Re: This is scary/bothersome
Funny, all that video did was counter what you're saying. You take "providing them security" as them guarding the poppy fields when it really means protecting the citizens of the area. What else should I expect from someone who is a 9-11 Truther and the phrase "pull it". Idiot.
Thanks for pointing it out the video though, I was wondering what LtCol Christmas was up to as I haven't seen him in a long time. He's a hell of a man.
You have no idea what COIN is or anything about the Battle of Marja. Providing security for the local populace (not the poppy), and not pursuing the cutting of the fields is all part of that. The drug interdiction happens at the processing and transportation stages for all that to work, and they take down shipments and processing factories where the product is measured in tons, not ounces. Kill the snake at the head, not the tail.
The cutting of poppy fields was tried. It didn't work because it was too slow, selective and dangerous. After the Agent Orange debacle decades ago everyone in the world is against the US spraying any type of defoliant no matter what it is, so that was out too.
All cutting did was empower the warlords with connections to the local governments (who were the ones giving/denying permission where to cut), enrage the local populace, and give the poverty stricken farmers an enemy when they really could care less what government is in power this decade. They just want to live to see another growing season and could care less what crop puts food on the table.
If you can reduce the number of people pissed off at you from the entire populace to just the die-hards and drug runners, you just made your job a lot easier. It's bad enough when you have a tribal based country rife with corruption in the leadership. We don't need any more obstacles to finally getting out of this place.
The proof behind the concept will be shown years from now, but you can guarantee anything is better than the cutting days.
You're a dishonorable lying fool to call the US Military drug runners. I'm done with you and debating with idiots.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Keyser Söze</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Redmanss</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Since you can't prove that the US Military is actively supporting the opium trade</div></div>
I'll play devils advocate for a minute here...
While protecting drug lords/their poppy crops is not the same as growing, transporting and selling it themselves, as importstillsuck claims, it is still technically "supporting the opium trade", no?</div></div> See above. They don't protect the crop. There's nobody to protect it from as the Taliban want them to bring it to harvest. They just no longer pursue the farmers and instead go after the money and drug trail from there. The farmers then actually start giving up the Taliban that are shaking them down for what little money they have because they no longer see ISAF as a threat to their prosperity. Farmers happy, Taliban dead, all is well. Slow but sure is the process.
Thanks for the thought out question though.