Things are Going Smoothly

[kurto]

Weird how everything converges. Here we see the aftereffects of our handling of Afghanistan and the problems with Iraq... coming together! Synergy.


A U.N. drug body warned Thursday that Iraq is emerging as a transit point for drugs, with traffickers working with insurgents and terrorists, and called on the international community to tackle the problem before it's too late.

Drug traffickers from Afghanistan have begun crossing Iraq to get to Jordan, the exit point for Asia and Europe, said Hamid Ghodse, the president of the International Narcotics Control Board. Afghanistan is the world's main source of opium and its derivative heroin.

Ghodse said traffickers cooperate with terrorist and insurgents, thereby worsening the situation in Iraq. He urged the international community and Iraqi leaders to act before the trafficking route becomes entrenched. All efforts to support Iraq must give due focus to the drug problem, he said.

"You cannot have peace, security and development without attending to drug control," he said.

The board had only anecdotal evidence of the new drug trafficking route, Ghodse said, adding that it's the board's duty to warn the world of emerging problems.

"The pattern (in Iraq) is similar to what we have seen in other post-conflict situations," he said. "Whether it is due to war or disaster, weakening of border controls and security infrastructure make countries into convenient logistic and transit points, not only for international terrorists and militants but also for drug traffickers."

The board had no figures or estimates of the quantity of drugs passing through Iraq, but noted that last month, officials seized 3 million pills of Captagon — an amphetamine-like medication — on the Iraqi-Jordanian border. Significant quantities of cannabis resin and chemicals needed to process opium into heroin also have been seized, the board said.

"There is enough evidence of a problem there that we are alarmed," Ghodse told reporters.

Though the board did not know much about the drug situation in Iraq before the war, the country then was "not one of the hottest spots," Ghodse said.

He lauded Iraq for cooperating with the board, and for trying to battle the drug trafficking problem. 'Political will is there, but they need assistance," Ghodse said.

Koli Kouame, the board's secretary, said international organizations and donor countries could help Iraq battle drug trafficking problem by supporting programs that strengthen border controls and law enforcement.

The board said in March that the drug trafficking problem was so severe in Afghanistan that the country's existence was threatened. Ghodse said there have been some "encouraging signs," since then, but he urged continued efforts to curb opium cultivation.

The Vienna-based board is an independent body that monitors implementation of U.N. drug conventions.

[Arnfinn Madsen]

This sums up what Old Europe desperately tried to explain to Donald Rumsfeld prior to the war. You will win the war easily, what you will need is a police force. Look how much more successful this has worked for the latest years in Former Yugoslavia (where a large portion of the foreigners forces is labeled and trained as police, not as soldiers.

Ignore all experience Donald, go along with your intelligent plans.

[kurto]

[ QUOTE ]
Ignore all experience Donald, go along with your intelligent plans.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I wouldn't blame just Donald. All the leaders of this administration (and some see this as their strength) have their plans and nothing will sway them otherwise.

let's remember Bush who said, "Look, we have a surplus, we need to cut taxes. Here is my tax plan." Then, when it was exactly the opposite problem, he says, "Look, we are running a huge deficit.. our debt is skyrocketing. We are at war. We need to cut taxes. Here is the exact same tax plan I said was needed when everything was different."

This is the administration that calls science bureaucratic nonsense when it challenges what they want to do.

[Arnfinn Madsen]

Hi,
From an outstander's perspective the Administration and American political life in general seems to lack a sort of dynamic (i.e. France & Germany lacks the same) that you can find in a lot of other countries. In a way, the world moves ahead, while the US is lagging behind.

I think it comes from a lack of self-criticism in which I see Donald as the prime representative. In new Europe and Northern Europe and Southeastern Asia leaders often state that the government is currently not doing a good enough job, this is a strong force for good debate and development. Also opposition groups are often asked for advice.

[kurto]

[ QUOTE ]
I think it comes from a lack of self-criticism in which I see Donald as the prime representative.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately for America, there's a significant population in our country who believe that criticizing the country is unpatriotic. They don't seem to realize that the only way to make progress (be it personally, as a nation, a business or a sports team,... whatever it may be) is to be willing to do examine oneself, identify where things can be fixed or improved and strive to find the best way to get there.

Many 'shut down' the second you suggest that anything is wrong in the country.

Its really rathar peculiar. If there car was broken and someone suggested they needed a new fanbelt, they wouldn't call the person a traitor. Yet question anything about their country and that is their knee jerk reaction.

[natedogg]

[ QUOTE ]
"You cannot have peace, security and development without attending to drug control," he said.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a lie.

natedogg