Poppies - - Afghan.

This is coolbert:

Here is the type of civic action program THAT WILL NOT win over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

Military civic action that will only antagonize the Afghan locals and create a lot of resentment toward all foreign forces [American/NATO] AND THE PRO-WESTERN GOVERNMENT IN KABUL!. If they are not already hostile, will be so now. And if were hostile, WAY BEYOND MERELY HOSTILE NOW!!!

From the Chicago Tribune today:

"Anti-poppy effort draws Afghans’ ire"

"Illinois National Guard joins NATO in targeting drug crop"

“NAD ALI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - - The Afghan police drove the tractors efficiently, turning over the soil and the green shoot and within minutes destroying almost 4 acres of this country’s most valuable crop - - poppies”

“Off in the distance, a ring of Afghan and U.S. soldiers protected the police”

U.S. SOLDIERS, A CONTINGENT FROM THE ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD [ILARNG] UNIT RECENTLY DEPLOYED TO AFGHAN!!

“the country still produces more opium and heroin than anywhere else in the world BY FAR.”

BY FAR MY EMPHASIS!!

"In August, just before the planting season, the government launched a public education campaign about poppies."

“In September the government handed out wheat seed and fertilizer, paid for they British and American, to 33,000 farmers. Despite that, most farmers overwhelming opted to grow poppies.”

THE AMOUNT OF MONEY REAPED FROM THE GROWING AND HARVESTING OF WHEAT WOULD BE SMALL, VERY SMALL, COMPARED TO THE INCOME OBTAINED FROM THE GROWING OF POPPIES!!! ENCOURAGING THESE AFGHAN FARMERS TO GROWN AN ALTERNATIVE CROP WILL JUST NOT WORK??!!

This eradication program is only in the first week - - and the ILARNG troops accompanying the Afghan police are seeing HEAVY RESISTANCE OF A NATURE HITHERTO NOT ENCOUNTERED OR EXPECTED!!

“The American soldiers, who work and fight alongside the Afghans, are seeing some of the toughest resistance of any of the Guard troops [ILARNG] deployed throughout Afghanistan."

“’the resistance has been very heavy’”

“Mortars, roadside bombs, rockets, small arms, light machine guns, heavy machine guns - - the eradication force has been hit by everything.”

Eradication of the poppy crop was bound to piss off the local Afghans. This was well expected! Piss them off BIG TIME!! Only in the long run going to make things much worse for the American/NATO forces.

THE HEAVY HAND, THE FORCES OF THE “CENTRAL GOVERNMENT”, THE INSISTENCE OF THE FOREIGN ELEMENT, THE “BIG FOOTPRINT” STYLE OF COUNTER-INSURGENCY IS DOOMED TO FAILURE IN AFGHAN!!??

The best way to rule the Afghan is to do NOTHING!!?? Leave them alone. Let these sixteenth [16th] century people lead their sixteenth [16th] century lives unmolested.

TURNING A BLIND EYE TO THE POPPY HARVEST AND DOING NOTHING IS THE WAY TO GO!!!???

As unpalatable as that may sound, I fear so!

And those units from the ILARNG? I have often thought the Union was saved that first day at Shiloh by a small band of farm boys from Illinois who held the line [Hornet’s Nest] against repeated and frenzied attack by overwhelming numbers of Confederate troops!! The ILARNG once again finds itself in a dire situation for which there is no easy answer or amelioration!!

coolbert.