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| Afghanistan |
| UK troops will not destroy poppy fields |
| 2006-02-23 |
| The commander of the British forces in southern Afghanistan insisted yesterday that his troops would play no part in destroying poppy fields. Ministers had declared that one of the main tasks of the 5,700-strong force was to help end Afghan heroin production, which supplies 90 per cent of the narcotics sold illegally on British streets. But Colonel Gordon Messenger, of the Royal Marines, said troops deploying to Helmand, the biggest centre of heroin production, will not become involved in the process being considered by president Hamid Karzai's government of eradicating poppies. "There will be absolutely no maroon berets (of the marines) with scythes in a poppy field," he said. "British forces will not even directly stop vehicles suspected of smuggling the drug. That will be the task of Afghan police and army." The main role of the British forces will, instead, be to enable the Afghan police and army to establish control over areas which had so far remained outside their reach, allowing a resurgent Taleban and drug lords to gain ascendancy, said Col Messenger. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #6 likewise the tobacco growers here. It'd be nice if they started growing something else too. |
| Posted by: Jan 2006-02-23 14:03 |
| #5 Whew, that was close! |
| Posted by: Keith Richards 2006-02-23 11:29 |
| #4 What, you want to stand downwind?? ;-) Yeah, the bribe thing is real. So is the lack of other cash crops and markets that could replace the income from poppies. And so is the British hands-off preference for their troops, as we saw in Basra to a fair degree. Still, if we mean it when we say we're there to help the Afghans set up a representative government out from under the Taliban and its ilk, that does seem to imply backing them up rather than taking over from a more-or-less-freely elected government. Or so it seems to me, anyway. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-02-23 10:19 |
| #3 Mmmm... help the Afghan army and police collect their bribes more like. Smells of chicken shit to me. Get in there and f*ckin burn em. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2006-02-23 10:09 |
| #2 That will be the task of Afghan police and army." The main role of the British forces will, instead, be to enable the Afghan police and army to establish control over areas which had so far remained outside their reach ... That makes some sense to me. Strengthen and back up the Afghan government so that poppy eradication is seen as a national policy rather than as something imposed by the forces who will be gone soon. And - force the Afghan leaders to take responsibility for that policy. Works for me. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-02-23 08:51 |
| #1 "No my yob, man" |
| Posted by: doc 2006-02-23 08:46 |