-Caveat Lector- http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021025-064738-3134r
Afghan heroin crop spikes this year By Eli J. Lake UPI State Department Correspondent From the International Desk Published 10/25/2002 7:06 PM View printer-friendly version WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Poppy cultivation increased nearly 19-fold between 2001 and 2002 in Afghanistan, the world's leading exporter of heroin, according to a new U.S. study of poppy cultivation in the post-Taliban state. According to the new survey, local farmers cultivated approximately 30,759 hectares in 2002, during the peak season for poppy in Afghanistan, the first since the December 2001 Bonn Agreement which established the first interim authority after the Taliban were ousted. During the same period in 2001, only 1,685 hectares of poppy were cultivated in the last year of the Taliban's rein in the Central Asian state. The 2001 decline was due largely to a ban on poppy cultivation imposed by Taliban leader Mullah Omar in July 2001. "Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is a serious problem," U.S. drug Czar John Walters said in a statement released Friday. "Drug cultivation and trafficking undermine the rule of law and the ability of the Afghan people to rebuild their country and join the international community." Under the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, the Afghan interim authority agreed to cooperate with the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime to end trafficking and cultivation of all illicit drugs. One U.S. official said Friday however that the spike in poppy cultivation was not due to lack of cooperation from Hamid Karzai's government, but rather a lack of law enforcement infrastructure. The principal regions for poppy cultivation in Afghanistan are the provinces on its border with Pakistan -- Nangarhar, Helmand, Kandahar, and Oruzgan. These regions, largely populated by Pashtuns (the Afghan ethnic faction most closely linked to the Taliban) are largely immune to the edicts from the government in Kabul. While the Taliban had significant success in eradicating most poppy cultivation in these provinces in 2001, their methods are not likely to be repeated by the Karzai government. The State Department's 2001 report on international drug trafficking released in March says, "The success of the Taliban poppy ban was a significant accomplishment during 2000, but success was achieved through draconian enforcement actions with no concern for poor farmers' welfare, a series of policy actions unlikely to be replicated by a civilized administration." Indeed, despite the decrease in cultivation, heroin traffic from Afghanistan did not decrease under the Taliban's poppy ban as many farmers sold their surplus supplies. But other factors may impede Karzai's government from cracking down on the heroin trade. Indeed, some warlords still influential in Afghanistan have profited in the past from their country's illicit drug trade. Copyright © 2002 United Press International <A HREF="http://www.nexusmagazine.com/bushcheney.html";>http://www.nexusmagazine.com/bushcheney.html</A> The Bush-Cheney Drug Empire The Bush family's involvement in drug-running is an open secret, but Dick Cheney's direct link to a global drug pipeline through a US construction company is less well known. Extracted from Nexus Magazine, <A HREF="http://www.nexusmagazine.com/802.conts.html";>Volume 8, Number 2</A> PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. <A HREF="mailto:editor@;nexusmagazine.com">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> Telephone: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381 From our web page at: <A HREF="http://www.nexusmagazine.com/";>www.nexusmagazine.com</A> C 2000&endash;2001 by Michael C. Ruppert Publisher/Editor of "From The Wilderness" PO Box 6061-350 Sherman Oaks, CA 91413, USA E-mail: <A HREF="mailto:mruppert@;copvcia.com">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> Website: <A HREF="http://www.copvcia.com/";>www.copvcia.com</A> FROM MEDELLIN TO MOSCOW WITH BROWN & ROOT Halliburton Corporation's Brown & Root is one of the major components of the Bush-Cheney Drug Empire. The success of Bush Vice-Presidential running mate Richard Cheney at leading Halliburton, Inc. to a five-year, US$3.8 billion "pig-out" on federal contracts and taxpayer-insured loans is only a partial indicator of what may happen, now that the Bush ticket has won the US presidential election. A closer look at available research, including an August 2, 2000 report by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) (<A HREF="http://www.public-i.org/";>www.public-i.org</A>), suggests that drug money has played a role in the successes achieved by Halliburton under Cheney's tenure as CEO from 1995 to 2000. This is especially true for Halliburton's most famous subsidiary, heavy construction and oil giant Brown & Root. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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