I’ve written quite a bit recently about Afghanistan and the opium issue. There’s definitely a real danger of creating the same situation in Pakistan that we’ve already created in Mexico, with terrorist groups reaping massive profits from an illegal trade that we can’t stop. I’m hoping that this article on newly appointed Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is a sign that our policy is going to finally deal with reality over there:
So here Holbrooke was acknowledging the significance of the corruption issue, somewhat eloquently and candidly, yet he could not say how it might be addressed. As for Karzai’s government being “detached,” he didn’t go there.
Holbrooke is a wonderfully engaging character—an old-school power player. He schmoozes reporters, coming across as intelligent, crafty, and concerned. He is a charmer who knows his stuff. He won’t no-comment a tough question; he will compliment the reporter on posing an insightful query, show he fully understands the issue at hand (which he does), and then explain he can’t answer it—in a manner that can be convincing, not annoying.
But at the end of the briefing, Holbrooke did speak somewhat candidly about a vexing part of the Afghanistan problem: drugs. What to do about the opium flowing out of Afghanistan has always been a knotty element of US policy regarding Afghanistan. How much of a priority should it be? (Simply put, if you attack the the opium trade, warlords and locals get pissed off and join or support the other side.) Asked about the priority of drug fighting in the Afghanistan review, Holbrooke, as he was leaving the briefing, said “We’re going to have to rethink the drug problem.” That was interesting. He went on: “a complete rethink.” He noted that the policymakers who had worked on the Afghanistan review “didn’t come to a firm, final conclusion” on the opium question. “It’s just so damn complicated,” Holbrooke explained. Did that mean that the opium eradication efforts in Afghanistan should be canned? “You can’t eliminate the whole eradication program,” he exclaimed. But that remark did make it seem that he backed an easing up of some sort. “You have to put more emphasis on the agricultural sector,” he added.
I don’t envy Holbrooke at all. He has one of the toughest jobs of anyone Obama has appointed so far. Even if he succeeds at helping to rebuild Afghanistan (an extraordinary feat in itself), he could still end up with a major headache just across the border in Pakistan as a result.
For several years, groups like the Senlis Council have been advocating allowing Afghan farmers to contribute to a legal market for opiate-based medicines. If we do go that route, and it works to keep Afghan farmers from contributing to the black market, it doesn’t mean that the illegal market for heroin will just dry up. It will just move elsewhere. The most logical place for it to move to would be just south of the border. This is the root of why this situation is so complicated. If we succeed, we could still end up creating a situation that becomes far more dangerous to us.
This conundrum is just one more reason that we need to get more serious about the kinds of harm reduction techniques that can reduce the demand for illegal heroin in the first place.
One of the problms with eradicating the drug trade is that intelligence organizations derve money for black ops. from the drug trade.
re 1: derving is simlar to deriving. Only the spelling is different.
What we need to do is stop the drug war and sell heroin to youngsters at Walgreens.
It’s a tough problem, but at least we have adults working on it now, instead of the cowboy idiot.
@4
That’s definitely true here. The Bush Administration sent in folks who’d previously been in Colombia. The business world has a term for that. It’s “failing up”.
re 3: Companies that make $$$billions on a yearly basis ‘fighting’ the drug trade have little incentive to actually win the fight. In fact, the incentive is just the opposite.
But your reflexively obstinate temperament won’t allow you to think of that on your own, and since the message came from a source (me) that you do not see as authoritative, I suggest you research WF Buckley, Jrs. thoughts on the matter.
This is one of the few topics in which I’m pretty much in total agreement with you all. The War on Drugs has been a waste of time and money and lives. If those people involved in the “fight” weren’t in the War on Drugs, they’d probably be involved in some illegal thuggery somewhere to eke out a living.
Lee @4,
“Failing up” might also be called the Peter Principle in some circles. The way you described it, “failing up” reminds me of that book from decades ago about the Peter Principle. I’ve noticed that people tend to get promoted to their individual levels of incompetence.
@7
“Failing up” might also be called the Peter Principle in some circles. The way you described it, “failing up” reminds me of that book from decades ago about the Peter Principle. I’ve noticed that people tend to get promoted to their individual levels of incompetence.
It’s also known as the “Dilbert Principle” to a lot of us high-tech folks. :)
All I want to know is:
What the hell is the exit strategy in Afghanistan?
Why are we now going to war in Pakistan?
@ 7
“Failing up” might also be called the Peter Principle in some circles.
Not quite. The Peter Principle states that people get promoted to their level of incompetence, but not beyond it. Failing up requires something more than normal promotional practices, and often involves some form of nepotism.
The Peter Principle tends to operate in organizations where people get promoted for having done well in their current job with little or no consideration for how they’ll perform in the new position. Perform well, get promoted. Once you stop performing well, i.e. once you’ve reached your level of incompetence, you stop getting promoted.
Nut With Gun Kills 8 At N.C. Nursing Home
A nut with a gun killed 7 elderly nursing home residents, ages 78 to 98, and a nurse at a North Carolina nursing home this morning. The shooter was wounded and captured by police. But this won’t change anything. Our Republican friends will still think anyone ought to be able to buy guns at unregulated gun shows.
@9 We don’t need an exit strategy. As long as we have troops in Afghanistan, al Qaeda won’t be able to rebuild their terrorist training camps there. All we have to do to protect America is occupy that place forever. This is known as “the Cheney doctrine.”
@11 RR – no I don’t think guns should be bought totally unregulated. But that has nothing to do with your side’s position that my guns should be taken away.
#12 RR – well if it’s so horrible to occupy Afghanistan, then why is Obama doing it?
Consider another face of this giant polyhedron of a problem. The US and Israel saber-rattle over nuking Iran. Pakistan has nukes. India has nukes. China has nukes. Opium is one of the cheapest and most effective anti-radiation sickness symptom therapies. The US DOD and FEMA stockpiles tons of it just for that purpose. The market for it both, from governments, and from various health groups, supports its production as does the heroin/morphine markets. Opium, as a semi-legally traded commodity, is easy to produce and distribute. Indeed, i can walk down my street in a couple of months and pick pods from a cultivated field grown by a group that support hospice care. If we made it legal, and increasing the pressure to increase the taxes/costs/access of legal heroin and morphine, then we reduce the overseas demand for growing and distribution. Lots more jobs for our citizens.
Moron @ 13:
Prove to me that Obama, or anyone in his administration, wants to ‘take away your guns’. And sorry, your right-wing echo-chamber links will be ignored. Legitimate links only, and something that isn’t say, 20 years old.
Y’see, this is what happens when adults run the government. Not your little cowboy-puppet and the ones with their hands up his ass. No one in the current administration wants to ‘take away your guns’, because we have far bigger fish to fry, namely cleaning up the mess the Dictator left behind.
Why are you so worried, anyway? The only people who aren’t supposed to have guns in this country are convicted felons. Are you not telling us something? Since you’re a wingnut, though, you probably do have a right to be scared, because you are a criminal, after all. A traitorous, treasonous, criminal.
Why do you hate America, ‘crusader’?
This is what I thought, criminalizing dissent. Just like Papa Joe Stalin did. Keep it up and the Democrats will be out of power forever. Right after we round up every last Democrat and put them in prison of course. Neener neener!!!
Well put, Broadway Joe. The Cheney/Bush crowd wanted us to fear absolutely everything, except them. This from the same people who said the government should not be trusted (well, the lived up to that one, didn’t they?) The gun dealers in the U.S. must love Obama and Pelosi, because they’re making a serious amount of money off of the false fear that this President is coming to take all the guns. People are buying them up in a frenzy, making ME want to go buy some myself- to protect myself from the psycho ultra-right. Gun dealers may become the next democratic voting block if this continues to work for them.
@14 Drew – dream on. Gun dealers are 99% staunch Republicans. Always have been and always will be.
@13 To the best of my knowledge, our side doesn’t have a position that your guns should be taken away. If you can ever get it through your thick skull that regulation isn’t the same as confiscation, maybe someday you’ll be able to understand what our position is.
I’m certainly not for confiscation, nor am I willing to give up my guns. With loonies like Glenn Beck and Chuck Norris running loose, I might need them someday. In fact, I think all liberals should be armed!
@14 Dunno if it’s “horrible” to occupy Afghanistan, although I’d rather be here than there. I’ve always thought the invasion of Afghanistan was necessary, and I’ve always supported it. Maybe we’ll be able to leave someday, but I can’t tell you when.
Al Qaeda’s training camps were in Afghanistan, the 9/11 attack was staged from there, and Osama bin Laden was (and probably still is) hiding there. Meanwhile, in Iraq, Saddam Hussein had no use for OBL or Al Qaeda and kept them out of his country. So what did the stupid cowboy do? He attacked Iraq and starved our military effort in Afghanistan of resources to do it, with the result the Taliban are making a comeback in Afghanistan and we opened the door for Al Qaeda to establish a foothold in Iraq! Military historians will have a field day with this for generations to come. I would argue that Bush compares with Burnside at Fredericksburg, except Burnside had enough grace to admit he had been promoted beyond his ability and was in over his head.
Think of it in this perspective. Afghanistan is the country that attacked us. It has more population and half again as much land area as Iraq. Plus it’s more remote, the terrain is more rugged, and its borders are longer. So Bush sent 130,000 troops to Iraq and 11,000 to Afghanistan. If you can figure that one out, please explain it to the rest of us.
Obama is doing what Bush and Cheney were too stupid to do: He’ll get out of Iraq and fight in Afghanistan against the guys who attacked us. This should have been done years ago, but unfortunately, we had to wait for America to elect a Democratic president because the Republicans refused to do it.
@17 A wingnut whining about “suppression of dissent”? Oh, please …
@17 (continued) Nobody on our side is interesting in suppressing your freedom of speech. You can lie, whine, and cry all you want! Goldy even provides you with a free soapbox to do it! However, if you choose to come into a liberal blog to spew your propaganda, we reserve the right to call you names and verbally abuse you.
Say, that reminds me — “Crusader” looks like a new troll, and I’m the ex-officio greeter here, so it’s time to read him the HA ad hoc posting rules! Are you ready, “Crusader”? Heeere weee gooo …
1. This is a liberal blog.
2. Anyone can post here.
3. There is no censorship, except of JCH.
4. As liberals, our mission is to verbally kick the living shit out of you America-hating wingnut traitors.
5. No mercy for wingnuts!
6. Our terms are unconditional surrender, and there will be trials.
7. Klake is a nazi.
Any questions?
Though it has no bearing on the current thread topic, make no mistake, the gun confiscation brouhaha has one purpose and one strain of evolution; to keep the NRA’s Wayne Lapierre in his million dollar a year, gravy-train job. He’s lucky to have such a gullible, dumb-fuck focus group. Judging the average intelligence of it’s members, he’ll be in that position a long time.
We haven’t seen klake for a while, so I assume he’s either changed his name, or has been hanged.
Al Gore snubs Earth Hour:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/200.....#more-6636
I love hypocritical left wing idiots.
RR – you are the #1 troll on Horse’s Ass.
@19 I’ll concede that at least some gun dealers are stupid enough to be Republicans. These guys, for example:
“(CNN) — Relatives of two men killed during the series of sniper killings in the Washington, D.C. area filed suit Thursday against the gun dealer and manufacturer of the rifle used in the attacks.
“The lawsuit claims Muhammad and Malvo got a Bushmaster rifle from Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply in Tacoma, Washington ….
“The suit states that ‘Bull’s Eye ran its gun store in such a grossly negligent manner that dozens of its guns routinely disappeared from its store, and it kept such shoddy records that it could not even account for the Bushmaster assault rifle when asked by federal agents for records of sale for the weapon. At least 238 guns disappeared from Bull’s Eye in the last three years alone.'”
(Copyright 2003 by CNN; quoted under fair use.)
Roger Rabbit Commentary: The weapon used in the Beltway Sniper murder spree was shoplifted from Bullseye Shooter Supply in Tacoma by Lee Boyd Malvo. Malvo, a juvenile, was able to walk out of the store with a military-style assault rifle. According to Wikipedia, Bullseye and the gun manufacturer settled the suit for $2.5 million.
RR – the solution is not to sell firearms to questionable looking black men. Neener neener!!!
@28 Since this is a liberal blog, and I’m a Democratic Party hack and liberal propagandist, by definition I’m not a troll.
I would be a troll on, say, Free Republic. In fact, I was banned from Free Republic as a “troll.” They even called me a “troll” when they banned me. I didn’t dispute the accusation because it was true. Free Republic is a wingnut blog, so a liberal propagandist who goes there looking for trouble is, by definition, a troll. That’s what you are here.
@31 RR – you’re a special case of troll. Believe me, everyone wants you gone. BTW, just STAY in Idaho!
Neener, neener!!!
@27 A blog run by a global warming denier accuses Gore of hypocrisy? I’m shocked! Shocked, I say!
Now let’s take a look at what Mr. Drew Johnson, conservative candidate for governor of Tennessee, said in the posting you so graciously linked us to:
“I pulled up to Al’s house, located in the posh Belle Meade section of Nashville, at 8:48pm – right in the middle of Earth Hour. I found that the main spotlights that usually illuminate his 9,000 square foot mansion were dark, but several of the lights inside the house were on.
In fact, most of the windows were lit by the familiar blue-ish hue indicating that floor lamps and ceiling fixtures were off, but TV screens and computer monitors were hard at work. (In other words, his house looked the way most houses look about 1:45am when their inhabitants are distractedly watching ‘Cheaters’ or ‘Chelsea Lately’ reruns.)”
So what does this prove? It proves Gore turned off his lights! I think it may be evidence of some additional things, too:
1. Mr. Johnson is the sort of person who drives by celebrities’ homes to peer in the windows.
2. Mr. Johnson is envious of Gore’s posh 9,000 square foot mansion.
3. Mr. Johnson thinks the fact Gore’s house was as dark at 8:48 PM as most people’s houses are at 1:45 AM proves Gore is a hypocrite.
4. In Mr. Johnson’s social circles, most people are still up at 1:45 AM watching trashy TV shows.
5. By logical extension, Mr. Johnson’s friends don’t go to work at 7:00 AM, and it’s conceivable they don’t work at all.
6. Alternatively, Mr. Johnson’s social contacts may go to “work” sometime after 1:45 AM, when everyone else is sleeping, if you know what I mean.
7. Mr. Johnson doesn’t like lights, especially outdoor lights, which by inference may have something to do with his friends’ line of “work.”
Personally, if I were rich and famous, and lived in a $2.5 million mansion, I’d have the place lit up like the Washington Monument! There’s a lot of nuts out there, not to mention unregulated gun sales. Nowadays, you’re not even safe from them in a fucking nursing home.
@30 Well, I knew that was coming. This may be the 21st century but it remains hard to find a wingnut who isn’t racist. Most of our trolls try to hide it, but it eventually pops out.
@32 What makes you think I’m in Idaho? And why the hell would I want to be in a nut haven like Ida-fucking-ho?
I’ve always had a special affection for the federal judge who, in sentencing an Idaho Republican congressman to prison, expressed his doubts about the defendant’s culpability as follows: “Frankly, I think you’re too stupid to form a criminal intent.”
Roger Rabbit Poll
This is a special edition of the Roger Rabbit Poll. “Crusader” claims everyone wants me gone. I’m not sure we should believe him. So, I’ve decided to take a poll of HA readers. How many of you want me gone?
Yes! Yes! Yes! Please put him in a box and ship him to Outer Mongolia! Or the moon! Anywhere! Get rid of him! He’s lazy, he’s good for nothing, all he does his eat, shit, and fuck as many young female rabbits as he can stick his wilted dick into! I’ll even pay the shipping charges! Just get him out of here!
Don’t pay any attention to Mrs. Rabbit. That’s just her cute way of being affectionate. Trust me, she really loves me.
@27 Al Gore probably needs security lighting around his home more than most of us. You might want to read up on what a rightwing nut did to Chuck Goldmark and his family here in Seattle.
“the crusader” has a real perception problem…
…the crusader is the troll…NOT the rabbit.
(maybe the dumbass doesn’t know what a troll IS…)
Our cute little smart (and smarty-pants) bunny has been around a lot longer than almost ANY of the dumbass trolls…who have regularly gotten their clocks cleaned by our beloved flop-eared lop.
He ain’t goin’ anywhere, sunshine.
Hey Crusader! Wanna get mooned by a rabbit? Click here to see a bunny butt.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com.....e42a_b.jpg
RR- thanks for the posting of the ad-hoc rules. It’s only fair to make sure the cons are aware that, if they come here to learn, fine. We’re more than happy to help them. But if they have come expecting to convert us to the dark side, their lovely parting gift will be in the form of a relentless beating. Further, we’ll overturn their car in the street and set it ablaze, this only after it has been used in a daring daylight robbery.
Thanks for the kudo, Drew. In fact, given the astroturf hysteria of the gun-nuts, I’ve actually suggested in previous threads that buying stock in firearms manufacturers would be a good thing right about now.
In fact, since ‘crusader’ has yet to meet my challenge, and since about eight hours or so have passed, I grade him to a be a typical wingnut EPIC FAIL. And since he’s now shown us his desire to do to us what his masters of the VRWC have commmanded (i.e. issuing terroristic threats to all that oppose his masters), I believe that I am correct in the assumption that he needs to be incarcerated for the safety of himself and the community.
And if ‘neener neener’ is the best ‘crusader’ can come up with, perhaps he should get together with Cyn and Puddy so they can tutor him so he can raise his game from kindergarten up to third grade.
And so, with justice prevailing, I leave the fledgling wingnut with my favorite bon mot, something I learned from the two ex-SEALs I’ve played in bands with:
FYVM
I believe that I am correct in the assumption that he needs to be incarcerated for the safety of himself and the community.
The jackboots are on the march eh? Lock up anyone who dares to disagree with the messiah. And you fuckers had the balls to accuse rightwigners of stomping on free speech. You are fucking hypocrites.
@37 Hell no! If anything we need even more rabbits on this blog.
Crusader is probably a pimple-faced man child reject from Little Green Footballs.
Same kind of knee-jerk right wing bullshit.
Oh this is too good. A video of “bong-boy”:
http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/19129.html
The wingnuts love this creepy fool.
Lee, if true, you may have friends in very high places…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03.....161772.htm
Puddy finds everything.
clueless wonder@48, we all know you are in momma’s basement.
Yo Stupes,
You ever read the nutty law professor’s bullshit?
http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/18874.html
This fool is drooling on and on about those joke tea-bag parties. That ought to get you out to the gun store to repeat the first two years of Bill Clinton’s term.
You wingnut fools are so predictable.
Hey Stupes,
Sadlyno is a goldmine this morning.
Brit Hume admits stitching the “fair and balanced” Special Report from right wing bullshit cribbed from Brent ‘HOzell’s Newsbusters.
http://firedoglake.com/2009/03.....ch-center/
It’s so damn funny that you call this horseshit, “the truth”.
@50
OMG! OMG! OMG!
You mean the adult relatives of famous people sometimes don’t act the way their parents would like. (I’m not saying the tape is fake, but if the Murdoch owned Post declined to purchase, there’s likely no “there” there. Or at least not enough to avoid a libel suit.)
Just off the top of my head, other relatives of famous people with legal troubles:
Noelle Bush
Neil Bush
Billy Carter
Roger Clinton
Christian Brando
Mary Cheney (O.K. Not legal trouble but sure didn’t turn out the way Daddy would have liked.)
Jenna Bush
I could google more, but what’s the point. And what was your’s bringing it up?
More MM (mutual masturbation) amongst the irRRRR (irresponsible radical religious Republican right).
I suspect the Trolls her know that lee has become pretty antagonistic to me, but none of that makes him wrong on this issue.
America’s drug policies do not work. No rational person can deny that and anyone dumb enough to think we can solve the problem by INCREASING the intensity of the failed policy should buy a used ranch in Crawford.
Whether lee’s solutuion(s) are correct or not, there is no rational argument that we should not fix the parts of the problem we know can be fixed. This certainly includes legalizing any agent thatscience can show is not harmful .. obviously this includes marijuana.
If you of the irRRRR can stop finding each other for a bit, it would be refreshing for those of us not in your bath house to read some real ideas!
re 49: They were attracted by the word ‘no’.
Just say ‘no’
Just say ‘know’
Which slogan do wingnuts swear by?
“Puddy finds everything.”
Now that you’ve found it, quit yoinking it in public.
@58 – My twin! Nice to meet you.
Given that the story was a front page link on oh-so-liberal CNN YESTERDAY, sure took a long time to find. Highlighted on Drudge too.
Man, Puddy’s some kind of Woodstein. (Geraldo? Columbo? Poirrot? Walter Winchel? Liz Smith?)
@46 Ooohh … looks like one of the trolls needs sensitivity training — he’s too sensitive! What a girly-man chickenshit!!
Man, I just love pushing their buttons to see what comes out of the smokestack!!
From the comments under the item linked @53 here’s one that should be framed and hung over the desk of every journalist in America:
“One lady I know said the news should be more balanced. I said no, it should be more factual.”
Are you in favor or regulations of the 1st amendment?
Just a few little regulations regulating who can have freedom of speech. Like the regulations you are in favor of regarding the 2nd amendment.
Looks like Doonesbury is jumping into the “opium” kettle this week.
@58 “Puddy finds everything.”
“Now that you’ve found it, quit yoinking it in public.”
LMFAO!!!
re 62: I’m in favor of stuffing your mouth with Limbaugh’s underwear and then letting you say what you please.
Apparently, the ‘crusader’ has morphed into ‘fuck you liberals’. Still haven’t answered my challenge, junior. And yes, you deserve prison time, because you’re an America-hating, treasonous, traitorous slug. But unlike the reign of your Tyrant, we actually have compassion. Y’see, we recommend your incarceration for the safety of yourself, and of the community. You wanted us jailed and/or shot to maintain power. Defend Ann Coulter, please. We never thought her death threats to be humorous. Defend the man who shot up that church he thought was ‘full of libruls’, when it was full of ordinary people watching their children put on a play. They deserved to die, right? Defend your boy!
Answer this: what did your-president-not-mine leave for us? A peaceful utopia? A world free from terror? A world where we can trust those who claim to be investing our life savings so we can retire to something other than a cardboard box under a bridge?
EPIC FAIL, little fella. And you and your masters are responsible for it. Time for you to admit your failure, and either leave the country, turn yourself in so you can get the help you need, or just kill yourself. I don’t think even the A-list trolls here could help you raise your game, so from now on you will be either ignored, or mocked and humiliated mercilessly. Some of the righties that post here I can debate with like adults. You’re not one of them.
FYVM
@53
So whats your point?
Have not tuned into abc cbs,nbc nightly news lately.
LOL
You loser boys are a great source of humor.