George Putnam
Friday, April 26, 2002

When I heard that the Bush Administration decided not to destroy the opium crop in Afghanistan, after Bush had previously linked the Afghan drug trade directly to terrorism, I could not believe it! And there are sources that tell us the CIA opposes destruction of the Afghan opium supply because to do so might destabilize the Pakistani government. The United States and all of its allies signed a worldwide ban on opium sales. So one could only ask... why?

N.Y. Times reporter, Tim Golden, who has reported extensively on the war on drugs, writes as long as the drug trade flourishes, it will fuel political rivalries, foster corruption and undermine the authority of Afghanistan's central government. Nonetheless, the harvest of the poppy fields in southern Afghanistan is underway.

There has been a feeble attempt on the part of the Sheiki government to offer farmers $500 an acre to destroy their crops; but let's face it, that is only a fraction of what they can earn by selling the opium yielded by the poppy plants. There was the added incentive - or threat - that if farmers didn't tear up their crops, task forces of national and local authorities would do it for them. This has proved to be a hollow threat indeed.

Americans are even said to be encouraging the destruction of opium processing laboratories and a crackdown on the brokers while at the same time providing funds to strengthen anti-smuggling activities by neighboring countries. But there is so much confusion among the tribes and competing groups in Afghanistan that one can only ask, where do we go from here?

Consider the plight of the pitiful peasants of Afghanistan - bombed into submission, trying to scratch out an existence. Consider for a moment the fact that the extremist government of the Taliban had successfully banned poppy cultivation in the year 2000, eliminating 96 percent of the crop.

If the Taliban could do it, where does that leave us? The farmers of the Taliban say why should they accept $250-500 when they could earn at least $2,000 from the opium paste produced on half an acre? It all comes down to the fact that Afghanistan produces 3/4 of the world's supply and the taxes on the drug trade were an important source of revenue for the Taliban.

Initially, the U.S. considered trying to buy up this year's harvest and enforce a government ban on the cultivation of the poppies; but now, apparently, the Bush Administration has backed off. Now it seems to have become politics over poppies. At least the British are honest about their participation; they say the fight against terrorism takes priority - the fight against narcotics comes second.

We need to face the fact that terrorism is fueled by the narcotics trade.

I have a revolutionary idea. I can hear the screams now, when I suggest that the way to end the international scourge is to impose the death penalty on all those who grow, process and traffick in narcotics. Extreme? Yes! Impossible to enforce? Probably. But extreme situations often call for extreme measures.

Having said this... on a kinder and more thoughtful note, why not begin to mend the damage done by the drug trade by implementing an educational system that makes sense, introducing high value crops to be grown, a credit system, irrigation, roads and communication and bring these pitiful people out of the dark ages into an age of the great freedoms and liberties that we enjoy here in America... into a new era of sharing that which we enjoy for the common good of the world.

The legendary George Putnam is 87 years young and a veteran of 67 years as a reporter, broadcaster, and commentator... and is still going strong. George is part of the all-star line-up of Southern California's KPLS Radio - Hot Talk AM 830.