US Wants to Bring Colombia Tactics to Afghan Drug War
The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, is resisting American pressure to authorise a major programme of crop spraying to eradicate the country’s massive opium crop amid warnings that it would lead to a rise in support for the Taliban.
The plan has been strongly opposed by the British, who hold that it will make the task of the military in Helmand, the province which produces 50 per cent of the opium crop, much harder. Spraying from the air, critics say, carries with it the danger of destroying other crops, causing long-term ecological damage, and affecting the health of livestock.
But according to senior Western and Afghan officials, the American position has been significantly strengthened following the latest poppy harvest, which shows a jump of 34 per cent from last year, which was already a world record. America’s determination has also been sharpened with the evidence that Afghan opium, which now accounts for 93 per cent of the world’s supply, has started reaching markets in the United States.
The recent appointment of a former US ambassador to Colombia as envoy to Kabul is seen as the most overt move by Washington to ensure that spraying takes place in Afghanistan. William Wood, who has acquired the nickname “Chemical Bill” among British and other Nato officials for his fervent belief in chemical spraying, was in the team which implemented “Plan Colombia”, which involved aerial spraying in the Latin American state in an attempt to eliminate cocaine production.
The policy in Colombia came under severe criticism with claims that it damaged legitimate crops and ultimately failed in its aims of destroying the coca crop. However, during his confirmation hearing before Congress, Mr Wood said the Colombian option may be repeated in Afghanistan and General Peter Pace, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, has also voiced the opinion that it could be a template for Afghanistan. Members of the Colombian security forces are already training Afghan police in counter-narcotics.
A recent meeting of the Afghan cabinet, according to senior officials, came close to approving the use of spraying on a limited, experimental basis. However President Karzai is said to have agreed to delay the decision after impassioned pleas from the ministers of Agriculture and Public Health. The issue remains immensely sensitive and yesterday President Karzai’s spokesman insisted: “Our view is there should be a comprehensive policy to tackle the problem, including the provision of alternative livelihoods. It was decided that we will not start crop spraying. This was a unanimous decision by the government.”
Yet Ahmed Zia Massoud, one of Afghanistan’s two vice-presidents, has publicly declared his support for spraying. He said: “I have no doubt that the efforts of Britain and the international community in fighting the opium trade in Afghanistan are well-intentioned, and we are grateful for their support. But that policy has not worked and the time has come for us to adopt a more forceful approach.
“We must switch from ground-based eradication to aerial spraying. The opium directly supports those who are killing Afghan and international troops. Failure to achieve a substantial reduction in the opium crop will be equivalent to supporting the Taliban.”
A US diplomatic source said: “There is absolutely no evidence that spraying causes harm to people or cattle. Everyone has seen the rise in the poppy harvest, and obviously the current policy is not working.”
Additional reporting by Ahmed Nasruddin Ali
© 2007 The Independent
To find out what Plan Columbia has actually accomplished see the following documentary.
Plan Colombia
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-8209584922518474909&q=Plan+Colombia
Basically, it’s a disaster and kills not only vegetation but also people in addition to destroying the environment.
Americans will go down in history as the most ruthless apathetic peoples the world has ever produced.
Disgusting.
Dow, Monsanto and military contractors must be licking their chops.
We will undoubtedly achieve the same degree of success in following Colombia’s lead as we have after implementing Israeli IDF Anti-Palestinian tactics and policy as our modus operandi in Iraq.
ezeflyer you hit the nail on the head.
Just like in impoverished areas of Columbia where poor farmers who grow coca fair better then when they grow bumper crops the poor farners of Afghanistan can feed their families when they grow popppies vs wheat.
What should really be done is to allow poppy growing and have it regulated and use it for medical purposes. The farmers still get paid and can feed their families but the crops are not used for illegal drugs and the crops do not prop up the corrupt local warlords who oppess the Afghan people. The war lord reign results in a lack of security and stability in Afghanistan and this harms reconstruction, a vicious cycle. The War Lords are considered illegitimate by the people and legal reforms happening from the top-down from Kabul are ignored. The rule of law deteriates and the Taliban move in to fil the power vacuum.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article2288585.ece
We all know how well the Bush/Cheney plan has worked in Colombia. Expensive poisons going one way and expensive drugs going the other way. The corporations are getting filthy rich by destroying humanity in both the U.S. and Colombia. It’s the American way!
The only people that ever controlled (stopped) the opium trade in Afghanistan were the Taliban using only a sharp word (it’s un-Islamic) and a limber stick.
The DEA, CIA and contractors have been in Afghanistan for some time now ‘training’ locals how to fight the ‘war on drugs’.
What a sham wasting US taxpayer dollars to implement a failed policy in yet another developing country. Corporations get rich and that is really all that matters. I have seen film of these guys kicking down doors, high tech weapons drawn and ready.
What right do we have to do these things…?
My God, isn’t it obvious after 3 1/5 decades of Nixon’s paranoid foolishness that this is a losing proposition? That is is nothing but a dead end route to societal devastation?
What is it that would even make anyone in the world look at this and do anything but laugh? “We want to bring to you the same success we’ve had in Colombia” should be followed by huge peals of hysterical laughter. There really is NO other answer to that.
Colombia has been a complete disaster ever since they started listening to US, why the hell would anyone else even consider it? This will end any possible advances that COULD have occurred in Afghanistan. Kiss it goodbye, folks, the Taliban will have it back before too long. And THEY will lower the opium crop, like they did before. W came along and gave them record crops. Who would YOU listen to if you were actually serious about denting the opium trade?
Whats the matter with good old fashioned yankee capitalism?
Buy the entire frigging crop, pay a decent price, you don’t have to steal it.
USA would save billions!
I like the idea White Rose. It’s too obvious isn’t it? Same for oil.
So what is the character, ‘Streeter’, advised to do, by his teacher,in the HBO series, The Wire, when he complains that his ‘product’ (drugs), is not selling like it used to? Teacher say: ‘Change the products name.’
Now it’s no longer ‘War on Terror’. Now it’s ‘Afgan Drug War.’
Those guys just don’t know how to stop!!
p.s. ‘Streeter’ gets killed, betrayed by his mentor.
if the policy has failed elsewhere, bush will definately insist on prosecuting it in Afghanista. he just loves failed policies.
In several articles I’ve seen that there is a world shortage of medical opium aand the poppies certainly seems to thrive in Afghanistan! Why can’t these crops be converted to medical use which could also create numerous accessory jobs, partial processing, packaging, packing, shipping, etc. involved in exporting medical opium?