Behind the scene in Afghanistan..

[Grendel]

Interesting read, british perspective. Britain is protecting the biggest heroin crop of all time.

Afghanistan was not militarily winnable by the British Empire at the height of its supremacy. It was not winnable by Darius or Alexander, by Shah, Tsar or Great Moghul. It could not be subdued by 240,000 Soviet troops. But what, precisely, are we trying to win?

In six years, the occupation has wrought one massive transformation in Afghanistan, a development so huge that it has increased Afghan GDP by 66 per cent and constitutes 40 per cent of the entire economy. That is a startling achievement, by any standards. Yet we are not trumpeting it. Why not?

The answer is this. The achievement is the highest harvests of opium the world has ever seen.

[..]

That is about the only good thing you can say about the Taliban; there are plenty of very bad things to say about them. But their suppression of the opium trade and the drug barons is undeniable fact.

Now we are occupying the country, that has changed. According to the United Nations, 2006 was the biggest opium harvest in history, smashing the previous record by 60 per cent. This year will be even bigger.

Our economic achievement in Afghanistan goes well beyond the simple production of raw opium. In fact Afghanistan no longer exports much raw opium at all. It has succeeded in what our international aid efforts urge every developing country to do. Afghanistan has gone into manufacturing and 'value-added' operations.

It now exports not opium, but heroin. Opium is converted into heroin on an industrial scale, not in kitchens but in factories. Millions of gallons of the chemicals needed for this process are shipped into Afghanistan by tanker. The tankers and bulk opium lorries on the way to the factories share the roads, improved by American aid, with Nato troops.

How can this have happened, and on this scale? The answer is simple. The four largest players in the heroin business are all senior members of the Afghan government – the government that our soldiers are fighting and dying to protect.

When we attacked Afghanistan, America bombed from the air while the CIA paid, armed and equipped the dispirited warlord drug barons – especially those grouped in the Northern Alliance – to do the ground occupation. We bombed the Taliban and their allies into submission, while the warlords moved in to claim the spoils. Then we made them ministers.

[..]

[Tunnelcat]

And Americans wonder why other countries hate us. It's a no brainer and it's only going to get worse with war mongers and imperialists as our leaders.

Hey Grendel, haven't been to the Beanery since I was at OSU. Small world I guess. Nice to hear from someone local. Usually I like Woodstocks or Evergreen, not much of a coffee drinker anymore.

[CDN_Merlin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MacedonEmpire.jpg He conquered that area.

Alexander conquered that area.


http://www.ecosecretariat.org/ftproot/P ... an_map.GIF

Where Afghanistan is located to provide reference to Alex's empire.

http://www.gandhara.com.au/afghan_table.html History of Afghanistan rulers

[Testiculese]

I fail to see the problem. So they are exporting heroin. So what? Apparently, there's a large market for it. If they are doing what the Africans do to their diamond workers, well, not excited about it, but not surprised.

I'm kind of curious where this heroin is going. How is there a market this large for it? The users are basically guaranteed to die within a year or so, are there that many new morons hooked on the stupid each year?

[Grendel]

I'm kind of curious where this heroin is going. How is there a market this large for it? The users are basically guaranteed to die within a year or so, are there that many new morons hooked on the stupid each year?

Heroin

[roid]

The users are basically guaranteed to die within a year or so

heh, no