Post by jeffolie on Feb 13, 2010 11:37:48 GMT -6
The opium/poppy/heroin War
America can stop the opium/poppy/heroin supply coming out of Afghanistan, but it has not done this.
The latest war tactics as detailed below give lip service to stopping the opium production. 8 years of war have not done this.
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The objective of Operation Moshtarak, which means "together" in Dari, is to secure the region from narcoterrorism and establish basic services under supervision of the Afghan government, a senior defense official told Fox News. To do that, Afghan and NATO forces need to defeat the remaining insurgents and drastically reduce the number of heroin-producing crops that fund the Taliban. U.S. commanders are confident they'll win the fight, but removing the poppy crops will prove harder than the battle.
Helmand's poppy harvest produces 60 percent of the world's opium, and Marjah has become a significant trade route for the drug. The area is filled with poppy-producing farmers and militants who organize and profit from heroin production. Locals complain the drug business is not only dangerous, but it fuels widespread corruption and distrust in government.
Afghan officials are hoping they can convince farmers to switch from growing poppy to wheat. NATO-led teams will provide farmers with seed and loans to sustain them during their transition. Farmers who aren't persuaded will have their crop chopped at the stalk by Afghan security forces.
U.S. military commanders say it's critical that the locals see this as an Afghan-led mission. Of the 15,000 troops involved in the Marjah offensive, roughly 5,000 are Afghan National Army units and 1,900 are Afghan National Police. The rest are mainly U.S. Marines, Army Strykers and other NATO forces.
Marjah is a town of around 80,000 people, and an estimated 1,000 Taliban are burrowed in to fight. However, the biggest threat comes not from the Taliban, but from the mines and improvised explosive devices they've had time to hide along the town's entry points.
"This may be the largest IED threat and largest minefield that NATO has ever faced," said Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of Marines in southern Afghanistan.
The operation is seen as a major test for the Afghan government and for President Obama's strategy to surge troops into the country. If it goes according to plan, the Taliban will lose critical source of funding, the Afghan government will gain legitimacy and Obama can claim his first real victory in a war many believe the U.S. is losing.
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585681,00.html
America can stop the opium/poppy/heroin supply coming out of Afghanistan, but it has not done this.
The latest war tactics as detailed below give lip service to stopping the opium production. 8 years of war have not done this.
===========================================================
The objective of Operation Moshtarak, which means "together" in Dari, is to secure the region from narcoterrorism and establish basic services under supervision of the Afghan government, a senior defense official told Fox News. To do that, Afghan and NATO forces need to defeat the remaining insurgents and drastically reduce the number of heroin-producing crops that fund the Taliban. U.S. commanders are confident they'll win the fight, but removing the poppy crops will prove harder than the battle.
Helmand's poppy harvest produces 60 percent of the world's opium, and Marjah has become a significant trade route for the drug. The area is filled with poppy-producing farmers and militants who organize and profit from heroin production. Locals complain the drug business is not only dangerous, but it fuels widespread corruption and distrust in government.
Afghan officials are hoping they can convince farmers to switch from growing poppy to wheat. NATO-led teams will provide farmers with seed and loans to sustain them during their transition. Farmers who aren't persuaded will have their crop chopped at the stalk by Afghan security forces.
U.S. military commanders say it's critical that the locals see this as an Afghan-led mission. Of the 15,000 troops involved in the Marjah offensive, roughly 5,000 are Afghan National Army units and 1,900 are Afghan National Police. The rest are mainly U.S. Marines, Army Strykers and other NATO forces.
Marjah is a town of around 80,000 people, and an estimated 1,000 Taliban are burrowed in to fight. However, the biggest threat comes not from the Taliban, but from the mines and improvised explosive devices they've had time to hide along the town's entry points.
"This may be the largest IED threat and largest minefield that NATO has ever faced," said Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of Marines in southern Afghanistan.
The operation is seen as a major test for the Afghan government and for President Obama's strategy to surge troops into the country. If it goes according to plan, the Taliban will lose critical source of funding, the Afghan government will gain legitimacy and Obama can claim his first real victory in a war many believe the U.S. is losing.
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585681,00.html