Trump wants to end the endless Afgan war but his generals have told him that if the 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan were pulled out, the regime would fall, the Taliban would take over, and the massacres would begin.
Obama had eight years to end the war but failed. In fact, poppy production soared during his reign after Obama provided irrigation to the fields hoping the Afgans would grow corn instead of poppies!
Our military even protected the poppy fields!
In 2012, pictures emerged of US soldiers in the Helmand province guarding poppy fields.
These fields are the sources of opium, which is used to make heroin.
Afghanistan is currently the supplier for 90% of the world’s heroin.
The United States should invest in destroying the poppy fields in Afghanistan for three reasons: to stop the rampant addiction in the region, to stop the illegal drug trade, and to help the Afghani government gain more control of the Taliban.
In order to do this, the US should negotiate with the Afghani government to have the Drug Enforcement Agency Kabul Country Office take a greater lead on drug operations in Taliban controlled regions, address the the ways that heroin is leaving the country, and offer alternative occupation for those who currently work in poppy fields.
As of 2014, the US spent $8 billion in Afghanistan for counter narcotics
There is about 824 square miles (224,000 hectares) of land used for poppy cultivation in 2014. While clearly rampant throughout the country, growing poppies is illegal under Afghan law. This drug trade accounts for over a third of the Taliban’s income.
The terrorist group profits from taxing poppy farmers and merchants, getting money from the truckers and opium labs, and selling to international narcotics cartels.
The largest cultivation province is the Helmand province. Coincidentally, there are US troops still stationed in the Helmand province. The US may be avoiding eradication of the poppy fields in fear of potential consequences for local farmers under Taliban rule. However, allowing the illegal production to continue is not the answer to employment issues in the country.
As of 2014, the US spent $8 billion in Afghanistan for counter narcotics.
http://the-generation.net/hidden-consequence-...g-addicts/
The US Military Is Bombing The Taliban's Drug Labs To Cut Off Their Funding
US aircraft destroyed 10 drug processing labs in Taliban -controlled areas of Afghanistan in what commanders said is a new phase of the 16-year-old war there.
November 20, 2017,
The US and Afghan air forces have begun bombing the Taliban’s drug-producing facilities as part of the Trump administration’s new strategy for the 16-year conflict, officials from both countries said on Monday.
A series of strikes on Sunday destroyed 10 opium processing labs in Helmand province, according to the Pentagon and the Afghan government. The Taliban control much of the territory where the poppy is cultivated, and the drug money fuels their fight against the Afghan government and its allies.
“In striking northern Helmand and the drug enterprises there, we're hitting the Taliban where it hurts, which is their finances,” US Army Gen. John Nicholson, speaking from Kabul, told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday. “The new authorities allow me to go after revenue streams of the enemy .”
Nicholson said the strikes are part of President Donald Trump’s new strategy in Afghanistan, which includes committing thousands more troops to the war. The authorities granted by Trump on Aug. 21 allow the military to attack the Taliban’s financial networks and revenue streams.
In a video shown to reporters at the Pentagon on Monday, the US Air Force used a B-52 bomber to strike a facility “with over 50 barrels of opium cooking at the time of the strike,” Nicholson said.
“The street value of this is in the millions of dollars,” he said. “So this was a B-52 strike, several 2,000-pound bombs, and it completely obliterated the facility.”
In another video, a F-22 Raptor, one of the US military’s most advanced fighter aircraft, demolished a complex with a 250-pound bomb. The strikes will continue into Monday, Nicholson said, stressing that farmers would not be targeted.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced on Twitter that eight labs had been destroyed in one day.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/veraberg...he-taliban
WHY DIDN'T OBAMA ORDER THE BOMBING OF THE LABS??????????
Obama had eight years to end the war but failed. In fact, poppy production soared during his reign after Obama provided irrigation to the fields hoping the Afgans would grow corn instead of poppies!
Our military even protected the poppy fields!
In 2012, pictures emerged of US soldiers in the Helmand province guarding poppy fields.
These fields are the sources of opium, which is used to make heroin.
Afghanistan is currently the supplier for 90% of the world’s heroin.
The United States should invest in destroying the poppy fields in Afghanistan for three reasons: to stop the rampant addiction in the region, to stop the illegal drug trade, and to help the Afghani government gain more control of the Taliban.
In order to do this, the US should negotiate with the Afghani government to have the Drug Enforcement Agency Kabul Country Office take a greater lead on drug operations in Taliban controlled regions, address the the ways that heroin is leaving the country, and offer alternative occupation for those who currently work in poppy fields.
As of 2014, the US spent $8 billion in Afghanistan for counter narcotics
There is about 824 square miles (224,000 hectares) of land used for poppy cultivation in 2014. While clearly rampant throughout the country, growing poppies is illegal under Afghan law. This drug trade accounts for over a third of the Taliban’s income.
The terrorist group profits from taxing poppy farmers and merchants, getting money from the truckers and opium labs, and selling to international narcotics cartels.
The largest cultivation province is the Helmand province. Coincidentally, there are US troops still stationed in the Helmand province. The US may be avoiding eradication of the poppy fields in fear of potential consequences for local farmers under Taliban rule. However, allowing the illegal production to continue is not the answer to employment issues in the country.
As of 2014, the US spent $8 billion in Afghanistan for counter narcotics.
http://the-generation.net/hidden-consequence-...g-addicts/
The US Military Is Bombing The Taliban's Drug Labs To Cut Off Their Funding
US aircraft destroyed 10 drug processing labs in Taliban -controlled areas of Afghanistan in what commanders said is a new phase of the 16-year-old war there.
November 20, 2017,
The US and Afghan air forces have begun bombing the Taliban’s drug-producing facilities as part of the Trump administration’s new strategy for the 16-year conflict, officials from both countries said on Monday.
A series of strikes on Sunday destroyed 10 opium processing labs in Helmand province, according to the Pentagon and the Afghan government. The Taliban control much of the territory where the poppy is cultivated, and the drug money fuels their fight against the Afghan government and its allies.
“In striking northern Helmand and the drug enterprises there, we're hitting the Taliban where it hurts, which is their finances,” US Army Gen. John Nicholson, speaking from Kabul, told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday. “The new authorities allow me to go after revenue streams of the enemy .”
Nicholson said the strikes are part of President Donald Trump’s new strategy in Afghanistan, which includes committing thousands more troops to the war. The authorities granted by Trump on Aug. 21 allow the military to attack the Taliban’s financial networks and revenue streams.
In a video shown to reporters at the Pentagon on Monday, the US Air Force used a B-52 bomber to strike a facility “with over 50 barrels of opium cooking at the time of the strike,” Nicholson said.
“The street value of this is in the millions of dollars,” he said. “So this was a B-52 strike, several 2,000-pound bombs, and it completely obliterated the facility.”
In another video, a F-22 Raptor, one of the US military’s most advanced fighter aircraft, demolished a complex with a 250-pound bomb. The strikes will continue into Monday, Nicholson said, stressing that farmers would not be targeted.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced on Twitter that eight labs had been destroyed in one day.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/veraberg...he-taliban
WHY DIDN'T OBAMA ORDER THE BOMBING OF THE LABS??????????
