Heroin in Afghanistan

[FastEddy]

Good point. I retract my previous suggestion. Let's see how many times he hits that dead horse before he gives up.

Right on !, it will be interesting to hear his come back, or if all , like you say.

Cheers.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Maybe he should be talking to the other side:

Also Sunday, Afghan and coalition troops destroyed a heroin laboratory after battling Taliban fighters guarding the facility, a separate coalition statement said. The lab in Helmand contained large amounts of opium-processing chemicals as well as weapons, insurgent propaganda and explosive materials, it said.


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/27/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Violence.php

 

[philippe]

Though this has probably veered too far off-course to be useful, I think the point needs to be made that there was never a 'right' answer to the initial question about the impact of the drug trade on the war in Afghanistan.

To say, for example, that "no special procedures are needed on Canadian bases because of x, y, and z" or "Kandahar is different than the rest of Afghanistan because of x, y, and z" or, simply, "I've been there and never came across anything related to the heroin trade" is just as useful an answer as anything else; it's an entirely open-ended question - like asking if anyone here likes chocolate ice cream. To suggest there's some political considerations lurking in the background is a pretty staggering misinterpretation. I've spoken to several official sources, and the idea of coming here was simply to complement those findings with a view from the ground. If it's fair to say the heroin trade has zero impact on military operations in Afghanistan, then there's no reason for me to ever say otherwise.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Retired now, so I can say this freely:  You will not get much response to your question, as soldiers have been  burned too many times by the "have you stopped beating your wife, yes or no?" type questions from the press, me included.  Mention drugs and soldiers in the same article, and the inevitable a+b+c= potatoes assumptions are made; it's a loaded gun.

 

[geo]

Philippe,
Might I suggest that you have a try at contacting CIDA.

Opium is grown in Afghanistan as a cash crop -  It requires no supervision, no watering & almost no care at all until harvest time.  Compare that to your usual agricultural crops that need tons of water (Soviets destroyed the majority of irrigation systems to encourage population to gather in large urban centres) and then need an elaborate road network to allow farmers to take their crops to market.  

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Though this has probably veered too far off-course to be useful, I think the point needs to be made that there was never a 'right' answer to the initial question about the impact of the drug trade on the war in Afghanistan.

To say, for example, that "no special procedures are needed on Canadian bases because of x, y, and z" or "Kandahar is different than the rest of Afghanistan because of x, y, and z" or, simply, "I've been there and never came across anything related to the heroin trade" is just as useful an answer as anything else; it's an entirely open-ended question - like asking if anyone here likes chocolate ice cream. To suggest there's some political considerations lurking in the background is a pretty staggering misinterpretation. I've spoken to several official sources, and the idea of coming here was simply to complement those findings with a view from the ground. If it's fair to say the heroin trade has zero impact on military operations in Afghanistan, then there's no reason for me to ever say otherwise.

It's pretty staggering to consider that such a topic would not have the potential of huge political considerations. This mission is defining the future political landscape of Canada and Canada's role and presence in the world, everything about this mission, even the deployment of a Tim Horton's trailer in KAF has political ramifications. So if you had not considered the political side of your question the nicest thing I could say is that you are blissfully naive.

By the way I had to give you a demote based on your last post.

 

[R.O.S]

+ 1 Kat
+ 1 CSA

It's open season. Philipe you will not get anywhere here, please give up your wasting your time at this point.

 

[Brockvegas]

it's an entirely open-ended question - like asking if anyone here likes chocolate ice cream.

Yes. Heroin is exactly like chocolate ice cream.  :

I've spoken to several official sources, and the idea of coming here was simply to complement those findings with a view from the ground.

You want a view from the ground? Get on a plane to Kandahar my friend. You want SOMEONE ELSE'S view from the ground without doing any work yourself.

 

[Shamrock]

First off, I'm not a member of the Canadian Forces, but a reporter for Maclean's magazine. I'm trying to get an idea of just how prevalent or available heroin is in Afghanistan and was hoping someone here might be able to help. Feel free to contact me off the board (my email address is in my profile) if you prefer. Thanks for any information you might have.

Allow me to return this thread to the topic at hand.

I, for one, think it's absolutely abhorrent there are no safe injection sites in Afghanistan.

 

[R.O.S]

Yes. Heroin is exactly like chocolate ice cream.  ::

With a cherry on top  ;D

... im sorry but this thread is just rotating... Philipe you will discover no more answers here, just go to wikipedia lol