America accuses Britain of failing in war on drugs

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/04/02/wdrug02.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/04/02/ixnewstop.html

America's love affair with Tony Blair was thrown into crisis yesterday when a US official publicly accused Britain of failing to take action to eradicate a bumper crop of Afghan opium poppies.

The Bush administration took the highly unusual step of sending a senior official to Congress to chastise Britain, its closest ally in the war on terrorism, for dragging its feet in the fight against drugs.

Robert Charles, the assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, said Britain was being too squeamish about eradicating poppy fields before Afghan farmers had found an alternative source of crops and income.

"Our point of disagreement, and I put it very directly," said Mr Charles, "is that we believe that if there is a heroin poppy that needs to be eradicated, we shouldn't be picking and choosing, we shouldn't be delaying, waiting for an alternative revenue stream to become available."

[nonbelief]

1. Yeah, right...

Destroying the only source of income for thousands of Afghans without offering alternative industries will certainly contribute to the stability of Afghanistan.

[izzie]

2. War on Drugs? Is that another war we are winning?

Who is the WH trying to fool with this s---?

[damnraddem]

7. Oh, no, no. The War on Drugs has become just another offshoot of the ...

War on Terra.

[dbt]

3. US: $43 Million To The Taliban In 2001,

and several months later an upsurge in opium production. So now, let's chastise Britain for dragging its feet in the War On Some Drugs.

The US has a load in its pants and wants Britain to stop stinking? Shit O Goodness!

:evilgrin:
dbt

[Judi Lynn]

4. Now I've heard everything!

This is a totally NEW LOW in pettyness:

He said: "Our priority should not be some kind of misplaced sympathy for someone who will have to do a little bit more work (to grow other, less-lucrative crops, such as wheat or barley)."

His onslaught came during an appearance before a Republican-chaired hearing of the House narcotics sub-committee entitled: "Afghanistan: are British counter-narcotics efforts going wobbly?"

This was a pointed reference to Margaret Thatcher's warning to George Bush Sr not to "go wobbly" in the run-up to the 1991 Kuwait war.
(snip)

The ULTIMATE in shabby, ignorant, grudge bearing. It makes _Bush look so little. Shameful.

[Mari333]

5. Blame and shame, pointing fingers like little brats

the brats in the WH . These are not responsible adults.
they are brats.
time for actual adults to take them to task.
They messed up, so they are deflecting their own behaviours to others.
My kids used to do that, and I always sat them down and made them tell the truth. Mom always knows when they are lying .
Bush admin=brats and liars.

[damnraddem]

6. Well, then, it's time to invade Britain and force that ...

anti-American Blair out of office. Or maybe it doesn't have to be a direct U.S. invasion -- after all, Haiti showed that island nations can have their democratically-elected leaders overthrown through backroom, underhanded tactics not directly necessitating an invasion by U.S. troops.

In any case, we need to punish Blair for not supporting Dubya on Iraq -- right?

LOL!

[0007]

8. Blair please come over here and put your foot

up junior's behind.

[T_i_B]

10. He's far more likely

to stand tongue to behind with Bush now he's been chided. I don't think I need to remind anyone here of Blair's repeated cowardice in the face of US republicans.

[Tommy_Douglas]

9. What?

Does the Bush Administration actually think they're winning the war on drugs. I thought the bombing of Afghanistan allowed record, bumper crops of poppies to be produced?

The CIA must be giddy with all that dope they can push. Gotta pay for those mercs in Iraq somehow...