An Afghan soldier walked through a poppy field in April as he searched for Taliban fighters. Goran Tomasevic/Reuters (Photo from The New York Times)From Reuters:
BOGOTA, March 5 (Reuters) - Lessons from Colombia's U.S.-backed war against insurgents and drug traffickers could be applied to Washington's expanding military campaign in Afghanistan, the top U.S. military officer said on Thursday.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Bogota the Andean country's ideas on counterinsurgency, building governance in areas once abandoned by the state and economic development were fundamental.
"There are parts of it that would be very applicable to other parts of the world, especially Afghanistan," he said.
President Barack Obama's administration is currently reviewing U.S. policy for Afghanistan as Washington prepares to send in a further 17,000 troops to try to turn around an increasingly violent conflict.
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My Comment: Getting rid of Afghanistan's poppy fields will be easier than getting rid of coca plants in Colombia. The poppy fields are easier to spot (there are no jungles in Afghanistan), a lot of poppy plants must be grown to produce an appreciable crop (making detection easier), and its transport must go through checkpoints and bottlenecks that are controlled by the Afghan police (to be soon controlled by Allied and Afghan military forces).
What will not be easier, is that drug gangs are ruthless when it comes to protecting their investment. I do not expect that Afghans/Taliban to be any different.
Another problem in Afghanistan has always been one of political will. When the brother of the President of Afghanistan is implicated as a major drug smuggler .... you know that this "political will" will probably be lacking.
I also feel empathy for the soldiers who will be enforcing this anti-drug policy. It will not be easy to destroy a crop that a farmer has been forced to grow, and who is dependent on its product to feed his family.
Sigh .... there are going to be no winners in this battle.
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