U.N.: Bumper Afghan Opium Crop This Year

World Bank Says $2B Needed To Lure Farms Away From Drug Production

(AP)  Opium cultivation in rebel-controlled areas in southern and southwestern Afghanistan is expected to grow this year, fueling the Taliban insurgency with more drug money, a U.N. report said Wednesday.

The report, by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said that Afghanistan, in turmoil since a U.S.-led military operation toppled the repressive Taliban regime in 2001, is also steadily increasing its production of marijuana.

Afghanistan supplies some 90 percent of the world's illicit opium, the main ingredient in heroin, and the Taliban rebels fighting the U.S.-led forces receive up to $100 million from the drug trade, the U.N. estimates.

"Indeed, it is the insurgents, the Taliban, that are deriving an enormous funding for their war by imposing ... a 10 percent tax on production," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. agency.

Today's U.N. report confirmed the extent of the opium problem addressed by yesterday's plea from the World Bank and Britain-based Department for International Development for the world to invest more than $2 billion in irrigation, roads and other rural development in Afghanistan to lure farmers away from booming opium cultivation.

That report argued that the drug trade - Afghanistan's top business - can only be combated if impoverished farmers have other means of making a living.

"Only as poor Afghan farmers gain other economic opportunities will they be able to be weaned away from dependence on opium production over time," William Byrd of the World Bank told reporters in Tokyo, where the report was released.

The report called for the boosting of community-based development projects, expanded irrigation, increased use of livestock, and help for rural businesses and entrepreneurs.

It recommends investments of $1.2 billion to expand irrigated land, $550 million to boost rural enterprise development, and $400 million for rural road planning, construction and maintenance.

Afghanistan cultivated a record 477,000 acres of opium in 2007, a 14 percent increase over the previous year. Total production, spurred by unusually high rainfall, increased even further, by 34 percent.

The one bright spot in the U.N. report, which like the World Bank's, was released on the sidelines of an international meeting on Afghanistan in Tokyo, was that the area under cultivation outside of the rebel strongholds was expected to fall.

That meant overall cultivation area would stay even or fall slightly in 2008, the report said, though wet weather could boost the productivity of each poppy plant.

Costa and Gen. Khodaidad, Afghanistan's acting counter-narcotics minister, attributed the stall in overall growth of cultivation to eradication efforts and programs aimed at convincing farmers to switch to legal crops.

"The pre-planting campaign is the best way to fight drugs in Afghanistan because we involved the local people ... and we're encouraging people not to grow poppy," said Khodaidad, who, like many Afghans, uses one name.

The report showed mixed results in the battle against opium in 2007. Poppy cultivation increased in eight provinces and decreased in 26, including 13 that became poppy-free.

For the coming year, 12 of Afghanistan's provinces - mainly in the central and northern regions - are likely to remain poppy-free, and decreases recorded elsewhere in the east, north and northeast "may result in an overall decrease in poppy cultivation in 2008," the report said.

Nearly a third of villages said they had received cash advances from drug traffickers to grow poppy. All respondents in the southern region and 72 percent in the west said they paid taxes to anti-government entities, including mullahs, local commanders and the Taliban, the report said.

The U.N. report suggested "effective prevention campaigns and eradication efforts" could help control spring cultivation and rid more regions of the crop.

The Senlis Council international policy think tank said, however, that the report showed current approaches were ineffective and counterproductive.

"You need short-term economic incentives and solutions, such as trying to make use of the poppy crop for medicinal use, and producing crops with a high market value, such as saffron," said Jorrit Kamminga, Senlis' director of policy research.

The World Bank report's authors agreed that there are shortcomings in the current efforts and called for greater coordination among Afghanistan's donors, who they said had failed to use their money in complementary ways.

"Assistance is fragmented with 62 donors, many with their own distinct security, political and development interests," said Alastair McKechnie, Afghanistan country director for the World Bank.

None of Afghanistan's legal crops - such as maize, rice or cotton - can match the income from opium poppies, estimated at $2,024 per acre, the report said.

In addition to opium, the survey found an increase in cannabis cultivation, with 18 percent of villages planning to grow it in 2008, compared with 13 percent last year, when some 172,970 acres of cannabis crops were cultivated.

Christina Gynna Oguz, a U.N. representative in Afghanistan, said the study suggested officials should offer incentives to farmers in the more secure north not to grow poppy.

But in the south, officials have to face an alliance between drug traffickers, corrupt officials, and insurgents.

"So there you will have to fight all these three elements, meaning that you must have much more emphasis on interdiction and fighting corruption," she said.

Despite the failure to curb poppy production, Zalmai Afzali, the spokesman for the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, said there would be no major change in the strategy to combat the problem, which he blamed on the lack of security.

The report was issued as Tokyo hosted an annual international conference on the country's reconstruction on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The 24-member Joint Coordinating and Monitoring Board monitors the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year blueprint to promote security, the rule of law, human rights and development.

Afghan Foreign Minister Dadfar Spanta said Kabul planned to destroy 123,500 acres of opium cultivations in 2008, and he called for more international help in the fight to convince farmers not to plant poppy.

"We need technical and financial support from the international community to create a new perspective for Afghan farmers," he told reporters after the Compact talks ended.

[feelfree1]

This is a stupid idea.

Afghanistan went from having a negligible opium production under the Taliban, to now providing around 93% of the global opium supply, under the Bush regime.

If the Corporate vultures at the World Bank do away with opium production in Afghanistan, where in the hell is the CIA going to get their heroin money to support their black budget? Are they hoping that reduced production will drive the price up, and offset losses?


Let''s think this through here....

[gce65]

This all happened on the Bush/Cheney watch.
Let''s sell off the Bush and Cheney families'' stock portfolios to pay for this. I''ll bet their defense and oil holdings will easily pay for it!

[feelfree1]

Related-

The Bush regime accidentally murdered some more Afghan civilians on Monday:

"Women and children killed in southern Afghanistan raids"

Mon Feb 4, 11:25 AM ET

"Raids by Afghan and NATO troops against Taliban insurgents in southern and southwestern Afghanistan killed several civilians, among them children, local officials said Monday."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080204/wl_afp/afghanistanunrestcivilian

[feelfree1]

Karzai says Taliban aren''t so bad-

"UNITED NATIONS%u2013Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants to forge peace in his country through talks with the "majority" of Taliban who have no links to Al Qaeda or terrorism."

##

U.S. sponsored oil-puppet, Hamid Karzai, the "Mayor of Kabu", blames the British for the mounting "coalition" defeat in Afghanistan:

"Karzai blames Britain for return of Taliban"

January 25, 2008
CBC News

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused British troops of making the security situation worse in parts of southern Afghanistan, saying the area "suffered" after their arrival."

[excoachken]

I am so glad that the Cowardly Cowboy challenged them to, "Bring it on!" What a wonderful investment of our youth and money.

[ddenlinger]

If this country and the rest of the developed world wanted to do something for Afghanistan ALL the opium that could be grown would be bought and used instead of playing into the hands of the pharmaceutical industry with their scams such as oxycontin.

[formrusmcsgt]

"Only as poor Afghan farmers gain other economic opportunities will they be able to be weaned away from dependence on opium production over time"...

If part of the trillion we''ve wasted in Iraq had been used to address this problem, we''d have two fewer problems to deal with and less debt.

[rowdytexan2]

Tell the World Bank, sorry, we''re broke. We don''t have it. We need to get honest here. WE DON''T HAVE IT!!!!

[hungry1968]

Just keep burning the crops. Napalm, flame throwers, herbicides, etc. Keep killing / eradicating the plants, and they won''t have a choice but to get away from it.


If the infrastructure really does need to be constructed, maybe Haliburton could do it pro bono. After all, we''re paying them billions of dollars a month for 5 years, so we know they can afford it.

[lochlan-2009]

"World Bank Wants $2B To Fight Opium Trade"

If this doesn''t come right out and say who is running the New World Order.

[truthspeake2]

How about telling the folks that use the product, "Just Say No"....its cheaper and will pretty much get the same results!

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by hungry1968

Watch out for the trap, the drug lords in the WH want to dry up the supply, which will automatically drive up the price, making it even more valuable, and the cycle will continue, more people will die, and guess who makes more money out of the whole thing?

Ironic that if pot, hash, cocaine and opium were legal, these substances wouldn''t make 0.001% of the profit that they do now, and it wouldn''t be worth trafficking, jails and courts, and tax dollars wouldn''t be wasted on people who have harmed no one, and the stoners would be as medicated as the government wants them to be, too apathetic to fight corruption.

What''s more the government could raise taxes on the substances as high as they wish, and still people would but it. right now, I hear in the US, good pot is half the price of gold bullion.

Think about it...

[republic1776]

The World is becoming full of Socialist/Communists.
Freaking liberals sticking their noses in everybodys business and the solution as always..... Money.

[culturechang]

Somehow poeple think if we beat a square peg hard enough we can get it through a round hole. Since we dont really have control of our govt anymore, I suppose we will end up financing this through more taxes layed on us.

[byeneocons]

"Freaking liberals sticking their noses in everybodys business..."

That just shows the power of the Neocon press, Limbaugh, Fox, et al.

It isn''t the liberals who decided to tap your phone calls and look at your library records. It isn''t the liberals who want to legislate a woman''s womb, and it isn''t the liberals using the false premise of "national security" to invade every aspect of your personal life. It isn''t the liberals who gave you an 8 trillion dollar deficit which is a tax on your future and your kids future.

No, that was all from your family values conservatives: David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, and yes, Rush Limbaugh, the three times married synthetic morphine addict.

[coppertales]

Let''s see, the war on drugs is going on now for some 40 years with no end in sight. Uh, world bank, just loan them the money. What is that, you say, you want to give them MY money because the world bank never expects to be paid back.

[lochlan-2009]

"The compact is a five-year blueprint between the international community and the Afghan government to promote security, good governance, the rule of law, human rights and economic and social development in Afghanistan," It''s amazing how the American media never says anything about the pipeline, and the increased security the world bank wants ot put on their investment. Who''s building the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline? Oh yeah, the Asian Development Bank. Honestly, if American''s got any dumber...

Hey so-called conservatives, why don''t you do absolutly nothing about the corruption in D.C.. Good job American dumbasses.

[grazinggoat]

Bloomberg can give one Billion. They say he''s a Billionair Mayor.

[marcpcbs]

zoe2006
%u201CIt%u2019s about time to legalize marijuana and tax it like cigarettes. Sell it like liquor; it works in Europe.%u201D

WRONG!

The people who say legalize marijuana don''t know or care that 70% of the $50+ Billion dollar a year made form pot sales comes from children%u2019s pockets in our schools and that wont go away if we legalize it. It will just get worse. Pot growers aren%u2019t medicine makers; they%u2019re drug dealers and they always have been. THC has been available in pill form for over 35 years now and the contents of pot smoke are more poisonous than what%u2019s in cigarette smoke.

FYI Europe is having a terrible time because of it%u2019s abandonment of its drug laws. There are article in the paper frequently about how they regret the day they through their drug laws out. The kids can%u2019t learn on pot. Anywhere.

[marcpcbs]

Anyone here who thinks that the war on drugs is a waste of time or un-winnable needs to go down to their local ER and talk to the admitting nurse about how funny it is to see a never ending line OD overdosed kids streaming through.

Then go talk to a teacher and ask whets causing the 50% drop out rate in today%u2019s schools.

[marcpcbs]

Anyone here who thinks that the war on drugs is a waste of time or un-winnable needs to go down to their local ER and talk to the admitting nurse about how funny it is to see a never ending line of overdosed kids streaming through.

Then go talk to a teacher and ask what%u2019s causing the 50% drop out rate in today%u2019s schools.

[marcpcbs]

The war on drugs is actually a war on crime. It%u2019s not likely to ever stop. Should we give up the war on child rape? Should we cancel the war on bank robbery?

Come on people most of the drugs consumed today are consumed by kids under 18 years old. Our kids are important cause they are the future.

[jimfinster]

Anyone here who thinks that the war on drugs is a waste of time or un-winnable needs to go down to their local ER and talk to the admitting nurse about how funny it is to see a never ending line of overdosed kids streaming through.

Then go talk to a teacher and ask what%u2019s causing the 50% drop out rate in today%u2019s schools.
Posted by marcpcbs

Well, take a look at the statistics from the "war on drugs" to date. We have spent billions of dollars on interdiction with little or no reduction in drug flow. This is clearly not the answer. Experts believe the most effective tools are education and treatment for drug users. But our govt has not done a good job in that area....

[jimfinster]

PS

Where in the world did you get a dropout rate of 50%?

Statistics I have seen show a dropout rate of 9% for the age group 16-24.

[marcpcbs]

Jimfinster

%u201CWell, take a look at the statistics from the "war on drugs" to date. We have spent billions of dollars on interdiction with little or no reduction in drug flow. This is clearly not the answer. Experts believe the most effective tools are education and treatment for drug users. But our govt has not done a good job in that area....%u201D

WRONG! Experts. What Experts?



That%u2019s like saying to a sailor. %u201CDon%u2019t fix the holes in the hull, just start bailing.%u201D

As long as there are people who choose to cut corners, break laws and hurt others to make a quick buck we are going to have to finance a campaign against Drugs, Pedophilia, Bank Robbery, Assault, and so on.

[marcpcbs]

jimfinster

These are 2007 statistics from the Federal Board of Education. This is a nation wide average. The drop out rate is higher in sertain areas.

Look it up

[random_radar]

Farmers grow poppies in Afghanistan because it is the most profitable cash crop. If the World Bank builds better infrastructure, it will just make growing poppies more profitable.

Where do they get the idea that farmers will grow less profitable crops if they have better infrastructure? How stupid can these officials be?

Oh, wait, the bankers are really interested in expanding the opium trade by improving the means of production, aren''t they? Now I am enlightened!

[missingamerica]

As long as there are people who choose to cut corners, break laws and hurt others to make a quick buck we are going to have to finance a campaign against Drugs, Pedophilia, Bank Robbery, Assault, and so on.

Posted by marcpcbs at 12:14 PM : Feb 05, 2008

Now that is a nasty tactic...put drugs right next to pedophilia in a transparent attempt to infer a linkage.

If we could just get Goldman Sachs interested in the profit potential, drugs would be legal as soon as Paulson told Bush to legalize them...

[lochlan-2009]

marcpcbs - Anything else you want to make up about drugs and their effect on our country. I think just about everything you''ve said here was wrong.

Misinformation, I guess it is the American way.

[walt1944-2009]

Apparently, with Paul "Wolfman" Wolfovitz and his "squeeze" gone, the World Bank suddenly has more money to use. Only the Great Emperor Bush II would bring this crook back into the government of the US(SA)!

Besides that, wasn''t it Reagan who declared a "War on Drugs"? Whatever happened to that war? I guess we lost it somewhere between the Great Emperor Bush I (sr) and the Great Emperor Bush II (jr)!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!!

[gkc99]

"Pot growers aren%u2019t medicine makers; they%u2019re drug dealers and they always have been. THC has been available in pill form for over 35 years now and the contents of pot smoke are more poisonous than what%u2019s in cigarette smoke."--Posted by marcpcbs

Wrong and wrong.

The real drug plant is tobacco, with its heart-damaging nicotine, not present in pot. And, not too surprisingly, a lot of real conservative, traditional values Republicans love tobacco growers and give them fat subsidies, because their Virginia drug producers give them lots of money.

If there really were a war on drugs in America, it would start with tobacco. What we have is a culture war of Nazis against anyone who doesn''t buy into the "reefer madness" propaganda.

[jimfinster]

jimfinster
These are 2007 statistics from the Federal Board of Education. This is a nation wide average. The drop out rate is higher in sertain areas.
Look it up
Posted by marcpcbs

I already did. It is not 50% as you claim!

[jimfinster]

%u201CWell, take a look at the statistics from the "war on drugs" to date. We have spent billions of dollars on interdiction with little or no reduction in drug flow. This is clearly not the answer. Experts believe the most effective tools are education and treatment for drug users. But our govt has not done a good job in that area....%u201D
WRONG! Experts. What Experts?

Clearly the present course is not working. I am not saying we should legalize drugs. But the money spent (wasted) on interdiction could be better spend elsewhere. Only a fool continues with the same failed policy year after year. Is that what you advocate?

[yongamerica]

It is not the World Bank''s job to be a police force. It''s charter is to loan impoverished nations moneys until they are in such deep debt that these nations then are forced to prostitute themselves to corporate greed and rape.

[jimfinster]

I suggest reading some of William F. Buckley Jr. writings on this topic. They are very good. He details why the War on Drugs has been a huge failure.

[inventagod]

Everywhere the US has tried to eradicate the drug trade, the drugs have proliferated. Maybe the US should get out of the drug business altogether?

[jimfinster]

We should drop the whole "War on Drugs" charade and focus all that money on education and treatment. Quit jailing people for minor drug violations - prison sentences for dealers only.

[honestabe8]

jim: why dealers? they are only supplying what the public wants.

[Krazcarl]

Ahhh lets waste a few billion at best it will only drive up the price prohabition has never and will never work folks take the time to supply there vices. The only tool that will is treatment and clinics with honest education. When I was a kid {60''s} there were telling you if you smoked weed you''d hallusinate become irractic and dysfunctional most folks start out the drug game on weed they smoked it found out it was a lie so didn''t beleave anything else the goverment said lets just get honest.

[cdfoxtrot]

Why on earth is the World Bank looking to get into the "morality" business? If people want opium or what comes out of it, isn''t that the free-market outcome that the US and the World Bank pretends to support? Throwing away taxpayer money in the name of some holier than thou policy that''s doomed to failure is a scandal.

[honestabe8]

crzmeat: honesty does not support their policy.

[hypnotoad72]

Ask for it from China - they''ve got a big surplus rolling in. It''ll help make up for all the products they''ve sold around the world, that in turn have maimed and killed dur to their sloppy lack of standards and QC... And merely begin to make up for all the intellectual property they freely pirate.

Community service. Sounds fair. Where am I wrong?

[duffyn]

Opium is not a morality issue. It is highly addictive. People who are too high on it can''t drive properly, do things they would not do. And if they take it for too long must go through horrible with withdrawals. The only good use of opium is Dr controlled for patient where that is the only thing that works and their life is short as a tolerance is built up that makes you need more and more. That said, why the the "heck" can''t legitimate pharma companies buy it???? For terminal cancer patient, it is a god send.

[telecom_1]

Taliban and El Qaeda terrorists are funded by heroin drug smuggling. Lets cut off the money for these mass murderers.

[jimfinster]

jim: why dealers? they are only supplying what the public wants.
Posted by honestabe8

Well, it is either do that or legalize. We should decriminalize possessing small amounts for personal use, but continue with criminal prosecution for dealers. But quit spending billions chasing them around. Just my opinion.

[honestabe8]

Jim: I got no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is a Government that does not want to debate domestic policy. Particularly when it seems to be opposed by a large percentage of people. The ONDCP charter says they are to oppose any effort to change the current laws by whatever means necessary. The truth or lack of is not an issue with them.

[missingamerica]

Taliban and El Qaeda terrorists are funded by heroin drug smuggling. Lets cut off the money for these mass murderers.

Posted by telecom_1 at 03:32 PM : Feb 05, 2008

Taliban - "maybe", only.

Al Qaeda? They''re funded by oil money flowing from Saudi Arabia, primarily. Guess we should fight terrorism by imprisoning all of the oil dealers, too.

Oh, wait...

[bm6005]

The drop out rate is higher in sertain areas.
Look it up
Posted by marcpcbs

Your spelling is certainly an indication of that!

[bm6005]

Is this in the world bank''s charter? B/4 or after wolfie baby?

[jimfinster]

Jim: I got no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is a Government that does not want to debate domestic policy. Particularly when it seems to be opposed by a large percentage of people. The ONDCP charter says they are to oppose any effort to change the current laws by whatever means necessary. The truth or lack of is not an issue with them.
Posted by honestabe8

You are correct. This seems like all show no go to me. The Republicans want to appear tough on crime, so they continue to push this failed and expensive program. But the Dems are also responsible for not pushing to end it. I hope the next president takes a more sane approach to this issue. It makes no sense at all to spend $20 billion per year and incarcerate millions of people (which costs additional billions per year), with little to show for it....