Concern at US poppy spraying tactic

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New Zealand Herald

Concern at US poppy spraying tactic
5:00AM Wednesday August 29, 2007
By Anne Penketh

When William Wood, America's Ambassador to Colombia, was named envoy to Afghanistan a few months ago, there was concern he would bring with him the United States' crop eradication technique of choice.

Discussing possible new strategies for coping with the record increase in opium production in Afghanistan, Wood said spraying poppy crops with herbicide was a possibility.

The Government of President Hamid Karzai has rejected crop spraying in the past, as do the British, who have the unenviable responsibility for dealing with poppy production in troubled Helmand province.

Such tactics could damage the health of the local population in areas of open irrigation channels and contaminate legal crops interspersed with the illicit opium poppy.

There are also fears crop spraying could not only drive farmers into the arms of the Taleban but hand the Taleban a propaganda tool by enabling them to accuse the "occupying forces" of poisoning the Afghan people.


Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=81&objectid=10460427

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Ambassador William Wood

[lazer47]

1. Bringing back the days of Paraquat

[madrchsod]

2. you mean like this?

agent orange

[phusion]

3. Plan Colombia - Plan Afghanistan

and who is projected to make a damn fortune from all of it? Monsanto.

[Vidar]

4. Let's see. We can cause cancer to large portions of the populace, with our

beneficial herbicides, and then make oodles of money selling overpriced, bogus anti-cancer drugs--surely a glorious side effect.

[Oldenuff]

5. It's so comforting

To know that we can rely on our government to spend countless millions on war that was lost the day it began.Especially interesting to note that we run all over the world spreading dangerous chemicals on other countries land with impunity.

This is some sick sh*t,and it just keeps a comin.