Article

2008-05-03 Afghanistan

Marines, Taliban battle in Afghanistan poppy fields

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Posted by Fred 2008-05-03 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top
File under: Taliban

#1 Is this Afghanistan's version of flypaper?

Posted by gorb 2008-05-03 01:42|| 2008-05-03 01:42|| Front Page Top

#2 Better, this is Afghanistan's version of the hunt for Pablo Escobar - take out the opium production and the Taliban/Al-Q/Jihadi Inc's funding dries up; and all that the thugs are left with is some vig from black market gasoline and small time smuggling.

Posted by Shieldwolf 2008-05-03 03:24|| 2008-05-03 03:24|| Front Page Top

#3 Welcome to Afghanistan. Killing the poppies is like killing corn in Iowa (circa 1850). Hard to do, and everyone will hate you. Plus, the rural folk live the Taliban philosophy. They drop their AKs and pick up a razor once in a while to tend their fields, but they're still just militant illiterates, looking out for their own.

Even if the farmers are compensated, their families become targets of the Taliban. Iraq-style COIN doesn't translate well. Let's hope that smarter brains than ours can come up with a solution.

Posted by Vanc 2008-05-03 04:24|| 2008-05-03 04:24|| Front Page Top

#4 Let's hope that smarter brains than ours can come up with a solution.

Thanks but I will assess the smarts of my own brain for myself. I am not betting against the USMC.

Posted by Excalibur 2008-05-03 07:40|| 2008-05-03 07:40|| Front Page Top

#5 economics will prevail locally, opium econ does not favor the farmer it favors the systems distribution elements, that convey it through its channels. Poppy fields could be eradicated by adapting UAV with sprayers working 24/7.

Next idle the fields but pay the farmers double, and also engage the farmers with some infrastructure project during the down year, so their incomes go up.Taliban initimidation must be stalked by the locals just like the awakening in Iraq.

Replace opium with another cash crop in 3rd year.

Posted by Thraviper Panda2099 2008-05-03 09:00|| 2008-05-03 09:00|| Front Page Top

#6 If we can pay these folks farm subsidies, I'm sure we can compensate almost all the local folk in Afghanistan to start planting crap for bio-fuel today lowering the local price of gas for them at the same time.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-05-03 09:41|| 2008-05-03 09:41|| Front Page Top

#7 Bad link - try this this.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-05-03 09:43|| 2008-05-03 09:43|| Front Page Top

#8 well if the ones growing poippy are under taliban control and put up resistance then kill them too. they are no beter than the taliban or al queda

Posted by sinse 2008-05-03 12:59|| 2008-05-03 12:59|| Front Page Top

#9 I have never been to Afghanistan, so I am ignorant of all the intricacies of their existance. But it seems to me that we are trying to do a social transformation of a tribal society ages old.

What do we really want in Afghanistan? We want a place that will not allow outfits like al Q to set up shop and be a terrorist base. I am not real keen on the social transformation thing. They are tribal to the max, their loyalties are to the tribe and or bakseesh, and they will shift loyalties to meet their ends. They have enough Islamic glue to hold this tribal society together.
So we are taking on a huge expensive project when we are trying to transform them to something of our image.

Being a westerner, I would look at the problem and come up with a number of solutions, then I would look at the cost/benefit ratio, and this would have to include the human cost, too.

It would seem to me that you go for the leaders, the financiers, and the source of the funds, in some combination thereof. Being tribal, they understand and RESPECT power. So you do the kinetic thing to get their attention. That includes the Pak frontier areas. Remember that they have little use for the PAK/Afghanistan border. They get the message: don't f*ck with us. We are more brutal than G. Khan if you pi$$ us off. Then you deal with the tribes in a bargaining, business-like manner.

Chasing around after Taliban without destroying the source is attritting yourself. They have, say 20K males a year they can throw at us without getting hurt. We need to quit fighting the symptoms and go for the source of the disease.

Our Marines are second to none. Let's put them where they can do the most strategic good.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2008-05-03 15:11|| 2008-05-03 15:11|| Front Page Top

#10 yeah they are islamist all the way but i thiought it was ahgainst islam too do the dope which slot do/
you cut into someones mo ey thwn you know uoi hurt them
and by the spewlling yes i
m drunk

Posted by sinse 2008-05-03 15:34|| 2008-05-03 15:34|| Front Page Top

#11 no! reeeaaaaalllly?

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-05-03 15:42|| 2008-05-03 15:42|| Front Page Top

#12 After reading that,Mendiola makes complete sense.

Posted by Slappy 2008-05-03 16:08|| 2008-05-03 16:08|| Front Page Top

#13 He makes sinse, even drunk it's understandable.

Posted by Redneck Jim">Redneck Jim 2008-05-03 18:55|| 2008-05-03 18:55|| Front Page Top

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