NATO commander: Afghanistan drug raids imminent

[fatman17]

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NATO commander: Afghanistan drug raids imminent

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer

MUNICH – In an effort to strike at a key income source for Taliban militants, the top NATO commander said Sunday that operations to attack drug lords and labs in Afghanistan will begin within the "next several days."

Gen. John Craddock, who also heads the U.S. European Command, also said that the U.S. and its allies are making progress in their efforts to fill the need for more troops, equipment and intelligence gathering in Afghanistan. He, however, would not disclose any specific commitments he got this weekend as world leaders met at a security conference here.

NATO defense ministers, during a meeting last fall in Hungary, authorized troops in Afghanistan to launch the drug attacks, but there had been questions about whether allies would be willing to follow through. Money from Afghanistan's booming illicit drug trade has been blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

"Activities and actions will occur soon that will be helpful," Craddock told reporters. "We've got to get started."

The U.S. delegation to the security conference, led by Vice President Joe Biden, was expected to talk to allies this weekend about the ongoing need for support in Afghanistan. Craddock said he still needs about 5,000 NATO troops to bolster Afghan forces during the coming elections, and he is confident he will get them from other NATO nations.

At the same time, he said he still has a critical need for trainers that he has yet to fill, and the expected announcement about a forthcoming build-up in U.S. forces has been delayed as the Pentagon juggles the numbers in the face of an ongoing review by the new Obama administration.

Allies, said Craddock, "expected they would be asked to step up and do more. Now it's a matter of political will."

Leaders have speculated that good will surrounding the inauguration of President Barack Obama would generate greater efforts by NATO allies to send additional resources to Afghanistan. Pentagon officials have said they expect to send as many as 30,000 more troops there, including several brigades in the coming months.

[Ratus Ratus]

Money from Afghanistan's booming illicit drug trade has been blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

And how many government officials has it also propped up?
(A hushed issues, never happens)

This is one of the real big reason it has take the whole thing so long to get organised. But the same officials are still there..

The new Drug Wars are about to start and no one has bothered to find a solution as a complete option to poppies.
Yes things are happening but it is slow.

[fatman17]

Money from Afghanistan's booming illicit drug trade has been blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

And how many government officials has it also propped up?
(A hushed issues, never happens)

This is one of the real big reason it has take the whole thing so long to get organised. But the same officials are still there..

The new Drug Wars are about to start and no one has bothered to find a solution as a complete option to poppies.
Yes things are happening but it is slow.

when NATO starts its drug war against the drug lords, it is basically admitting that the karzai govt is impotent! so this is going to be a very interesting story as it develops.

[Ratus Ratus]

when NATO starts its drug war against the drug lords, it is basically admitting that the karzai govt is impotent! so this is going to be a very interesting story as it develops.

Yes it will become interesting. The last time a big clean up was tried, it ended up with nothing resolved as too many along the government chain and “important’ people had their fingers in the pie. So will this mean some will now loose their fingers or it end up as a flop again.

As pointed out removing poppies is one thing, replacing it with something else that delivers a return is another issue and has to be ready to go if it is to succeed.

There is nothing developed in the past that replaced the poppy so there was heavy resistance.

I don’t want to sound negative but unless this is all planned fully it is a waste of effort and only builds resentment.

Ha! When I first skimmed your comment I thought you had written important, so I assumed you had started to smoke some thing strange.
But
I then realised you said impotent.

[fatman17]

Yes it will become interesting. The last time a big clean up was tried, it ended up with nothing resolved as too many along the government chain and “important’ people had their fingers in the pie. So will this mean some will now loose their fingers or it end up as a flop again.

As pointed out removing poppies is one thing, replacing it with something else that delivers a return is another issue and has to be ready to go if it is to succeed.

There is nothing developed in the past that replaced the poppy so there was heavy resistance.

I don’t want to sound negative but unless this is all planned fully it is a waste of effort and only builds resentment.

Ha! When I first skimmed your comment I thought you had written important, so I assumed you had started to smoke some thing strange.
But
I then realised you said impotent.

funny! anyway our american friends are surprisingly quiet on this issue!

[waraich66]

Why dont NATO take services of mullah rockity and omer to control the drug,they sucessfully controlled drugs and taken to zero level

[Cheetah786]

Money from Afghanistan's booming illicit drug trade has been blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

And how many government officials has it also propped up?
(A hushed issues, never happens)

This is one of the real big reason it has take the whole thing so long to get organised. But the same officials are still there..

The new Drug Wars are about to start and no one has bothered to find a solution as a complete option to poppies.
Yes things are happening but it is slow.

I am all for them destroying talibans income fund but instead of making more enemies they have a perfect oppertunity to make more friends out of this stop playing politics buy up all these poppy crop and use it to make morphene there is a shortage for it you kill 2 birds with one stone instead of making more enemies.
if they menage to put up a plant for converting poppies into morphene they will creat 100s of badily needed jobs in FATA or afghanistan that will win a war without firing a single fire that will win hearts and respect thats my 2 cents

[fatman17]

I am all for them destroying talibans income fund but instead of making more enemies they have a perfect oppertunity to make more friends out of this stop playing politics buy up all these poppy crop and use it to make morphene there is a shortage for it you kill 2 birds with one stone instead of making more enemies.
if they menage to put up a plant for converting poppies into morphene they will creat 100s of badily needed jobs in FATA or afghanistan that will win a war without firing a single fire that will win hearts and respect thats my 2 cents

i am not a chemist but heroin will also be produced! not a good idea IMO

[S-2]

There's no naivete on the part of farmers. Nobody grows poppy without the obvious implications of it's purpose. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran all possess large (and growing larger populations) of addicts as example to those who pretend otherwise.

The money is good but is inherently evil. The drug enslaves and so too the money surrounding it. To exist the drug must corrupt-and does.

I propose that the crops be bought in full at above-market prices from farmers who register their fields with ISAF/NATO/UNODC, have them (in-process) inspected for estimated yield, harvested and sold at the farmer's door to registered agents of the aforementioned organizations.

It's not Afghan gov't money that's buying the dope and I'm certain that I don't want their government involved at this point. Key is protecting the crop from the taliban, larcenious gov't officials, and criminals up to receipt of the crop and payment. How to do so, I'm unsure. I could envision arming farmer cooperatives to do so if it made sense and they didn't end up victims of fratricide (or double deal as insurgents by night). I'd certainly consider stationing U.S./NATO troops to PROTECT the crops but my hope would be that a farmer, for above-market prices, will really take ownership of his fields and, together with his fellow-farmers, secure their own crops with modest outside assistance.

We can't guard crops and fight the taliban. The taliban can't fight for crops and fight "the occupiers". Neither side has the forces to single-mindedly devote here. Further, should the taliban commit ALL of their resources at securing opium by whatever cost, they'll bear the burden of alienating farmers and the local economy while pulling resources from other objectives.

It's possible, then, to create a battlefield over opium. If it's a lifeline to the taliban as seems the case, these policies, IMHO, would pressure them to react. Being inside the taliban's decision-loop for a change would be nice.

Further, any fields NOT registered would be subject to destruction by ISAF/NATO forces. Here, should the Afghan government wish, the ANA/ANP can participate in the enforcement of their own laws and destroy these crops while arresting the farmers.

Finally, farmers whose fields are registered, must have a crop for sale following harvest. As fields can only be registered upon verification, the question becomes, "What's happened to your crop?"

Two caveats-

1.) There are areas where NATO/ISAF currently has no writ and the onerous presence of the taliban makes impossible the growth of any crop besides opium. I'm thinking south of Garmsir in Helmand specifically. This region likely represents the single largest opium producing locale in the world. My approach here, and only here, is hands-off and await further developments for one simple reason- we've no no current presence and until we can have even a contested relationship within this specific area, my policies would only cause undue and NEEDLESS hardship.

In short, we must be there first to implement any policy. For now, south of Garmsir, we are not. Hopefully that will change.

2.) Payments must not become a permanent condition. While farmers whose fields are registered can receive above-market prices for their full opium crop, it should only be for two years. That is the time I'd speculate as needed to transition to new crops. I'm personally a big advocate of saffron but that's something of which I've ZERO expertise.

The purchased dope can be converted to medicinal morphine or destroyed under supervision. Obviously, once it enters NATO/ISAF's hands, the record-keeping must be impeccable. I, like fatman17, would hesitate to establish facilities in Afghanistan or FATA for present. Further, I doubt that the employment opportunities from such a venture are that extensive in any case. The gain isn't worth the temptation to divert the facility's purpose over time.

Anyway, a few thoughts...

[Ratus Ratus]

S-2

But the US has always so far rejected ides similar to yours.

Dutch troops will not aid destruction of poppy crops in Afghanistan
Posted 1/30/2007 12:28 PM ET
Dutch troops will not aid destruction of poppy crops in Afghanistan - USATODAY.com

Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he would not approve a Colombian-style spraying program to eradicate the poppies, ordering them plowed under instead.
Ardenne, (Minister of development, Agnes van Ardenne, Netherlands), said the Netherlands and other European NATO members also oppose that plan, and would tell U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon so when he visits The Hague Thursday.
She echoed the widespread view that eradication and a crackdown on traffickers must be matched with programs to help farmers switch to legal crops and get their produce to market, but said no such comprehensive plan is in place.

Opium for the people: Extraordinary move to legalise poppy crops
The 'IoS' can reveal Tony Blair is considering calls to legalise poppy production in the Taliban's backyard. The plan could cut medical shortages of opiates worldwide, curb smuggling - and hit the insurgents
By Francis Elliott
Sunday, 1 April 2007
Opium for the people: Extraordinary move to legalise poppy crops - Asia, World - The Independent

The US wants to step up eradication programmes, crop-spraying from the air. But, desperate to win "hearts and minds" in Afghanistan and protect British troops, Tony Blair is on the brink of a U-turn that will set him on a collision course with President George Bush.
The Prime Minister has ordered a review of his counter-narcotics strategy - including the possibility of legalising some poppy production - after an extraordinary meeting with a Tory MP on Wednesday, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. Tobias Ellwood, a backbencher elected less than two years ago, has apparently succeeded where ministers and officials have failed in leading Mr Blair to consider a hugely significant switch in policy.
Supporters of the measure say it would not only curb an illegal drugs trade which supplies 80 per cent of the heroin on Britain's streets, but would hit the Taliban insurgency and help save the lives of British troops. Much of the legally produced drug could be used to alleviate a shortage of opiates for medicinal use in Britain and beyond, they say.

The White House has consistently rejected the idea that opium could help to solve Afghanistan's chronic poverty. But there are clear signs of a shift in international opinion towards allowing a legal trade. Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, has said that "buying the crop is an idea we could explore". He added: "We would need money from the US or the UN. But we could buy the whole crop and destroy it. In that way the poor growers would not suffer."
The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, who has opposed the idea in the past, is said privately to have changed his mind - as long as the international community takes on any licensing scheme.

I do not disagree with your outline, but I would be more concerned by the process of eradication with out a sound and viable alternative, which the US has not to this point in time ever presented. The blind destruction will be more than negative to an further development within Afghanistan. It would assist the Taliban and other negative forces towards the US and NATO troops and blow away any reconstruction endeavours.

[S-2]

"I would be more concerned by the process of eradication with out a sound and viable alternative, which the US has not to this point in time ever presented."

If the notion entails a permanent opium crop to sustain the world's medicinal needs, a couple of thoughts come to mind- 1.) that it would be sensible to manufacture morphine in Afghanistan. It's a modest employment opportunity but a value-added one. 2.) the potential for corruption or illegal diversion is high relative to other locations globally. To what extent and for how long should the global community subsidize this effort. If legal and monitored from seed to morphine ampule, should it also be subsidized? Probably not as we've already provided the afghan opium farmer with a (pardon me) captive market for opium.

This is an alternative available beyond the two years but NOW we need to secure the crop-by purchase if necessary.

My plan projects permanent eradication only for those farmers given the choice to register their crops for government purchase at above-market costs yet choose not to participate.

I've no problem with that. If a farmer won't sell his opium to the public's good and best interests, then the only place his product will end is in somebody's veins. You can grow but may only sell to registered agents of the government and that's following an assessment of your crop early on.

Finally, were we to do all the finest ideas today and fully secure this next crop by some form or fashion, the sad word is that there is sufficient backlogged opium inventory available for some serious price manipulation by the taliban for some time yet. I think maybe a couple of years max. So regardless of improvements with control, corruption, criminals, we may not be immediately out of the woods here.

[waraich66]

NATO commander: Afghanistan drug raids imminent

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer

MUNICH – In an effort to strike at a key income source for Taliban militants, the top NATO commander said Sunday that operations to attack drug lords and labs in Afghanistan will begin within the "next several days."

Gen. John Craddock, who also heads the U.S. European Command, also said that the U.S. and its allies are making progress in their efforts to fill the need for more troops, equipment and intelligence gathering in Afghanistan. He, however, would not disclose any specific commitments he got this weekend as world leaders met at a security conference here.

NATO defense ministers, during a meeting last fall in Hungary, authorized troops in Afghanistan to launch the drug attacks, but there had been questions about whether allies would be willing to follow through. Money from Afghanistan's booming illicit drug trade has been blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

"Activities and actions will occur soon that will be helpful," Craddock told reporters. "We've got to get started."

The U.S. delegation to the security conference, led by Vice President Joe Biden, was expected to talk to allies this weekend about the ongoing need for support in Afghanistan. Craddock said he still needs about 5,000 NATO troops to bolster Afghan forces during the coming elections, and he is confident he will get them from other NATO nations.

At the same time, he said he still has a critical need for trainers that he has yet to fill, and the expected announcement about a forthcoming build-up in U.S. forces has been delayed as the Pentagon juggles the numbers in the face of an ongoing review by the new Obama administration.

Allies, said Craddock, "expected they would be asked to step up and do more. Now it's a matter of political will."

Leaders have speculated that good will surrounding the inauguration of President Barack Obama would generate greater efforts by NATO allies to send additional resources to Afghanistan. Pentagon officials have said they expect to send as many as 30,000 more troops there, including several brigades in the coming months.

ISAF should focus to catch OBL for which they invaded Afghanistan and millions of innocient citizen killed and even after seven years completely failed to catch him , now focusing on non issues like drugs which is resultant of mess created by ISAF forces.

[Ratus Ratus]

ISAF should focus to catch OBL for which they invaded Afghanistan and millions of innocient citizen killed and even after seven years completely failed to catch him , now focusing on non issues like drugs which is resultant of mess created by ISAF forces.

Oh, and you really think that if the ISAF were to pull out of Afghanistan tomorrow all things will return to normal and the drug trade will suddenly vanish, the Afghan Taliban will all pack up and go home and all thing suddenly become nice and sweet?

The Taliban see the drugs as money. They are entrenched in you country, Pakistan. They also have expanded and will take their form of Islam through out Pakistan. So what freedom you now have will vanish.

Also look to the fact that neither Russia, China, Iran nor India will be happy with a Taliban type nest, Afghanistan and Pakistan, next door. Look to them all suddenly holding hands and the next genocide descending. It will make anything from WWII to Africa look like kindergarten picnics.

But you are fully welcome to it all, as that seems to be you decision and choice.

I hope the was not referring to your self..

[waraich66]

Oh, and you really think that if the ISAF were to pull out of Afghanistan tomorrow all things will return to normal and the drug trade will suddenly vanish, the Afghan Taliban will all pack up and go home and all thing suddenly become nice and sweet?

The Taliban see the drugs as money. They are entrenched in you country, Pakistan. They also have expanded and will take their form of Islam through out Pakistan. So what freedom you now have will vanish.

Also look to the fact that neither Russia, China, Iran nor India will be happy with a Taliban type nest, Afghanistan and Pakistan, next door. Look to them all suddenly holding hands and the next genocide descending. It will make anything from WWII to Africa look like kindergarten picnics.

But you are fully welcome to it all, as that seems to be you decision and choice.

I hope the was not referring to your self..

You need to read the news papers of talaban era when drugs were at lowest level.
Afghanistan is not developed country can only be controlled through islamic justice system (jirga).

Dont try to plant mango tree in Gilgit this is not for you for US think tank

[S-2]

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"You need to read the news papers of talaban era when drugs were at lowest level."

The taliban took power in Afghanistan in 1996. Opium production that year was 2200 metric tons. 1997-2800 metric tons; 1998-2700 metric tons; 1999- 4600 metric tons; 2000- 3300 metric tons.

UNODC Afghanistan 2004 Report Page 4.

Your information is wrong. The taliban only undertook the eradication of opium when the isolation of their regime became painfully apparent. Opium was a sure and certain source of income for the taliban and little explains the rapid jump in 1999 except the need to for hard cash by their government.

They've been knee-deep in the opium trade from the beginning. It was a huge part of their economy Don't fool yourself. The numbers don't lie.