Opium war 'making enemies of Afghans'

[cal04]

British and US efforts to decimate the opium industry in Afghanistan have "hijacked" nation-building attempts in the country, and are driving support for the Taliban, a report said today.

The highly critical study of the five years since the US-led invasion found that Afghans are starving to death despite international donor pledges and that the foreign military presence was "fuelling resentment and fear" among the local population.

The report, by the Senlis Council, an international policy thinktank, said that the US-led international community had "failed to achieve stability and security" in the war-torn country and that attacks were perpetuated on a daily basis.

"Prioritising military-based security, the United States' and United Kingdom's focus on counter terrorism initiatives and militaristic responses to Afghanistan's opium crisis has undermined the local and international development community's ability to respond to Afghanistan's many poverty-related challenges," the report said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1865302,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704

[NOLADEM]

1. Damned if we do, damned if we don't ...

Afghanistan is simply another casulty in the Iraq war.

We had an opportunity early in the Afghanistan war to get ahead of this crisis. Opinion of the Coalition forces among the population was much better than it is now, and poppy cultivation had been all but eradicated by the Taliban. So, we had an opportunity to provide aid and assistance to farmers and rural people to find other means to feed their families, and we BLEW it by pulling forces and resources to fight a war of choice.

Bushco is directly responsible for an EXPLOSION in poppy production that one recent report said actually outstripped demand! And this is just ANOTHER way that Bush is helping to kill American youth. Cheap heroin funding the humanitarian need in Afghanistan instead of Coalition forces.

How anyone can support the chimp is beyond me.

[fed-up]

2. Heroin-the opiate of the masses-keeps some activists subdued nt