Afghanistan is the world's major opium producing country. The US military is there. Kosovo is Europe's major heroin distribution platform. The US military is there too. Colombia is the world's major Cocaine producer. The US military is there too. Now that looks like a freaky sort of coincidence to me. How much is the world drug trade worth?
Unfotunately, the West or at least Western European nations, have to abide by certain democratic procedures even in terms of military operations -- thus "send(ing) across a couple of Bombardiers to spray them to death?" may not be acceptable given the great probability of wiping out every living being within the perimeter.
This is where the govt in place should cooperate to the fullest. NATO must be bold and demand of the Afghan govt their full cooperation.
Sometimes I wonder if the opium cartel is not more powerful in military terms than the all of the western military combined!
So either the NATO force is a complete farce or NATO is intentionally not doing anything to hamper poppy production.
I don't see how dropping herbicide on poppy crops will wipe out anything except the crops.
Two words: Agent Orange.
'Sides, you'll have to provide the farmer with something else to grow - and prevent the local warlords from killing him when he stops growing poppy - otherwise he'll just re-plant his field next year. Or starve to death. Or get killed by goons for not delivering his quota of poppy. That is not how you win hearts and minds.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
Now I understand why the US military is present in every major drug center on earth.
Aotearoa IMC: Mexico,CIA,Guantanamo Rendition Plane, Cocaine, Homeland 'Security'
n April,2006 it was revealed that a plane owned by Skyway Communications of Lakeland,Florida and Royal Sons holding company using Huffman Aviation(where Mohamed Atta trained before 9/11),as its address and paradoxically rented by the Howard Dean's Democrat presidential campaign of 2004 had been busted by the Mexican army at the Ciudad Del Carmen,Campeche airport on the Yucatan Peninsula with over 5.5 tons of cocaine on board. Now yet another plane,(a Gulfstream II),that crashed in the Yucatan on Sept 24th this year with 4 tons of cocaine on board has connections to the Skyway Communications DC-9,(confiscated by the Mexican army and now used by the Mexican Attorney General's office),as well as to Guantanamo 'rendition' flights that may have taken place from or through Europe.Skyway Communications,a penny stock 'pump and dump' is,according to Daniel Hopsicker of madcowprod and SEC filings,connected to Titan Corporation(torturors at Abu Ghraibe,etc.)
