News – The Marines of Bravo Company's 1st Platoon sleep beside a grove of poppies. Troops in the 2nd Platoon playfully swat at the heavy opium bulbs while walking through the fields. Afghan laborers scraping the plant's gooey resin smile and wave.
well, it is of course all about money. The drug lords are especially vicious in Afghanistan. They extort money from Afghani Haliburton workers. A common practice is 'skinning' as punishment for nonpayment. A square shaped section of skin is cut from the back. And of course the more commonly known cropping of the fingers is also used.
The situation with the opium fields is difficult. A couple years ago, I remember reading about the US trying to pay off the war lords and chieftain types with incentives to stop growing poppies. ...and now?
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You really can't go into other people's countries and expect to get them behave like you want
I think the Russians were in Afghanistan 10 years before they collapsed. We're on 6, but of course Russia had some other stuff going on, but I wonder how long we can keep it up
BTW why do they 'need' to ignore the poppy fields from which illegal drugs come to America Kville?
Can't we bust them over there so we don't have to bust'em here?
"Can't we bust them over there so we don't have to bust'em here?"
For sure! If Bush can fight 'terrorism' over there so that we don't have to fight terrorism here, then the same logic should apply to the illegal drug trade.
Good one, DMT!!
ty
war on terror
war on drugs
war is about killing, and I'm pretty sure you can't kill terror or drugs
That's probably why neither endeavor is working out too well
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I may add that 3 years ago the Afghani laborers got paid 6 USD a DAY by Haliburton, and then they had to pay some of that in extortion or risk beatings or skinning or finger cropping. That was 3 years ago when it was a relative's job to organize and process Afghani manual laborers at a major US base. They work in logistics now, getting the troops water and supplies, etc
I don't know what 6 bucks a day translates to over there. But it doesn't sound like a lot. I remember bringing it up when I first started posting on here and getting laughed at and disbelieved
I have this really good story but I can't tell it without feeling guilty. It's pretty hairy. Involves a foolish Paki truck driver, Afghani locals, and the wisdom of 'winning hearts and minds' on a very personal level. I know, I'm a tease
One of the biggest reason for war is lack of income. Opium although addicting, is a natural pain killer. The US should cut the drug smugglers out of the picture, let the crops get to full harvest, buy the crops, stockpile it and have a cheaper natural pain killer on hand. The locals will have their bread and butter. The drug lords are out their money and the crops go for the intended purpose of their creation. It would be a heck of a lot cheaper for the US to use that drug than the so called synthetic, version they have of it today. Our country don't have a whole lot of money, you know? Pain killer, is pain killer, when you are loaded with gun shot. Of course trading for the real thing might be too easy and save a life on the operating table, out in the field.
They are growing the crop intended by nature to grow. It wouldn't grow well here. It can, but Our climate is very unstable, not to mention it is illegal.
Read and learn from someone who is there (a civilian).
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02222008/tran...
BILL MOYERS: To help fight the insurgents, right? What's happening to that money?
SARAH CHAYES: Well, we're paying a billion dollars a year to Pakistan, which is orchestrating the Taliban insurgency. So, it's actually US-taxpayer money that is paying for the insurgents, who are then killing, at the moment, Canadian troops. Now if I were the government of Germany or France, I'd have a hard time putting my troops in that kind of equation. I would demand from Washington, that Washington require a lot different behavior from Pakistan.
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The buck stops when a soldier decides whether or not their order is a legal order. If they feel it is then the buck stops with their commander and goes up the chain to the commander in chief. So if everyone up the chain to Bush thinks it's a legal order the buck should stop with Bush, but often doesn't.
That is not the way it works in the military. You don't decide what is legal or illegal, you follow orders.
Under the UCMJ it is a soldiers duty to disobey an illegal order.
And who decides what an illegal order is?
If an officer orders a soldier to shoot a baby when the rules of engagement state military age men...who the hell do you think decides?Every soldier is required to abide by the UCMJ.
Suppose he has a reason to shoot the baby. Again who decides and when?
The individual soldier decides and takes the chance of punishment for disobeying an order...OR the CO decides that it was an illegal order and arrests the officer who gave it,why don't you join the military and find out for yourself instead of coming up with ridiculous statements like "a reason to shoot the baby".
I'd suggest you join the military for a first hand lesson. Who decides? The military tribunal that will convene for your courtmartial for failure to disobey a direct lawful order, and you defend yourself based on its legality.
i think you mispoke..you can not go before a military "tribunal" failing to disobey a lawful order.
I think you meant failing to obey a lawful order.
Kville,
Most (if not all) folks here are sympathetic with the situation of the U.S. Soldier.
The differences of opinion are primarily with the policies of the Commander-In-Chief.
I hear ya Quackpot, I know exactly where this admin has been less than effective and sometimes apparently misguided. I think one term would have sufficed for this president. :)
However, these guys aren't there to destroy private property. Start destroying some farmer's crop, his livelihood, and you're likely to wind up with said farmer shooting you in the friggin' head.
It's awful hard to ask a farmer for info on the taliban after you just detroyed his livelihood.
...if you even live long enough to ask! I'm pretty sure that if they simply took it upon themselves to start burning crops, the whole village would turn out to kill the Americans!
Besides... they burn the crop--so what's the point, is this going to change anything on the opium market?
Yeah, you might as well hand him an application to join.