Afghanistan: The Primrose Hill View of winning Hearts and Minds
Mick Smith Weblog
This blog has been banging on about the folly of Afghanistan for so long that it is difficult to know where to begin. John Reid's disgraceful decision to limit the number of troops on the ground in the Taliban heartland; his ludicrous suggestion that British troops might achieve their mission without ever firing a shot - and what mission was it exactly because we have been given half a dozen so far, most of them conflicting with each other - or oh yes, the impression given to the people of Helmand province that the British troops were coming to steal their livelihood from them.
Lest Reid or the MoD try to claim this is a lie, let me quote from his announcement of the deployment back in January: "We cannot go on accepting Afghan opium being the source of ninety per cent of the heroin on our streets." This was expanded in the accompanying press release which defined a key part of the paratroopers's mission as "to support international efforts to counter the narcotics trade which poisons the economy in Afghanistan and poisons so many young people in this country." Read more
db:Helmand accounts for around 25% of Afghanistan's opium production - which farms as a whole around 87% of the world's illicit crop. So if the British were to eradicate 100% of Helmand's production not only would that action destroy any hope that may remain of winning the support of the population - who are clearly desperate for the income - but as far as 'the poisons' injected and snorted and smoked in the UK are concerned, it is likely to have little impact - short of perhaps pushing up the price of a 'wrap' of 'smack' by 50 pence or so. Also, the more the production is destroyed the better the price on offer to the growers. So it is likely that you would only displace it anyway. Since 'winning the war' against the Taliban, Helmand has not benefited from development. It's clear that what is required is cash. Not a recruitment drive for the 'bad guys'.
This blog has been banging on about the folly of Afghanistan for so long that it is difficult to know where to begin. John Reid's disgraceful decision to limit the number of troops on the ground in the Taliban heartland; his ludicrous suggestion that British troops might achieve their mission without ever firing a shot - and what mission was it exactly because we have been given half a dozen so far, most of them conflicting with each other - or oh yes, the impression given to the people of Helmand province that the British troops were coming to steal their livelihood from them.
Lest Reid or the MoD try to claim this is a lie, let me quote from his announcement of the deployment back in January: "We cannot go on accepting Afghan opium being the source of ninety per cent of the heroin on our streets." This was expanded in the accompanying press release which defined a key part of the paratroopers's mission as "to support international efforts to counter the narcotics trade which poisons the economy in Afghanistan and poisons so many young people in this country." Read more
db:Helmand accounts for around 25% of Afghanistan's opium production - which farms as a whole around 87% of the world's illicit crop. So if the British were to eradicate 100% of Helmand's production not only would that action destroy any hope that may remain of winning the support of the population - who are clearly desperate for the income - but as far as 'the poisons' injected and snorted and smoked in the UK are concerned, it is likely to have little impact - short of perhaps pushing up the price of a 'wrap' of 'smack' by 50 pence or so. Also, the more the production is destroyed the better the price on offer to the growers. So it is likely that you would only displace it anyway. Since 'winning the war' against the Taliban, Helmand has not benefited from development. It's clear that what is required is cash. Not a recruitment drive for the 'bad guys'.
posted by exoplanet at 2:29 PM
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