 |
"And now, my beauties, something with poison in it, I think ... with poison in it, but attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell ... Ha ha heh heh heh heh! Poppies... poppies... Poppies will put them to sleep... Sleep... Now they'll sleep..."
Posted on 03/05/2005 8:11:15 PM PST by Wolfie
Afghanistan's Opium Poppy Acreage Triples Since 2003
WASHINGTON - More than three years after a pro-U.S. government was installed, Afghanistan has been unable to contain opium poppy production and is ``on the verge of becoming a narcotics state,'' a presidential report said Friday.
The report said the area in Afghanistan devoted to poppy cultivation last year set a new record of 206,700 hectares, more than triple the figure for 2003.
The Afghan narcotics situation ``represents an enormous threat to world stability,'' the report said.
Opium poppy is the raw material for heroin.
The massive study, covering the illicit narcotics situation in 2004 in virtually all countries, was transmitted to the Congress by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on behalf of President Bush.
Colombia remains a major drug country, the report said, despite impressive progress against narcotics trafficking.
It credited Colombia's public security forces with preventing hundreds of tons of illicit drugs from reaching the world market through interdiction, spraying of coca and poppy crops and manual eradication.
The United States has been a major counterdrug partner of Colombia, having contributed billions of dollars to the effort since 2000.
Colombia is the source of more than 90 percent of the cocaine and 50 percent of the heroin entering the United States, the report said.
In Afghanistan, ``Dangerous security conditions make implementing counternarcotics programs difficult,'' the report said.
Also contributing to the situation is the destruction resulting from 25 years of conflict, the lack of legitimate income streams, and the limited enforcement capacity of the national government, the report said.
On the bright side, we've finally found a farm support program that works.
"Kind of makes you wonder" ping.
Isn't this all part of Karl Rove's evil masterplan for the destruction of mankind?
|
More a problem for Europe, Russia, and China.
Quit Our War on Drugs and that will take care of the Opium trade. Then help them grow another crop. Keeping these drugs "illegal" here is a dead end for us and just creates more international gangs and crime.
Unfortunately, the Opium-Poppy is one of the few cash-crops that can be cultivated in that arid land, and the whole world is its' customer. A hard challenge to meet indeed!
I've always felt that to eliminate the Opium production in Afghanistan, it must be replaced with a more profitable cash-crop.
Improved irrigation would allow the production of other flowering plants which could lead to the production of Saffron - much more valuable than Opium, and better tasting too!
Seriously, folks, the only way to stop these very-poor-people from growing Opium-Poppys is to show them a more profitable way to make a living, and help them with the tools that they need.
BTW, the DEA and BATF should be completely disbanded. The FBI should be gutted, and started over, and the CIA should be re-enforced. We're in a war, and it's against Islam, because they're trying to kill us - all of us.
And would someone please take the guns away from the IRS? .................FRegards
I wholeheartedly agree with all you said! What ARE their options? Few or none.
The white Poppy will grow in that desolate land, but with irrigation, and water IS available, much of the lowlands could become akin to Arizona , and they could grow anything, including foodstuffs to support themselves. The biggest problem is convincing the people that oranges are better than Opium. It's gonna be a tough sell............FRegards
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.