“President Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan calls for continuing the destruction of poppy fields, although experts and his top envoy to the region have called the practice counterproductive. Richard Holbrooke, the administration’s coordinator of Afghanistan policy, said this month that eradicating the opium poppy fields is “wasteful and ineffective” and has been “pushing farmers into the Taliban’s hands” because it destroys farmers’ livelihoods and leaves them with few alternatives,” according to U.S.A. Today.
Why in the world would Obama continue the stupid Bush policy of destroying Afghani poppy fields when even his own envoy to that part of the world thinks it is a “wasteful and ineffective” policy?
When are Americans going to grow up and stop promoting drug policies that simply don’t work? I really expected better from Obama.
Holbrooke criticized the Bush strategy in a column in TheWashington Post last year. “Even without aerial eradication,” he wrote, “the program, which costs around $1 billion a year, may be the single most ineffective program in the history of American foreign policy. It’s not just a waste of money. It actually strengthens the Taliban and al-Qaeda.”
I wonder how happy Holbrooke must be to have to implement the same idiotic Bush policy under his boss Obama?
why not pay the farmer to grow food stuff that can be used to feed the people?
cook,
If there was a market for that, I suspect the farmers would be planting food instead of poppies. They are planting what makes them the most money. Path of least resistance…
Here is a solution.
Buy all the poppy field products at sub-market rates and use them for the direly need pain-killers in US hospitals
The most decorated Marine of all time was General Smedley Butler (Sp.-Amer. war, China Boxer Rebellion, Nicaragua, Panama, WWI) who said near his retirement, “I’ve spent a career leading Marines into combat, many to their deaths, for the sole purpose of protecting the profits of American corporations, and nothing to do with protecting the American people.” He suggested a constitutional amendment prohibiting the U.S. military from operating outside the boundaries of the U.S., and the U.S. Navy from steaming over 200 miles from U.S. shores — seriously. I kind of think the General was right. The Afghan Taliban and Al Qaida are far, far a greater threats to Iran (mutual hate here), Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia than to us. With us outta there, the Iranians, Paki’s, and Arabs will be forced to handle that mess. Let them spend the lives, legs, arms, and eyeballs of their young people trying to bring some order there. They are fully capable.
the us is not truly trying to eradicate the poppy fields. My brother is in a special ops unit “that is not confirmed or denied” On leave he got wasted and told us his teams op order(warning order) was to protect the farmers and let them cultivate and distribute the poppy because the gov’t fears that if we eradicate the fields the afghans will take up arms with the taliban and al qaida to make a living and turn against the americans who desroyed their only income and way of life. The gov’t also is protecting the farmers and fields from the taliban/al qaida due to the fear that they will take over the fields and finance their terrorrist activities.his team even helped them in the fields!