Afghanistan = Vietnam, ca. 1973?

Great Debates
21

[QUOTE=Magiver]
I disagree. The terrain allows for much easier monitoring at a time in history where such an ability is at a technological highpoint. And instead of interrupting the heroin trade we should be buying it for pharmaceutical use (to be advised at a later date). The alternative would be to introduce another competitive cash crop.
[/QUOTE]

I agree that it is easier to monitor terrain technologically speaking, but it still hasn’t helped us find Bin Laden or decapitate the heads of the Taliban in a surgical strike. Nor does it help with manouvering troops around, except possibly by providing air support.

We could buy the poppies for pharmaceutical use, but that would be a lot of morphine. I am not involved in medicine, but I don’t hear a lot about a shortage of morphine.

Perhaps a carrot and stick approach would be best; “If you grow crop x instead of poppies we will give you money, if not we will burn down and salt your poppy fields”.

22

[QUOTE=smiling bandit]
In the long run, you may be right. At the moment, though, we are mostly less concerned about propping up one regime than stomping on the annual “This is the year we invade mainland China reconquer Afghanistan”. Plus, we’d like to fire a missile into Osama’s bedroom one night, assuming he is still alive.

Edit: stupid strikethrough never works.
[/QUOTE]
Try “del” and “/del”
[del]test test test test[/del]