Congress: Drug War Falters in Afghanistan
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The Bush administration admits to disappointment in the progress of anti-drug efforts in Afghanistan, but members of Congress say that the effort is on the verge of outright collapse, Reuters reported July 12.
"I'm afraid our drug policy in Afghanistan has been an utter, abject, total failure," said Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) told the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid. "Whatever we've been doing flat hasn't worked, and I think it's a national disgrace." Rep, Joseph Knollenberg (R-Mich.) added that despite the U.S. spending $1 billion annually to fight drugs in Afghanistan, the local poppy crop was at record levels.
The Bush administration admits to disappointment in the progress of anti-drug efforts in Afghanistan, but members of Congress say that the effort is on the verge of outright collapse, Reuters reported July 12.
"I'm afraid our drug policy in Afghanistan has been an utter, abject, total failure," said Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) told the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid. "Whatever we've been doing flat hasn't worked, and I think it's a national disgrace." Rep, Joseph Knollenberg (R-Mich.) added that despite the U.S. spending $1 billion annually to fight drugs in Afghanistan, the local poppy crop was at record levels.
posted by Terry at
11:13 AM
1 Comments:
It is such a disgrace that our misguided leaders want to stamp out Afganistan's only significant source of income by outlawing plants put on this earth by nature itself.
So let the peasants grow wheat? Even our "rich" American farmers cannot make a profit on wheat without subsidies, buy-up programs, and strictly controlled acreage limits to maintain market price.
So what's a poor Afghan farmer to do? Pray? Break the law? Quit supporting his family?
A better solution would be to legalize all plant drugs and let those cultures which traditionally grow the stuff legally participate in the global economy. That would eliminate all "narco states" and maybe the Afghans and others in a similar situation might earn enough money to raise their standard of living and educate their currently mostly illiterate people.
Think about it. Imagine a French economy without wine production....
Zen
zen4usa@yahoo.com
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