This is some of the stupidest thing I've read in a long time. And I read most of gbaji's posts.
The Talibans are coming back for reasons which are quite easy to see:
- Most of the US/NATO troops were stationed only in Kabul since the war was won, leaving the rest of the country at the mercy of the Talibans. The main reason for that is because so many troops went to Iraq.
- The other big reason is of course the poppy fields.
The heroin question is more delicate than the number of troops on the ground. The policy of the US was to force farmers to eradicate poppy fields. But this has caused great poverty, since poppy fields are much more profitable than anything else. Since there wasn't enough troops on the ground, they couldn't enforce this in any way, shape or form. So the Talibans have come back, the farmers planted poppy crops, and the Talibans made loads of money from this. Not only money, but also influence with the local population.
One way to stop that would be to allow farmers to grow popyy fields, and use these as opiates for medicianl pruposes. This is what the US does with countries such as Turkey and India. Having such a treaty with Afghanistan would not only help to control the flow of heroin on our streets, it would empoverish the Talibans, and empower the local farmers.
Afghanistan is a crucial place in the war on terror. If the Talibans do come back and take power, and increasingly it looks like they will, then we will be back to square one. Afghanistan was the base for Al-Qaeda. It might become so once again if we lose this war. Not only that, but they were surely the most horrific regime in the world in 2001.
Another "funny" thing was that the Talebans banned poppy fields while they were in power, because it wasn't "Islamic". however, now that they need this money to buy arms, they actively encourage, and even force, farmers to cultivate it. this just shows how these people that claim to be pious and moral are just self-serving bastards, that care about "morals" or "religion" only when it serves their interests. This is what we should be showing to the Muslim world. How corrupt these people are.
Anyway, I'm rambling, but Afghanistan is at least, if not more, important than Iraq. If we lose it... Then the last 5 years will have been completely wasted.
Edited, Oct 4th 2006 at 3:35am PDT by RedPhoenixxxxxx
