U.S. general calls for Afghan strategy shift

[Blackflag]

Of course not! You directly assault the Taliban and isolate various elements with a divide-and-conquer, carrot-and-stick strategy. You also get militias together and get the Afghan police to be somewhat competent...

As the queer machine said above... how did that work out in Vietnam? Or in Iraq, for that matter? Do you think that's a unique approach to occupation?

By "act like an asshole," do you mean making a living and not starving to death by the only means at one's disposal. Not everyone has a soft US middle class existence...

No, I mean...if you start up a totalitarian theocracy that shits on its women, murders its own citizens, and deals opium...the U.S. will swoop in and hook you up with contracts with our pharmaceutical industry (which has no incentive to deal with madmen). Sure. Great precedent to set.

Overall, another great Ford idea. Genius!

[Nickdfresh]

And you think the Taliban will stand by while an individual farmer deals directly with U.S. pharmaceutical companies - and they undermine the Taliban's source of black market income? They'd cut off his nose first. Or are you going to put troops on every farm in the country to make sure the Taliban behaves?
...

Of course not! You directly assault the Taliban and isolate various elements with a divide-and-conquer, carrot-and-stick strategy. You also get militias together and get the Afghan police to be somewhat competent...

And what message does that send? That if you act like an asshole, you'll get economic benefits from the U.S.? I think that's the message N. Korea got, too.

By "act like an asshole," do you mean making a living and not starving to death by the only means at one's disposal. Not everyone has a soft US middle class existence...

[Blackflag]

The typical farmers don't make much at all, their wages are on a third world scale and they do well if they eat regularly and can afford security. The only people making money are the drug lords and the Taliban, which is why the US has stopped bothering the farmers much and attempted large scale drug seizures...

And you think the Taliban will stand by while an individual farmer deals directly with U.S. pharmaceutical companies - and they undermine the Taliban's source of black market income? They'd cut off his nose first. Or are you going to put troops on every farm in the country to make sure the Taliban behaves?

Whoever makes the money off the opium - farmers, taliban, whoever - they're not going to choose the low-profit, but honest, route. And you're not going to impose honest and ethical behavior on a country that doesn't want it for itself.

But that doesn't mean you can't incentivize their using the dope from Afghanistan...

And what message does that send? That if you act like an asshole, you'll get economic benefits from the U.S.? I think that's the message N. Korea got, too.

[Nickdfresh]

A typically moronic Ford idea.

Why would an Afghan do that when they can make far more profit selling to the black market? Why? Because it's the right thing to do? Because it would make Ford's day?

The typical farmers don't make much at all, their wages are on a third world scale and they do well if they eat regularly and can afford security. The only people making money are the drug lords and the Taliban, which is why the US has stopped bothering the farmers much and attempted large scale drug seizures...

Moreover, there's no demand from the legitimate market - those co mpanies already have sources for opium, and there's no shortage of morphine. Further, it would just fuck over the current legitimate sources and reward bad behavior.

Just another asinine Ford jerk-off that you think is "excellent"...

But that doesn't mean you can't incentivize their using the dope from Afghanistan...

[Blackflag]

An excellent idea.

A typically moronic Ford idea.

Why would an Afghan do that when they can make far more profit selling to the black market? Why? Because it's the right thing to do? Because it would make Ford's day?

Moreover, there's no demand from the legitimate market - those companies already have sources for opium, and there's no shortage of morphine. Further, it would just fuck over the current legitimate sources and reward bad behavior.

Just another asinine Ford jerk-off that you think is "excellent"...

[Nickdfresh]

Instead of trying to wipe out the opium farmers, they should legitimize them. Hook them up with the pharmaceutical companies, and make it the source material for the morphine in your local hospital, rather than the smack on the street.

Rush Limbaugh should easily get on board with this idea. It might bring the price of his Oxycontin down a little.

An excellent idea.

A counterinsurgency battle cannot be won militarily or as one US general put it speaking about Iraq, "you cannot just shoot or kill your way out of an insurgency."

I've heard one of the main motivations for Talub fighters has nothing to do with Islam or that 72-virgin shiite. They simply just want to earn a regular paycheck and live in some semblance of political, social, and economic order where Warlord bastards aren't just robbing them and fucking their children at will...the ideal solution would be to send few hundred thousand NATO troops and to crush the more despotic warlords and then begin to rebuild the regional networks while economically developing the country. But that's never going to happen...

[Blackflag]

The War needs to be "won" --whatever the definition of victory is

[Nickdfresh]

The War needs to be "won" --whatever the definition of victory is, which is actually probably some deal with partial elements of a dis-unified Taliban to form a coalition gov't distancing itself from anti-Western extremism.

That part of the world is completely fucked, and we need to sort of unfuck it a bit. If we don't, then you have the potential for a nuclear armed Pakistan going fundamentalist, and pipeline of drugs, and an ongoing culture of killing people for a paycheck and the highest bidder. 9/11, London Underground, and Spanish train plots will simply repeat themselves after pauses...

[LoungeMachine]

The real strategy is wear down the invaders and outlast them. This strategy worked on Alexander the Great, the British, the Russians, and now the United States. This will run it's course, we will leave and Afganistahn will go on being well uh, Afganistahn.

see also: Viet Nam

[Satan]

One reason why I compare Osama bin laden to Michael Jackson is, both are brilliant and produce incredible results in some aspects and completely totally misguided and delusional in other aspects. Moreover, their cult followings are damn devout.

And also, they're both dead, and current residents here in Hell.

[Seshmeister]

Instead of trying to wipe out the opium farmers, they should legitimize them. Hook them up with the pharmaceutical companies, and make it the source material for the morphine in your local hospital, rather than the smack on the street.

Rush Limbaugh should easily get on board with this idea. It might bring the price of his Oxycontin down a little.

We don't even need to do that. We could buy it and put it down the toilet and it would still cost a millionth of the money being pissed away in that shithole on the 'war'.

[sadaist]

Instead of trying to wipe out the opium farmers, they should legitimize them. Hook them up with the pharmaceutical companies, and make it the source material for the morphine in your local hospital

Are the opiates used in Vicodin, Percocet, Lortab, Norco, Oxycodone, Oxycontin, etc... synthetic?

[standin]

So what are the chances a country such as Russia is doing the same thing now to us as we did to them?

The drug cartels are, with their own governmental system in place.
The drug cartel's governmental system is a form of the global world government that is feared by some that have not come to realize we already have global communications.

One reason why I compare Osama bin laden to Michael Jackson is, both are brilliant and produce incredible results in some aspects and completely totally misguided and delusional in other aspects. Moreover, their cult followings are damn devout.

[FORD]

Instead of trying to wipe out the opium farmers, they should legitimize them. Hook them up with the pharmaceutical companies, and make it the source material for the morphine in your local hospital, rather than the smack on the street.

Rush Limbaugh should easily get on board with this idea. It might bring the price of his Oxycontin down a little.

[bueno bob]

I will forgive if I get a cut of the herione trade money.

You know, if we let them enjoy their own product long enough, maybe they'll destroy themselves and we won't have to worry about it...