Opium Fields Spread Across Iraq.....

[Bigmack]

Source: The Independent UK

Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet
By Patrick Cockburn
Published: 17 January 2008

The cultivation of opium poppies whose product is turned into heroin is spreading rapidly across Iraq as farmers find they can no longer make a living through growing traditional crops.

Afghan with experience in planting poppies have been helping farmers switch to producing opium in fertile parts of Diyala province, once famous for its oranges and pomegranates, north- east of Baghdad.

Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3345186.ece

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Another Bush policy triumph......

[MNDemNY]

1. See, the "surge" is working!

[balantz]

2. Right on!

The world needs more heroin! GREAT job shrubco! How many people have you murdered to control oil and spread drug addiction?

[ClintonTyree]

4. Gotta' support the CIA somehow.....

all of our country's spare cash is being given directly to Bush's corporate pals via Iraq. That leaves one hell of a budget gap. The CIA has been known to promote poppy growth for decades. Gotta' pay those double-naught spies somehow. ;)

[Tyler Durden]

3. HEY, it worked for Afghanistan....

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2004/11/18/opium041118.html

NOW they are SMOKIN'...Or SURGIN'...so to speak.

[here_is_to_hope]

5. Just when I thought heroin couldnt get any cheaper... n/t

[tridim]

6. Wonder how much our soldiers are paying for this new heroin?

I bet it's dirt cheap. If Vietnam was any indicator we're going to have lots of serious opiate addicts returning in 2009.

[balantz]

7. It's all part of the master plan of doping up America.

The government will have to start making cardboard grates and bridges to give a little shelter for this returning stream of addicted veterans. What a tragic waste of human beings we are in the process of creating once again. I'll wager that many of these young people hadn't a clue what they were signing on for.

[rodeodance]

10. yeah, how horrible.

[Nickster]

8. Wow, we created not one but two narco states. Geebus.

[slipslidingaway]

9. K&R more good news

:sarcasm:

[windoe]

11. "Sleep...go to sleep!"

-Wicked Witch of the West, while waving a wand over the field of poppies

[bvar22]

12. Sometimes....

I think my money would be better spent on Heroin than sending it to the Democratic Party, especially since 2006.
At Least some of it would be going to help the farmers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I would be getting something for my money.

[zonmoy]

13. sounds like the plan to

get everybody thrown in prison in the states by getting cheap drug supplies so that they have a nation of convict slaves is working great.

[Cronopio]

14. Hey, that's Junior's private stash!

Like the oil.

[mhatrw]

15. Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet

Source: The Independent

The cultivation of opium poppies whose product is turned into heroin is spreading rapidly across Iraq as farmers find they can no longer make a living through growing traditional crops. Afghanis with experience in planting poppies have been helping farmers switch to producing opium in fertile parts of Diyala province, once famous for its oranges and pomegranates, north- east of Baghdad. ...

The shift by Iraqi farmers to producing opium was first revealed by The Independent last May and is a very recent development. The first poppy fields, funded by drug smugglers who previously supplied Saudi Arabia and the Gulf with heroin from Afghanistan, were close to the city of Diwaniyah in southern Iraq. The growing of poppies has now spread to Diyala, which is one of the places in Iraq where al-Qa'ida is still resisting US and Iraqi government forces. It is also deeply divided between Sunni, Shia and Kurd and the extreme violence means that local security men have little time to deal with the drugs trade. The speed with which farmers are turning to poppies is confirmed by the Iraqi news agency al-Malaf Press, which says that opium is now being produced around the towns of Khalis, Sa'adiya, Dain'ya and south of Baladruz, pointing out that these are all areas where al-Qa'ida is strong. ...

Iraq has not been a major consumer of drugs but heroin from Afghanistan has been transited from Iran and then taken to Basra from where it is exported to the rich markets of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf. Under Saddam Hussein, state security in Basra was widely believed to control local drug smuggling through the city.

The growing and smuggling of opium will be difficult to stop in Iraq because much of the country is controlled by criminalised militias. American successes in Iraq over the past year have been largely through encouraging the development of a 70,000-strong Sunni Arab militia, many of whose members are former insurgents linked to protection rackets, kidnapping and crime. Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the powerful Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, says that criminals have infiltrated its ranks.

Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3345186.ece

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The United States: Making the Middle East safe for junkies, black ops funding and money laundering since 9/11!

[The_Casual_Observer]

16. "Let Freedom Reign!"

[unkachuck]

25. and it's good.....

....to see the free-market hard at work too!

[Ian David]

17. Making progress! Hard work! Stay the course! n/t

[sam sarrha]

19. last years middle east crop was 5 years worth of heroin , gonna have to upgrade the Caliber of my

home security system

[Ian David]

20. Afghanistan produced enough heroin to supply the demand for the entire planet 3 times over.

This is why Afghanistan needs a space program.

They need to find 2 more planets where they can sell heroin and opium.

[RadioactiveCarrot]

18. Hrm

Ever notice, wherever the US war machine goes, poppy fields aren't far behind?
I remember hearing about this in regards to Vietnam too. Now Afghanistan, and Iraq.

[Ian David]

21. It's pointless, too. The world's most profitable crop is popcorn.

By the time it gets to the consumer, anyway.

Not necessarily for the farmer.

[arcane1]

22. Typical, just like their cocaine dealings in the 80's

"Crime Family" still seems the most apt descripton, IMO

[SunDrop23]

23. Freedom is on the reign! (n/t)

[fascisthunter]

24. Gotta Get a lot of Angry People High

When the masses get restless, give them an opiate.

[goforit]

26. Bushes main reason for staying in Iraq. SELL more OPIUM!!!

[Mnemosyne]

27. Numbing the troops and making a profit. What a surprise

Evil tactic, evil people.