Good one Braindrain. I'll add a previous posting of my own. (part 1)

Afghan Heroin: The ability to look at something, yet not SEE it.

1. The use of high potency drugs for currency is well known. Drugs are an extremely compact medium of exchange, tradeable pretty well anywhere for any other commodity or currency. Unlike gold, drugs are destroyed by consumption, ensuring a constant demand value.

2. In 2000, Afghanistan produced about 4000 tons of opium. The following year (February 2001) it produced virtually none, by edict of the Taliban Mullahs who said it was anti-Islam. Whether that was sincerity or just market manipulation is hard to say, but it may have produced a spastic colon effect amongst the Wall Street money launderers.

3. Opium production in Afghanistan before and after 9-11; before and after the present crusade:

Year
2000 - 4000 tonnes
2001 - almost nil
2002 - 3400 tonnes
2003 - 3700 tonnes
2004 - 4200 tonnes
2005 - 8000+ tonnes
2006 - 6000+ tonnes

The last two years have been achieved despite adverse growing conditions and at the expense of food production. What acreage of poppy crops does this production represent? The UN survey estimates approximately 165,000 hectares.

4. Where are these crops? Are they in the cracks and crannies of Tora Bora, or are they cultivated in arable fields for all to see?

5. Why don't we simply purchase the poppies (at market value) and make the farmers happy? It's far cheaper than sending ever more troops and equipment. Why do we permit the refinement and export of heroin? How is this achieved under the noses of the most well equipped surveillance apparatus the world has ever seen?

(part 2)

6. Did you ever consider the utter idiocy of rendition flights? A whole fleet of aeroplanes burns tons of fuel carting poor patsies to and fro between "secret" prisons all over the world. Few or none of the prisoners ever end up being charged with anything. So we are asked to believe that this is the result of misguided or over-zealous intelligence agents in the "war on terror".

7. Isn't it far more likely that rendition flights are actually part of the heroin highway? We know that those flights pass through almost every country uninspected and officially "non-existent".

Alfred W. McCoy is professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In his book, "The Politics of Heroin; CIA Complicity In The Global Drug Trade", the basic modus operandi is laid out in plain view. On Lateline a few months ago, Prof McCoy pointed out that Guantanamo is in fact a node in the CIA network, ostensibly to receive the worst of the "bad guys".

Those of us who realise that the incarceration of Australia's David Hicks makes no sense, must look elsewhere for a plausible justification for the Guantanamo facility.

As a US owned "island" of lawlessness i.e. beyond the jurisdiction of US lawmakers, Guantanamo makes perfect sense if it is looked at as a major node in a CIA drug network. Small wonder the Administration twists and turns in it's efforts to hang on to it's hapless "terrorists", against world opinion. The facade must be preserved at all costs.

The rapacious hunger for funds by the US secret service agencies long ago exceeded the limits of their bloated "black budgets". We saw this spectre emerge briefly during the Iran-Contra Affair, only to disappear again under the cloak of secrecy. The principal players retain their positions of authority to this day and there is no reason to suppose that they have not refined their craft under the amorality of the Bush Administration.

The Charges Laid Against David Hicks: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/13/1087065029888.html?from=storylhs.

Despite Guantanamo being the place the 'worst of the worst' were being held (according to GW) all 13 British subjects taken there and all 48 Afghani subjects taken there have been returned to their own governments and subsequently released without trial.

Curious that Afghani's who were 'defending' their own country (ruled by the Taliban at the time) and who must have intended to kill any invading coalition soldiers following Sept 11 were let go by George Bush while one of the two Australian's is still awaiting anything like a fair trial after almost 5 years of solitary confinement in a US gaol on non-US soil (otherwise he would be guaranteed fair US Justice). Our government refuses to stand up for the rights of it's citizen's as even the Afghani's have succesfully done - We should hang our heads in shame that Afghani muslims are given preferential and better treatment than Australian's from the US and our own governments.

Unless George has a reason to be friendly with the Afghani's more than the Aussies?, Maybe 130 billion reason's (amongst one other) perhaps? Ordinary Afghani's, not just the Taliban would likely take up Arms if the US tried to prevent them growing their poppys.

Chris,
The point about the US/UK paying the Afghani's $300,000,000 a year to buy their poppy's to wipe out the UK heroin flood rather than the billions it is paying out to cope with and attempt to police the problem is one that demands further debate.

BrainDrain said:
"Chris,
The point about the US/UK paying the Afghani's $300,000,000 a year to wipe out the UK heroin flood rather than the billions it is paying out is one that demands further debate."

The demand for the horse comes from the riders. Legalize all of these drugs so that they can be grown locally. Then get rid of all income taxes and put government services onto a point-of-sale tax. Stop trying to Puritanically enforce morality while people are uneducated about their own consumption.
Stepping down from the soap box now..

Chris's points about wars for economic reasons are more valid than most people want to admit, since they involve complex views of conspiratorial actions in the world economy. This isn't the same thing as a tinfoil hat 'Conspiracy', it is just the way the economics and competitive activity breed bullies and thieves. The banking system is no more a result of Jewish conspiracy than the corporate factory cows are a result of a Farmer conspiracy. The demands of consumption create opportunities for economy of scale devices. We see the pinnacle in 9/11 and the Iraq war.

One of the first things I learned about world politics 'American Style' was the purpose of the U.S. Navy; to keep the sea lanes open. You might think this is simply a matter of watching the shipping and seas, but it is Physics 101. If you don't know what's on the Periodic Table, you don't know the basics of world politics. Everything else is just posturing, including religion and race. Sure, there are a lot of people who hate and want to kill for religious Blind Faith reasons (true evil), but they wouldn't get very far on a global scale without the transportation, weapons, and cashflow provided by competitive economics and consumerism. Our System of Systems is not only vulnerable to terrorism, it enables and attracts it.
As long as there is no Net Creative purpose to the System, then it will continue to wallow in pointless resource consumption until it consumes anyone who can't let go of Blind Faith.

Auntiegrav (cute nick), : )

Point #1
Horses exist independently of Riders. The Rider has a need he perceives the Horse can fill. If horses did not exist there could be no riders of them. This wouldn't prevent the riders from desiring to ride something to get where they are going to faster. The demand would still exist. As would the desire of the horse traders to make money from the riders.

Point #2
Legalising drugs sends a poor message to any who are unsure about trying them for the first time. It is ultimate hypocrisy to legalise them and then say Just say No! Government control of drugs might have some positives (eg. Transferring profit in them from organised (conspiracy) crime) but then the government become the pushers with something to gain from the growth of the illegal drug industry - much like our and the UK/US government is doing in the 'Numbers' racket of Lotto, Horse-racing and internet gambling and the like. Such a Christian activity!

Point #3
While the Banking System has not evolved solely from any 'Jewish Conspiracy' it does not necessarily follow that a number of similarly minded individuals (possibly of a common minority group - the rich perhaps? Those most involved in the system over a number of generations? ) have not conspired to influence or control that system for personal gain. Farmers are lower down on the food chain than the corporate farmers and bankers and so are less likely to be able to form a successful Cow Conspiracy than those fore-mentioned would as independent farmers profits readily show compared to corporate ones.

Governments could make far better use of the money they waste policing drugs by donating their aid money to the poverty-stricken farmers of third world country's to buy and then destroy their poppy crops, either removing the crime gang's source and ability to supply or making it uneconomic to persue in one fell swoop while also ensuring no corruption in those countries could divert the money into the wrong hands, or at least inhibiting such an ability.

cont.

Our government's would then be faced with the problem of 'What do we offer those who take drugs to replace their habit?', as the demand would still be there, much as the demand for faster travel exists today without many horses around.

I have a vague feeling we are on much a similar 'wavelength' in the rest of your post, but to be honest? It was too abbreviated and hard for me to fully follow to make intelligent comment on.