Drug use rife amoungst Afgan army soldiers, we cant leave them in charge

online.wsj.com...

I just read this whilst the other day I read a report that estimated 30% of the Afgan army has a drug problem.

This issue isn't being addressed much from what I can, tell. It seems theat we are afriad to loose the numbers of avbailable soldiers. Aparently each 6 months around 25% of soldiers desert the service as well. How can we leave with these people in charge? We are talking mainly about heroin/opium and weed addictions btw.

Considering the Taliban use opium to make money this would immediately put soldiers in their pockets (if they arn't already) and the previous link describes drug related incidents that have led to shootings of fellow soldiers even. Not to mention whilst high your ability to fight is severely diminished and you become a danger to those around you that you are suppost to be protecting.

Drug addicts in particular (especially in the case of heroin) would be incredibly easy to corrupt,, which is exactly what needs to be avoided in this corruption ridden country where the people have never had anything close to democracy (even to this day many may argue)

I want out soldiers home very badly, it angers me to here when they are killed, but I dont believe that we can just leave when those in positions of protecting the people are so far from being able to complete their job. I believe that their lack of ability is even played down by our media to make it seem like withdrawal can happen sooner rather than later. IMO it will be a disaster and I doubt if the Afgan army would even be able to stop the taliban from taking control back, they seem like they dont want to engage with them in many cases from what I have heard from servicemen who have trained and worked with them.

What does everyone else think? I know we want our troops back, but we went in there and should only leave when the people are safe imo. If we left and invited a massacre it would have been pointless even going there and I know our servicemen would be furious over this.

reply to post by clintdelicious


I stopped reading at weed addictions.
sorry.

No, we don't need to extend our failed drug war to Afghanistan! They've been stoned a long time, that isn't going to change.

Why aren't we burning those billion dollar poppy fields, I wonder? /sarcasm

reply to post by itisortofthetruth


It may not be as bad as heroin addiction for example but using it everyday will cause severe issues. Not to mention paranoia. I had an x girlfriend who started smoking a lot at uni and she went totally mad with paranoia, different people are affected in different ways and paranoia is the last thing you want in an army that is corrupt dont you think?

Also opium and heroin is one of the most common drugs in Afgan so its not like a small number do it and the main issue is a few soldiers having the occassional joint. These are daily drug users we are talking about!

Yeah, how dare we leave them in charge of their own f'ing country?!?! STFU!

reply to post by Balkan


I know what you mean, I still dont believe its right to leave in this state. Even if this argument makes the politicians have to work a bit harder for stability in Afgan it will be worth it though. I'd rather have soldiers from another country patroling around causing some combat than a drug addled army trying to protect me.

Didn't the Taliban outlaw opium production?
I was under the impression that once we "liberated" Afghanistan, most of the Heroin in Europe was from the poppy fields of Afghanistan.
Before our "liberation", only a small amount of Europe's Heroin originated from Afghanistan.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

reply to post by Stovokor


I want them to be in charge as much as anyone, but my point is we cant go in there, cause all manor or horror and then leave for it to happen all over again when the army fails to do their job.

Originally posted by Balkan
No, we don't need to extend our failed drug war to Afghanistan! They've been stoned a long time, that isn't going to change.

Why aren't we burning those billion dollar poppy fields, I wonder? /sarcasm

You would think we would be ripping those plants out of the ground instead of patrolling them wouldnt you?

Might as well give them a star on our flag. They will be under our control for much longer than most expect

What's this, a page from the "reefer madness" playbook being used as an excuse to extend our stay in Afghanistan? Didn't think we were going to walk away from those huge mineral deposits found there recently that easy did you?

reply to post by BrianDamage


No sorry I think they always have grown it for decades if longer. If it makes money they dont care, I think as long as they dont use it they dont care who it goes to. Heroins come from there for ages I beleive, Afgan and the golden triangle are the two major producers in the last few decades but Afgan has always produced so much more

reply to post by clintdelicious

I know we want our troops back, but we went in there and should only leave when the people are safe imo.

Seeing how your military has been bombing civilians left and right I believe you have "protected' them enough.

I don't think you can be serious with this thread.

reply to post by clintdelicious
What a complete load of tripe. You're going to tell us your gf smoked pot everyday and went crazy?

Originally posted by Balkan
No, we don't need to extend our failed drug war to Afghanistan! They've been stoned a long time, that isn't going to change.

Why aren't we burning those billion dollar poppy fields, I wonder? /sarcasm

Agreed. It isn't going to change, certainly not by the force of the soldiers.

And the poppy fields? They're perennials, they should just keep coming up. They should just utilize the opium for pharmaceuticals, and not worry so much about them.

It's time to be out of there, regardless. It's their country, let it sort itself out now.

reply to post by Zamini


Beleiev me im far from a right wing pro occupation type, but the Afgan people are terrorfied that we will leave and they will be in an even worse position. The British army do not kill civillians left and right as you put it as well. The British army have always been credited with winning over the local population in comparison with other military forces in similar positions.

reply to post by clintdelicious


We should let the country sort itself out. It's not the job of the USA or anyone else to decide who should govern Afghanistan or how.

Originally posted by clintdelicious
reply to post by BrianDamage

 

No sorry I think they always have grown it for decades if longer. If it makes money they dont care, I think as long as they dont use it they dont care who it goes to. Heroins come from there for ages I beleive, Afgan and the golden triangle are the two major producers in the last few decades but Afgan has always produced so much more

Bitter Harvest Data: Opium, History, and Afghanistan 1979 Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. Mujahaddin cultivate opium to buy weapons. 1989 Afghanistan produces 35 percent of the world’s opium. 1999 Afghanistan becomes the world’s largest producer of opium. 2000 The Taliban outlaw opium poppy cultivation. 2001 During U.S. attacks on Afghanistan, farmers start planting opium poppies. 2002 The Afghan Interim Administration issues a ban on opium poppy cultivation.

LINK

The defeat of the Taliban would result in a surge in opium production, which has beenvirtually halted in Afghanistan by the Kabul regime over the last year, United Nations officials have warned. A new UN survey reveals that the Taliban have completed one of the quickest and most successful drug elimination programmes in history.

LINK

About 30% of the worlds population is "addicted" to something, life is pretty boring.

Personally I smoke a lot of green and have never had a problem carrying out any task, but if someone has a serious heroin habit and not just recreational they should be pretty damn easy to spot and put in for treatment.

reply to post by clintdelicious

It may not be as bad as heroin addiction for example but using it everyday will cause severe issues.

Sorry to stray off topic, but nothing pisses me off more than somebody who is uninformed about cannabis. Addiction myth as well as every other myth you've heard debunked.

Marijuana is not addicting. The use does not develop any physical dependence (see below). (Mayor's Committee on Marihuana, New York City, 1944; Allentuck & Bowman, 1942; Freedman & Rockmore, 1946; Fort, 1965a, 1965b; Panama Canal Zone Governor's Committee, 1933; Phalen, 1943; Indian Hemp-Drug Commission, 1894; Watt, 1965; I Crim 5351 Calif. District Court of Appeal, 1st Appel. Dist.; United Nations, 1964a, 1964b)

In a small percentage of individuals, a "psychological dependence" can develop, but a predisposition must be present. In his paper, "Dependence of the Hashish Type," Watt (1965, p. 65) concludes: The habit is gregarious and is easily abandoned. Personality defect and incipient or existing psychotic disorder are the essential factors underlying the formation of the habit.

Again, sorry for going off topic, but I'm not just going to sit back while you spread lies.

Not to mention paranoia. I had an x girlfriend who started smoking a lot at uni and she went totally mad with paranoia, different people are affected in different ways and paranoia is the last thing you want in an army that is corrupt dont you think?

Does your girlfriend work for D.A.R.E.? That sounds like the kind of thing a health teacher would lie about to their students. We can't just be policing other countries, we don't have the money to do that.

Also opium and heroin is one of the most common drugs in Afgan so its not like a small number do it and the main issue is a few soldiers having the occassional joint. These are daily drug users we are talking about!

It's their country, we can't be enforcing our drug laws in another country, especially since we don't have money to dish out. Plus several presidents have admitted that the drug war is unwinnable, so what good would spending taxpayer money when we don't have a dime to spend enforcing laws that don't work in another country do? They may use drugs daily, but they don't seem to have a problem picking up a weapon and kicking some ass. Let them run their own country, we have too many problems of our own as it is.

reply to post by clintdelicious

Beleiev me im far from a right wing pro occupation type, but the Afgan people are terrorfied that we will leave and they will be in an even worse position.

What do you know about the Afghan people? BULL# you're spouting right there. The US military is protecting poppy fields as to keep the warlords. whom the people are afraid of, satisfied. Instead of putting a bullet in the warlord's heads, because that is not profitable.

The British army do not kill civillians left and right as you put it as well.

What kind of prescription drugs are you on? They do kill left and right only they hide it.

The British army have always been credited with winning over the local population in comparison with other military forces in similar positions.

Maybe to ignorant people. To the others however, propaganda schemes are obvious. New-age colonialism is obvious. The British military has no business there, except for pillaging resources, so why in the first place should they win over the population? To keep them under control while the Brits pillage the land together with their US comrades?

Get over yourself and this bull# propaganda bandwagon you're perpetuating.