[NormsRevenge]

A Catch-22?

U.S. Marines, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, patrols through a poppy field near the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan Thursday May 1, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

[rocksblues]

This article sort of puts some Steam into Rev. Jeremiah Wrights statements!

[Wolfie]

Looking the other way when the “good guys” are involved has long been part and parcel of the Drug War.

[avacado]

A lot of the heroin goes to Iran. That's good! We are fighting a war, not plants.

[avacado]

The Taliban,... derives up to $100 million a year from the poppy harvest by taxing farmers and charging safe passage fees — money that will buy weapons for use against U.S., NATO and Afghan troops.

Destroy the crops and the growers become the Taliban. Just keep killing the damn Taliban.

[MD_Willington_1976]

hmmm.. can we make gasoline out of poppies?

LOL

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Yet the Marines are not destroying the plants. In fact, they are reassuring villagers the poppies won't be touched. American commanders say the Marines would only alienate people and drive them to take up arms if they eliminated the impoverished Afghans' only source of income.

Buying drugs --bad. Growing drugs --good.

Bush Tars Drug Takers With Aiding Terrorists:

The US government is stepping up its attempt to link the war on drugs and the war on terrorism.

Its office of national drug control policy is running advertisements which tell Americans that by buying drugs they may be financing terrorists - "whether you're shooting heroin, snorting cocaine, taking Ecstasy or sharing a joint in your friend's back yard"

Bush: Afghanistan is a victory over terrorism:

Both in the Rose Garden and in his address to a joint meeting of Congress, Karzai acknowledged a growing problem with drug trafficking -- used by some warlords to raise money for more weapons. Afghanistan is "adamant," Karzai said, about ending the drug problem.

"Drug profits undermine our efforts to build a health national economy," he told Congress. "... We are determined to cleanse Afghanistan of this menace."

[Captain Rhino]

Gee...$2.00 a day and stuck between the Taliban and the Marines.

Why don’t we do what we did with the Iraqi insurgents in Al Anbar province? Rebrand them as the “Sons of Iraq” (or whatever), pay them a small but steady wage, and have them help us find the hardcore jihadis?

[Names Ash Housewares]

Wouldn’t it make more sense to just pay them more to grow something else that is useful?
I mean it is probabbly chump change in the big picture to do that.

Or am I totally missing something?

[mad_as_he$$]

This policy is industrial strength dumb. Plain and simple. We could easily PAY every farmer in Afcrapistan FOUR times what they would make off poppies to NOT plant anything and they would be money ahead and so would we. The Towelaban would be SOL. This will be the next CIA in drugs story in 20 years.

[Mercia]

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/BritishTroopsHelpUsMarinesTackleTheTalibanInGarmsir.htm

A quick link showing the joint effort involved in the operation. Pushing the Taliban further south, can only be a good thing. We have needed these troops on the ground for a year or more.