Record opium production in Afghanistan

[Torsten]

It's amazing how the US continues to hold onto strategies that year after year have the opposite effect of what they set out to achieve. Any sane individual would re examine himself after such consecutive failures, but this is beyond the omniscient US government.

=====================

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_on_...us_afghan_opium

U.S.: 'bad news' in Afghan drug war

By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press WriterThu Aug 31, 5:31 PM ET

The U.S.-backed strategy to fight Afghanistan's massive drug trade has been unsuccessful in stemming opium cultivation, which is expected to hit record levels this year, a senior U.S. official said Thursday.

"It's bad news and we need to improve it," said Thomas Schweich, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for international narcotics. "But we don't feel it's a hopeless situation, and we don't think the overall strategy is the wrong strategy."

Schweich spoke to reporters as Western officials in Afghanistan were forecasting a possible 40 percent increase this year in land under opium poppy cultivation, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent in counternarcotics efforts.

Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium and heroin supply, and the drug trade has had a corrosive effect on President Hamid Karzai's struggling government.

"I'm not here to put a happy face on this situation. I'm not going to say anything is truly working," Schweich said. "What I'll say is that it's improving."

Schweich said recent improvements include a counternarcotics tribunal, better eradication of the crop, better distribution of funds for poppy farmers to find alternative jobs, and a public information campaign to warn people that they will be prosecuted and punished if they continue to produce drugs.

Schweich did not have specifics on how much opium production numbers would likely rise in an upcoming report by the U.N. anti-drug agency. But he said U.S. officials were prepared for a significant increase.

The high numbers, he said, were partly a reflection of a drug strategy that was only started in 2005. Money for farmers to pursue livelihoods other than poppy production were distributed in a "spotty manner," he said. There were also failures destroying the crop, and courts struggled to prosecute drug offenders.

A more credible threat of prosecution and better eradication of crops, Schweich said, would eventually help steer people away from planting.

[sobriquet]

So dumb.

Eradication may have an impact on plants that have a longer life and longer time to production, but to attempt to use it on annual plants like poppies or cannabis is just plain stupid.

If they want to have any effect they have to address the 'problem' at their end. These products are being used in the West. There are markups of 100 to 1000 times or more on these products from source to end use. As believers and proponents of capitalism they of all people should know that where such profit margins exist they will never be able to stop the trade.

Legalise heroin and opium in America and create a regulated and normalised market for it and see whether any poppies are grown in Afghanistan.

[mr b.caapi]

tsk tsk. the yanks have had more than enough power to control narc. production in afghanistan, its so obvious they are seeding their tentacles into the oil trade as well as the opium. oil being the most traded legit. product, and good old opium being the most " black" traded commodity.

[sobriquet]

tsk tsk. the yanks have had more than enough power to control narc. production in afghanistan, its so obvious they are seeding their tentacles into the oil trade as well as the opium. oil being the most traded legit. product, and good old opium being the most " black" traded commodity.

There's obviously vested interests in all of this. I've read many articles that describe how even the people entrusted to policing the laws against poppy cultivation, take cuts of the profits of the farmers growing it in their region and sometimes even have their own fields.

The occasional razing of a field in front of western inspectors etc. is all for show and the farmer who sacrifices their crop in this way is rewarded behind the scenes.

Afghanistan is quite obviously a narco state and has been for a time. It's entrenched and it's not going to go away.

It's funny how the West swallows hook line and sinker the view that the USA somehow got rid of the Taliban for human rights reasons. The actual reason was that the Taliban successfully instituted measures to severely curb the cultivation of opium poppies.

Not only was it tremendously unpopular within Afghanistan, it immediately impacted on the West's organised crime networks and profits reaching the pockets of all the vested interests. The Taliban was ousted because they successfully DID what the USA pretends to do.

Not because they wear towels on their heads and put tents on their women folk.

[botanika]

The actual reason was that the Taliban successfully instituted measures to severely curb the cultivation of opium poppies.

I dont know if thats entirely true. They did ban production from certain areas and enforce strict control of their country. I know a few people that have worked in afghanistan and from what ive heard and read the taliban, along with most other fundamental or militant groups, always used trafficking as a major finance, despite claiming a 'no drugs' islamic stance to their people. Almost all lifestyle was not tolerated during the taliban years. they liked that secularism control, they liked having the US focus on its countries strategic resources, ignoring other things, for their own strategy, and they liked the military funding the US was providing for a time. They had less direct need for drug income for a time and the US had less need to use drugs as a military fall guy. Changing enforcement in the european and american markets also helped shape celebrated statistics. The annual crops can easily shift locations and the central asian fundamentalists are blurred between borders, especially northern pakistan. Many things influence a final statistic on production and how divertive measures are implemented within such a complex environment.The US and UN's apparatus for kerbing drug production has been constrained by its beaurocratic and infrastructure dependence on other higher level departments. The military rolls into town with fanfare and then leaves with forgotten vision. Other factors not often explained fully in the press are changing politics and policing in former russian states and china, competition from burma/se asia, variable growing seasons and organisational skill of the syndicates at the time.

The Taliban was ousted because they successfully DID what the USA pretends to do.

or they just weren't needed so much anymore after 911...the US weren't being mates with them for the free hummus. The US's continual quest for a war on everything, always meddling in everyones business - the eternal frontier - baffles me!

Edited September 2, 2006 by botanika

[sobriquet]

The actual reason was that the Taliban successfully instituted measures to severely curb the cultivation of opium poppies.

I dont know if thats entirely true. They did ban production from certain areas and enforce strict control of their country.

"The Taliban, which has imposed a strict brand of Islam in the 95 percent of Afghanistan it controls, has set fire to heroin laboratories and jailed farmers until they agreed to destroy their poppy crops.

The U.N. surveyors, who completed their search this week, crisscrossed Helmand, Kandahar, Urzgan and Nangarhar provinces and parts of two others -- areas responsible for 86 percent of the opium produced in Afghanistan last year, Frahi said in an interview Wednesday. They covered 80 percent of the land in those provinces that last year had been awash in poppies.

This year they found poppies growing on barely an acre here and there, Frahi said. The rest -- about 175,000 acres -- was clean."

...

"Last year, poppies grew on 12,600 acres of land in Nangarhar province. According to the U.N. survey, poppies were planted on only 17 acres there this season and all were destroyed by the Taliban.

"The Taliban have done their work very seriously," Frahi said."

from http://opioids.com/afghanistan/index.html

See also: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n904/a07.html

and http://opioids.com/afghanistan/opiumban.html

Sounds like they were pretty successful really. Contrast that with the 5 years as a US puppet state. Record breaking crops of poppies and opium yearly.

Edited September 2, 2006 by eNo

[botanika]

Oh no doubt they were highly successful in eradicating large divisions of dope. But they still used it for finance and diverting their people from drugs was much inline with their vision of a strict state of control. The US's policies in the entire region have not always been great and its not an easy place to do business. UN Military DEA corporate style is usually quicker and more profitable short term but not always benificial or ethical to a country long term. Old habits die hard...

[apothecary]

The article T pasted I believe is based off the preliminary report.

The details of the final report are even more disturbing.

Not only did opium production rise by such a huge amount, but this financial year Afghanistan supplied enough heroin or heroin precursors to outstrip the largest estimate of possible heroin demand by a rediculously large number, 40% I think.

That's huge. So, normally I think around 450 tonnes of heroin are consumed internationally on an annual basis, Afghanistan must have supplied roughly 600 tonnes of heroin internationally.

Other equally disturbing results are also noted, but I think that is the most impressive one.

Oh, and let's all stop to think for a second.

At the moment, Northern Afghanistan and Kandahar are essentially under "Allied" control. All the fighting currently caused by the Taleban resurgence is in the South.

Especially around Helmand province.

So, this is where all the Canadian/NATO/UK troops are stationed.

IN HELMAND.

Guess which province happens to produce most of Afghanistans opium? I'm not claiming some conspiracy or something, just trying to give an idea of how impossible true eradication of the drug trade in Afghanistan would be.

It has been going in that country since the dawn of time (think about where the Great Opium Trade Route starts), and every single poppyfield and smuggling convoy is under the protection of a small army much better trained and equipped than any Afghani soldier will ever be.

[stonewolf]

A good thing that could potentially come of this is that opium may become more available if they cant sell all the heroin. I have quite enjoyed opium the few times i have tried it and it would be nice to have to available for a bit of fun every now and then. Of course they are just going to keep pushing heroin because its far more addictive, but one can still dream.

[botanika]

Especially around Helmand province.

So, this is where all the Canadian/NATO/UK troops are stationed.

Guess which province happens to produce most of Afghanistans opium? I'm not claiming some conspiracy or something, just trying to give an idea of how impossible true eradication of the drug trade in Afghanistan would be.

True eradication is virtually impossible. The UN drug eradication division is part of the UN satelite and space program department believe it or not. That outdated department used to manage satelites and communications in the region. Most foreign workers are focussed on other important aid work or have indeed given up on eradicating opium because of the foreign policy and beaurocratic framework they work under. Its not that they dont want to do more but after living there (and most workers or troops dont stay that long) you feel differently about a nation war torn and desperate for so long. If a farmer can feed his children because of an opium crop that is eventually sold as a product to the same country the aid worker comes from... well... the job becomes a lot more difficult....both parties realise they are at the opposite ends of a twisted peice of rope and the problem is the twists, not them. Yep the Americans are cheese twisties

And what are we talking about at the end of the day? A plant! A pretty, and very useful, flowering plant at that! The farmers aren't growing stinger missiles and giving them away! The refiners aren't producing worldwide policy that often allows this plane of illegal production.

The amount of heroin coming out of this part of the world doesn't stun me, but the way it ties in other countries does. It strengthens intermediate criminal and militant networks in emerging former russian states, SE Asia and china, when they should be strengthening their own environmental, cultural or economic identities. It strengthens the fear in destination countries and gives further ammunition to stakeholders against drug reform. It gives the military the 'enemy' again. At every step along the way we loose because of the black market, whether its your daughter on heroin instead of wine or your shipping charged more for security and tarrif. Legalize all drugs and then Afghanistan can concentrate on exporting its superb hashish for the world market, putting its tourist name back on the silk road hippie trail and using these plants as a way of improving their lifestyles. Central Asia is a fascinatingly rich place and should be exposed so by the worlds media more often. Didn't we have enough 60 minutes episodes in the 80's describing the opium growing and warlords? My god I've just had another meaningless afternoon rant...

[-bijanto-]

Here's from www.askmen.com:

Woman Magnetism

Power is an aphrodisiac for women. Despite all of Clinton's faults, one thing is for sure, women adored him, and often emailed us wanting to get in touch with him (or touch him period). George W. Bush will be no different, his position and his command, will make those of the fairer sex that are closest to him undoubtedly feel a little weak in the knees in his presence. No doubt his wife Laura Bush will have something to say about that though.

And here's my artistic interpretation:

[Tripitaka]

These images just in from Helmand province.

[_e_]

It seems its not just opium that has had a good year in afghanistan.

The hash flow from the area is flourishing at the moment, with afghani hash becoming as common in the european market as moroccan.

[CaptAmazing]

"Our Brand is Crisis"

10pm – 11.30pm SBS

Tuesday 19 September 2006

youTV.com.au had this to say:

"For decades, US strategists-for-hire have been quietly moulding the opinions of voters and the messages of candidates in elections around the world. They have worked for presidential candidates on every continent (in Britain, Israel, India, Korea, South Africa, Venezuela and Brazil).

This documentary is a look at one of these campaigns and its aftermath. With access to think sessions, media training and the making of smear campaigns, we watch how the consultants' marketing strategies shape the relationship between a leader and his people.

Recently Bolivia's New Leftist president, Evo Morales, has put the country back in the news. Morales, previously a leader of the Coca Leaf-Growers' Union, became the nation's first indigenous leader in December. According to this documentary the situation in Bolivia is one example of the consequences of US marketing strategies to spread "the American brand of democracy"."

[devance]

I think there is a mistake in the White House as to arabs on camels and arabs with ak47s.

Theres no conquering a terrority if one can't even talk the language. That a automatic code.

The idiots in the White House think things will work out.

Viet Nam was the last 50,000 dead with draftees to have known the all knowing eye [illusion]of the Federal government.

Also the ww2 type division of nations isn't to be happening either.

Bush has been a follower of Israeli wants [ a taboo subject]with the result of the removal of the scud firing Sadam regime to a more chaotic situation.

And no more succesful at peace in the middle east than short sighted goals have accomlished.

The first term applied to the Saddam loyalist was [dead enders].

Well they have proved to be generating a civil war which I don't think is going to be survival for them---------------------

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Same thing in Afganistan.

I don't give a dam about opium production only about a heroin addict that has to carry a needle in his shoe.

A medical nor political problem.

Politicals need a enemy. Druggies were that know its the terrorists.

[botanika]

Survival of the fittest amongst the big boys. 'business is good, we're making a killing'