights as we said are being cut again by Karzai. I increasingly believe he is the Taliban's friend and the enemy of America and the citizens of Afghanistan. Do you think this is a coincidence? Gunmen attack Karzai's running mate
Bush's war in Afghanistan is now America's war but it is being called Obama's war by his critics, thus who try to make him fail at every turn. However make no mistake like it or not this is America's war. I have not heard any reference to this yet but do you realize we have been at this in Afghanistan for going on 8 years now?
That is twice as long as US involvement in WW2. Like it or not this is still just beginning unless Karzai grows a spine and takes this seriously, the citizens get involved for their own good, their rights,their freedom if they really want it and peace. Either that or we should just leave and leave them to their own demise. They have not shown me any desire to help themselves. We can then monitor and decide what to do from here. Hell that seems to be our policy around the world why not here?
James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com
8 comments:
I find it hard to believe that the military could not knock out all the poppy fields if they wanted.
We are told about smart bombs and drones, satellite surveillance that pinpoint small targets. On Google Earth I have almost looked through my own windows.
The poppy fields are not small like a strawberry patch, they would be several acres and easily spotted by current technology. Do they choose not to take them out?
The Afghan war is going the same way all other Afghan conflicts have gone over the centuries. The great powers that enter that arena get tired of the casualties and the never ending war that is tribal conflict. With an Islamic bomb right next door in Pakistan, what does the Coalition do? First thing would be to knock out the poppies then stop the flow of money from the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia. Our addiction to oil and drugs is financing the very people who do our troops harm.
Holte
I agree I do not understand either. We are not going to win there unless Karzai and the people act like they want their country Taliban free and I absolutely do not believe they do.
If we were smart we'd pay those farmers for the poppy crop. We'd be getting a deal even if we give them twice what the Taliban offer them.
But the US is so entrenched in the war on drugs/terror mentality we'd much rather kill and impoverish innocent farmers than help them.
Same with American cannabis growers. The Empire has zero tolerance for any plant or chemical outside the domain of Big Pharma, Alchohol, and Tobacco.
Big PAT, if you will, dictates both foreign and domestic policy on those matters.
Damn Dave I never thought about that. Hell it wouldn't work with pot but I bet it will with poppy's. I remember doing a couple stories on pomegranates which a year ago they were trying to replace poppy's with. I thought that was a great replacement and would work. Wonder what happened to that?
very good post, James. Yeah thought so as well, that they're getting more scilled as far as IEDs are concerned... and now you're of course even more worried...
Drug trade... well there's always the possibility of taking away the custumers... if nobody's willing to do drugs, they're out of business!
thanks for the tip re the bits. unfortunately those that I buy are a whole lot more expensive, because my guys have to have diamond bits and that sort of thing, since the normal ones are just getting used up too fast... but I have a feeling these would also be much cheaper in the States.
Here's something from the other end of the world to take your mind of IEDs and that kind of thing:
http://anders-wohnen.blogspot.com/2009/07/country-road-landweg.html
is your life simular to that?
We were looking at a piece like that but opted for something manageable. I still grow my veggies but I have a son here if things are too much for me.
That was a beautiful piece but it gets to be a lot of work! Dave had a good idea to buy the poppy's at a higher price. That would work for me!
No, I don't think it's a good idea to offer a higher price at all!!!
You ned to take the custumers away, because drugs don't just destroy the individual, they destroy everybody's life! And I had the afghan farmers say, that you would be happy to grow differnts crops, if only someone wanted them and would pay enough money to survive, because they themselve don't like what they are doing. Surprise, surprise!
And also the Taliban might seem to treat tem civelized from a distance. But that is far from the truth!!! They are terrorizing the locals a whole lot more then they are terrorizing us. The locals do very, very much want to be free of the Taliban!
I wish the illegal market would go away but that will never happen.
There are lots of "legal" uses for opium. It's refined and used in Oxycontin, Tylonol 3 with codine, Percocet,Morphine, and duragesic patches like fentynol.
I did a couple stories over a year ago on the fact that Pomegranates were being grown to replace the poppy. I wonder what ever happened to that?
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