Afghanistan on Verge of Becoming Narco-State

With an expected opium crop 40% larger than last year's record harvest, Afghanistan could produce 6300 tons of the narcotic this year, enough to make 630 tons of heroin. This in the face of hundreds of millions of dollars spent on anti-drug and poppy eradication programs. Although militants using the drug trade to fund the insurgency are blamed for the increase, it is suspected that government and police officials are complicit as well.



"By their fruits, ye shall know them." Prophetic words, indeed. In this case, the fruit is the opium poppy, looking more and more like the Apple of Eden every day to me. But, whose fruits are they?

With hundreds of millions of dollars supposedly spent on eradication programs, it is hard to rationalize or justify the huge increases in opium production we have seen in Afghanistan in the last few years.

I say "supposedly spent" because, let's face it folks, if the US and UK wanted to eradicate poppy production over there, we would. We are an industrious, ingenious, dedicated people, and when we truly set our minds to something, we accomplish it.

This leads me to believe there is a (not so) hidden agenda at work here, and it is going exactly as planned.

Great article and good points. I agree 100%. The ability is there to eliminate if not hamper the production of opium yet even under (arguably) a majority US/UK backed occupation the problem has actually sky-rocketed. What justification/excuse can the neo-con supporters possibly use here? If this isn't proof positive that the CIA is keeping the drug trade alive and profiting I don't know what is.

brill

What truly concerns me is the CIA and whomever funding black ops through the heroin trade over the last, what, 30 or 40 years may have resulted in a situation where we have what amounts to the lunatics running the insane asylum.

They have created such a demand to sustain their market that they now may be chained to feeding an ever more insatiable beast; heroin addiction worldwide on an unprecedented scale.

In addition, who knows what the product that ends up being used is laced with? I don't just mean fentanyl, either. Think for a moment about nanotech and the potential for mind controlling micro-organisms to be introduced to a large population world-wide. I know it sounds like science fiction, but it is not outside the realm of possibility.

Think of all those addicts eating, snorting, or shooting up a dose, and being unable to go without the next one without experiencing violent, possibly fatal, withdrawal symptoms. Whoever controls their supply truly has them on the end of a very short string.

This was the only good thing that came with the Taliban, they almost completely stopped the opium production in Afghanistan.

But if they expect a production bigger than the world's "needs" of heroin, what measures will the people behind the drugs trade will take to ensure that all production is consumed?

An over-production by 30% when compared with last years' worldwide demand shows a very black future in the war against drugs for next year.


PS:
Icarus Rising
The link you provided did not work, at least for me. After a search I found this, is this the original article?

Thanks for pointing out the bad link. The original story I quoted from is no longer available. Its funny how the new story has a header at the top that reads:

Last modified Saturday, September 2, 2006 7:50 PM PDT

link

That time stamp is a full 12 hours after I posted my thread to ATSNN, and the tone of the article has changed considerably. Still, there are some telling nuggets in there.

At the same news conference, the Afghan counternarcotics minister, Habibullah Qaderi, said the government had the will to make arrests, but lacked the capacity to gather evidence to prosecute "the big fish."

In an indication of the alarming extent of official complicity in the trade, a Western counternarcotics official said about 25,000 to 30,000 acres of government land in Helmand was used to cultivate opium poppies this year.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said police and government officials are involved in cultivating poppies, providing protection for growers or taking bribes to ensure the crops aren't destroyed.

nvm

[edit on 4-9-2006 by Long Lance]

Its a diffcult situation to say the least the amount of Opium being grown wont fall untill the security improves and the profits from the Opium aid the insurgency. In about 15 years time the security situation may have improved and we may see the likes of roads and other means of transport appearing on a wider scale.

The likes of Roads would allow people to grow other crops and deliver them to a market. Once there is a market in the form of demand and a sales point it may become more profiable to grow other crops.

Ok, I've got to ask, why is it bad they're growing Opium.
And yes I know what is made out of Opium.

I honestly don't see a problem.

Maybe you need to look more deeply into the history of opium and heroin, going all the way back to Alexander the Great and his army with opium use, and starting in the late '20s and early '30s with heroin, and you will see why it has become such a problem.

Unless, of course, you like the world the way it is today, as we do live in an opiate culture.

Well, I'm not sure about that, but I don't think drugs should be illegal.
If one knows the risks, and wants to take them, than that's their choice.

I've heard that argument repeatedly here on ATS, that it is an individual responsibility issue, and I consider that a shortsighted, utopian, socially irresponsible viewpoint, especially in the light of the global scourge of opiate addiction.

No offense to you personally, and of course we are all entitled to our opinions.

Opium had still been a large problem when the Taliban had control over Afghanistan. Currently, my mother works in the US military hosiptals there, where they treat civilians as well, and she has seen a sharp rise in "Charce" (Opium pronounced in Afghanistan) use among even children. When the children arrive there for surgery, its very hard for them to be sedated due to their body being so resistant to the effects of charce through its use for so many years.

[edit on 5-9-2006 by DJMessiah]

Originally posted by xpert11
Its a diffcult situation to say the least the amount of Opium being grown wont fall untill the security improves and the profits from the Opium aid the insurgency. In about 15 years time the security situation may have improved and we may see the likes of roads and other means of transport appearing on a wider scale.

The likes of Roads would allow people to grow other crops and deliver them to a market. Once there is a market in the form of demand and a sales point it may become more profiable to grow other crops.

You are touching upon the problem. The US recognizes that poppy is the only source of income for many Aghan farmers. And it much more profitable than growing regular crops. To wipe the poppy out without having a backup crop and support to get it to market would wipe out the farmers, and cause great animosity towards the Americans.

So they need roads. What, does the opium just magically materialize at its intended destination? The same transport system used by the opium smugglers could just as easily be used to transport legitimate crops.

The fact of the matter remains that

25,000 to 30,000 acres of government land

is being cultivated for opium poppies.

These are not "rogue elements" supporting the insurgency and "protected by the Taliban." That is straight up propaganda, and anybody who is paying attention should be able to see that. These folks are growing what they are being told to grow by the people in control of the country, imo.

You can talk about demand and incentives to grow food crops all you want, it doesn't change the reality of the situation on the ground in Southern Afghanistan. To me, the government rhetoric about control of the opium trade is just a smokescreen and a disinfo campaign to keep the attention off the fact that opium production is what the occupation of Afghanistan is all about.

Now NATO wants reinforcements for the area.

NATO's top commander, Gen. James L. Jones, on Thursday called for allied nations to send reinforcements to southern Afghanistan, saying the coming weeks could be decisive in the fight against the Taliban.

Jones will meet top generals from the 26 NATO nations Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, in an attempt to generate hundreds of troops, with planes and helicopters needed for the mission.

"We have to give the commander additional insurance in terms of some forces that can be there, perhaps temporarily, to make sure that we can carry the moment," he said.

link

To me, "carry the moment" is doublespeak for "get the opium harvest to market."

Yesterday the head of the UN's office on Drugs and Crime called for NATO to destroy the opium industry in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer rejected the call...


Photo: epa

Originally posted by Icarus Rising
These are not "rogue elements" supporting the insurgency and "protected by the Taliban." That is straight up propaganda, and anybody who is paying attention should be able to see that.

Amen. Anyone who's been paying attention might also notice the fact that whenever the U.S meddles in another country, the drug that is produced there coincidentally becomes very popular on U.S streets. Anyone else who lives in a big city can attest to crack being replaced as drug of choice recently, and not only on the streets, but in the prisons as well.

EDIT TO ADD: I guess it's better than when we were down in South America, and coke was everywhere. I don't miss the crackheads one bit.

[edit on 13-9-2006 by phoenixhasrisin]