War, Drugs & What is Going On?

To All,

The BBC reports that Afghanistan and their neighbor Pakistan are not doing well with their relationship. It appears that there is some degree of discord between the two nations. The disagreement is at such a level that it takes our Secretary of State (Dr. Rice) to travel to Afghanistan and try to mend fences with these two nations that are so important to the war on terror. Interesting.

If you do not subscribe to the BBC web page than you would have missed a related story about Afghanistan that is most interesting. It appears that Afghanistan has re-ignited its cheif export-opium. A link on the BBC web page that is next to the story of Dr. Rice traveling to that nation explains that Afghans farm and cultivate large fields of the plant that produces the world's heroin. Interesting.

The article from the BBC (by Andrew North of the BBC News) says that the war on drugs in Afghanistan is being lost. The drug trade in Afghanistan fund Taleban initiatives and yet there is little in the way of stopping this from occurring. What is surprising is that everyone seems to know that Helmand province is the top producer of the poppy plant and that Afghanistan is the number one opium producing country in the world. American and British forces have been in the nation since 2001 and we have not yet recognized the nature of how a 'horse and cart' country can distribute (in 2004) 90% of the world's opium. Interesting.

Mr. North of the BBC reports that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by British and US taxpayers to combat this issue but it appears it goes for not. The war ravaged nation of Afghanistan still appears to have remote places that does not allow for an international presence. Therefore, the opium trade out of Afghanistan continues. Interesting.

As a professional who has spent most of his life in the counseling and medical needs of clients attempting to recover from drugs and alcohol, I am saddened by this news. It is hard for me to struggle with the reality that my clients are using a deadly drug [heroin] that makes it's way from halfway (or more) around the world. What is equally problematic in my thinking is that our nation's finest professional soldiers, Marines, and airmen are present and the crop continues. Mr. North's article he acknowledges that in Helmand province poppy crop production went down 10% in 2005, but in neighboring Nimroz province their poppy crop production went up 1,370%. Amazing.

It appears the approach to Afghan poppy production was to be addressed by providing alternatives to growing opium, but those international efforts have not materialized. They ask for issues such as new roads and irrigation canals for other crops. New roads and irrigation canals were supposed to also offer legitimate work for the citizens of that nation turning their interest away from illicit work. The aid, in a sense, that was supposed to show up did not. The money was supposed to show up-it did not; relief from the pressure of the Taleban and al-Qaeda was supposed to cease-it has not.

For the rest of the world it means that heroin is still coming and coming stronger. It means that the streets of Europe, North America, South America, Australia, Japan and othe places will have large supplies of heroin to deal. Which means my work and the work of many like me will also continue.

It is a hard thing to fathom that the US and Britian can be present in Afghanistan and not be able to address this problem that affects the entire globe. The drug trade of Afghanistan supplies the resources to the Taleban and al-Qaeda. It still exists, so the Taleban and al-Qaeda still exist.

Interesting.

Of War and the Cost

To all,

We are seeing in the news that United States Marines are under the microscope for possibly commiting war crimes of shooting and killing innocent civilians in Iraq. The President promises punishment for those breaking the law, the Pentagon will conduct the investigation, the Iraqi government denounces the act and many wonder why it took so long for these incidents to come to light. Hmmm... a powerful thought indeed.

As a former soldier, I can understand the power given to so many in terms of weaponry and authority. I can understand, as many can, the need to "even" a score when one of your own falls victim to attacks. My entry is not designed to address the guilt or innocence of those Marines nor is it to demand justice for the innocently slain people in Iraq. Then what is this entry for, you might ask.

It is simply to state the obvious. It is to restate a sentiment that is always stated when addressing issues surrounding war-War is hell.

In war you have the unleashing of powers designed to destroy. One can wonder if you possibly can build peace while simultaneously fighting a war. War fighting requires an edge of its fighters to snuff life out of the enemy. Somehow, we expect those who fight viciously to also know when to stop and shut it off. Hmmm. . . I think we have heard this before.


They say the Marines who may have done this were seeking revenge for the killing of one of their own from an explosion of an IED. It is also said that the commandant of the Marine Corps went to Iraq to begin talking to his Marines so that they can begin to get some "sensitivity" training on how to interact with Iraqi civilians. Hmmm. . . another interesting thought indeed. It is said that the "insurgents" pop up to fight and then blend in with the civilian population. They tend to do this over and over again-somehow I have heard of this before-perhaps a John Wayne movie where "Mr. Sulu" from Star Trek fame states that he has VC on his own strike force. Hmmm. . . this sounds so similar.

I do not know what the truth is with those Iraqi civilians nor do I know the truth about the Marines in question. What I do know is that for the commanders who were relieved of their commands and responsibilities (I commanded and Army unit) they will live with a pain few of us will understand. If those Marine commanders and Non-commissioned officers have had to bury their Marines, theirs is a pain many more will not understand. And if this is all the result of fabrication of fact, personal desires and elitist agendas-then the souls of those who have died~military or civilian~need to mess with the plush and comfortable existence of those who have pushed their subjective reality onto the backs and trigger fingers of others.