Video: Afghan Heroin Brings CIA $50 Billion A Year, Covers US War Expense

The True Reason The Administration Bombed Libya

Deception as a tactic has both advantages and pitfalls. It seems that the Obama administration has not calculated nor considered either from their promotion, support and initiation of a no fly zone over Libya. The overzealous mandate for the incessant bombs over the North African Country makes me consider several issues that the main stream media and associated pundits have yet to consider let alone discuss.
First, the US has no strategic or security interest neither in Libya nor in seeing Quaddifi removed from power. Although the premise of protecting civilians is promulgated as being of utmost importance, they do not say if rebels start to kill ruthlessly once they reach the immediate areas around Tripoli, that the US will protect pro government supports equally as vehement. This throws a wrench in what is apparently illogic US logic.

Second, the hypocrisy displayed by the current administration causes additional consternation. Looking at Yemen for example, where in theory we have a strategic interest, we are taking no action. Yemen is a country in which we have evidence that al Qaida is holding training for terrorist attacks against the US. There is also a division between the military between defectors from the monarchy and those loyal to the US confederate President Ali Abdullah Saleh. We are not involved at all yet a split in the military is likely the US worse fear seeing that it may lead to isolation for us not openly and aggressively supporting the youth revolt. They already are more anti-US than most other Arab nations and this may push them closer to Al Qaeda.

This week in the small nation, rival tanks deployed in the streets after three senior army commanders defected to support protesters calling for the U.S.-backed president to step down. Last Friday President Saleh's forces opened fire from rooftops, killing more than 40 protestors. The United States instead of stating they need to protect the citizens – ignored this act completely.

We say that such a vacuum in Yemen may result in an opening for Al Qaeda politically. The same is true for Bahrain, Libya and Saudi Arabia just to name a few but we only militarily get involved with Libya. Plus we see what our military insersion in Afghanstan has produced – no progress and a more enduring Taliban. We should have also been able to see what Iraq taught us – that billions of dollars and hundred thousands of troops cannot mandate democracy.

The United States and the West forget their historic colonial and imperialistic past when dealing with the nations and the fact that many of these places we call nations were never nations until others outside of the region drew the present day maps. Iraq is a region of Kurds, Sunni’s and Shiite’s we forced together. Afghanastan is a similar nomadic land, and many are run by autograts in the form of monarchs.

This is our problem. Yes, the real reason we are using military might in Libya is because we want to take attention away for not being consistent in Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Places were Kings and Sunni minorities rule oppressed Shiite majorities. Places where the use of force and guns on protestors causes more instability when we claim our worry is instability. The President was even protested in Brazil this week on his Latin American visit. And what did they use to break this protest? Rubber Bullets.

Our assult on Libya is misplaced and more like the move of a bully or a punk. Punks never deal with the problem at hand but rather they find a scapegoat to take away attention from the problem. Which in this case is America’s national security; which is not a function of Libya or Col. Muammar Qaddafi, but what happens in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. We must never forget they lyrics of that classic hip hop song – “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down.”
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America's taliban

I have been reading of the increased number of attacks across Afghanistan and Pakistan by suicide bombers. It seems as if the problem has only gotten worse and that the Taliban is making good use of an untapped resource, adolescent Muslim males from both countries. It appears that the young males have become the target of increased recruiting efforts because of their age and due to the fact they are very easy to influence mentally. And although the Taliban are not trained psychologist, they have managed to brain wash these young men beyond the [point of no return in most cases. Meaning they are will to die, kill and maim without fear or remorse for who they may harm.

I think in America, we have just a lethal concern with respect to brain washing of young men, in particular African American males. Unfortunately this influence comes from a large corpus of rappers. See to me, having a kids mind to the point of carrying chrome, and popping trunks, and pulling out choppers is just as nefarious as the Taliban influencing young Muslim kids to wear bombs and blow folk up. Such a belief is often recanted so much on television in the form of videos and on radio, that young males in this country take the belief that fighting and shooting another person is accepted behavior and remember lyrics loyally like young Muslims chant the Koran.

I am blessed to have raised what I perceive to be a fine young man, going into the 12th grade with a 3.1 GPA, 28 ACT (top 92 percent in nation), and a star baseball player. But I still worry about his future, I know he has made it to the 12th grade, something that less than 20% of African American males achieve, but I do want him to finish, graduate and attend college. Which bothers me because there are the other 80 percent American Taliban trained fools who, don’t read, and accept with out question, because they would rather attend to things they like, such as following athletes and rappers, than what may assist them in becoming worldly. For the truth be told, only an empty mind is acceptable to believing such tom foolery. So for me we have a big problem, and down here in Atlanta, it has only gotten worse. So let us see what we can do, and I’m not talking military intervention, but more so to provide alternatives to conflict resolution via words as opposed to guns – think we can get some stimulus loot for that?

Ménage à trois

POINT OF ORDER: wanna thank my home folk for giving me this ward: Rippa

Although last week I got a little off of my chest regarding Pakistan, I still really aint clear my throat. I mean I’ve been thinking and recant that the former military Dictator Pervez Musharraf was a shady character and ruled his country with an Iron hand. As such it would not surprise me if he is in bed with the Taliban trying to re-appoint himself to the Presidency. Yep folk is foul like that and I will take it a step farther.

President Asif Ali Zardari recently signed the law to enforce Shariah or Islamic law in Swat to quell as if such would stop the Taliban insurgency in the region. But I would be surprised if cronies of the former military dictator have infiltrated that camp and pushed this law on the table. Musharraf never wanted to leave but the US kind of twisted his arms promoting democratic elections, even though a dictator, he was likely the only political/military figure in the region that could take on the Taliban.

Musharraf if you remember launched a military campaign against the Taliban in Swat in late 2007. Now it seems that he will be back in power soon. Just my two cents, I mean it all makes sense now, for who else would be able to save the nation state of Pakistan? No one else and especially the new government whom are already at odds with the US foreign policy position.

So just take that, when the new government is on the edge of failing, and/or being over run by the Taliban, recant I said it here first, that your boy will be back in power. Not to mention, they economic problems in Pakistan make what we see in the west like we in Disney world. So what’s next, I say Ménage à trois. Bush was in bed with Musharraf and Obama willl be too soon.

An Hour Away

Being so caught up on loot and the current economic crisis I am often forgetful of the importance of being informed on a worldly stage. But I was just reminded of this. I mean I was asked to write an essay by this news weekly in Atlanta on Obama and his trip to the Summit of the Americas this past week, so I did. Sure I burst open a few GOP perspectives and nonsensical projections, but overall, I was only reminded that Mr. President has big problems and needs to step his game up.

We still have major problems in Afghanistan and especially its neighbor Pakistan. It seems that The Taliban is advancing more and more each day. Not only in the ability to run the courts in feudal courts in both of the nation states above, but all so in their ability to influence the local inhabitants and occupy more territory. They are all over the Swat Valley in Pakistan and looking as if they are becoming entrenched in the area northwest of the capital

How much are they in control? Well let us just say they are patrolling the roads military style and broadcasting messages on loud speakers throughout the area. Which tell me that the so called peace effort offered by the new government has no weight and will likely fail? And this is just a week after the Pakistan's president signed off on the peace pact. The Swat Valley has seen some of the heaviest fighting between the Taliban and security forces over the past year. But it also seems that the new government’s agreement to impose Islamic law in Malakand in an effort to end the fighting with the Taliban may back fire. It is hard to know what is true and fact however, they do this in Pakistan but in Afghanistan, the Taliban denied they were holding peace talks with the government and continue to be able to conduct “high-profile attacks” even as US troop strength continue to grow.

I know Obama understand that Pakistan is a major problem with what we confront in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, he may get his wish and have troops up in that camp before we can say another US bank has failed. For the Taliban is now in control of another district in the country's northwest just 70 miles from the capital. They have also banned music and television and stopped women from entering into a popular shrine of a Muslim saint.
The Taliban has placed the ball in our court now and I wonder what the President will do or plans to do for I have not heard in detailed plans to deal with Pakistan in concert with the Taliban. I just hope he don’t wait until the last minute like Bush 43 or until the government is over thrown and the Taliban running thangs up in that camp. They way I see it, now the Taliban is only an hour away from the capital, and if history is correct, they aint got no problem with taking over and ousting a sitting government.

from russia with no love

Now although I could talk loot, like how J.C. Penny’s profit fell 51% last quarter, or how Lowe’s profit fell 60% last quarter, or even how down here in Georgia, more than 120,000 folk filed for unemployment benefits in January – I won’t. Instead something else caught my eye while reading my favorite Russian News daily -the Kommersant.

Kyrgyzstan, which is located in Asia in between Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and China, just kicked out the only representative of the United States military in the region. Manas Air Force Base, which may be our closest military base to Russia, will be no longer in about 6 months. The base is only about 8 or 9 years old and formed ex post facto to 911. Not that this is an indication of how the new administration relationship with Russia will be in the future (which it is) or the fact that Russia flexing will continue to be a thorn in the side of America’s foreign policy objectives (which it is), but more so how this will play with respect to the administrations locution concerning Afghanistan. Manas was most likely our major supply hub to troops in Afghanistan. The President of this small nation,Kurmanbek Bakiyev made his announcement ironically right after the Russian government agreed to give his country $2.1 billion in economic aid.

As we read and twit and blog and type, the war in Afghanistan is growing and becoming more out of control each day. President Obama stated last week that an additional 17,000 troops are on their way to Afghanistan. Which is strange to me when the current President of the country, Hamid Karzai, was not involved in the decision to add more troops into his country? However, he was “informed of the deployments via a telephone call from Obama” on February 17.

I do not know what to anticipate with respect to the new administration approach to Afghanistan. I do hope that they do more than just chase the Taliban around the country back and forth; to and from Pakistan. Meaning he cannot continue the Bush approach, for Bush was so busy palling up with the former military dictator/president of Pakistan that he dropped the ball on Russia. And as of now, it seems as if Obama has been so enthralled, that he has over looked Russia as the player they are on the world stage, especially in their own backyard
A while back I wrote that Obama has to do some serious consideration to his dealings with Russia, specifically that Russia “may be the first head bump for Jones… Russia (Putin) is making a fat cat move to buy allegiance from Latin American states that are right in our own backyard. Plus they mad because of our decision to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. So as a result, they have decided to place some similar equipment in Cuba – or so they say." That was then, now he cock blocking with respect to US war efforts in Afghanistan. I can’t wait, for this will make for some good opinion editorials from Jones here.

kabul b4 december

I know a many are geared regarding the upcoming general elections to be held in November and regardless if you want Obama, McCain or Nadar to win, just do me one favor, ask them some well thought out and prospective questions regarding Afghanistan. Yep, I am about to bore you with another haterated triad.

I have come to accept that most folk don’t get me jones. And when I say I don’t give a fk bout certain things, they say I’m disrespectful or berating folks. So I am about to do more of the same. I feel that the ability to ask pointed questions, especially with respect to having some knowledge of possible solutions is the key to evaluating responses from any candidate for any office and or job. And for some reason or another, what’s going on in Afghanistan scares the shit out of me.

Just last week it was reported that say about 200 Taliban fighters attacked a US military base located in the distant and mountainous northeast province of Kunar. They say it resulted in nine dead US soldiers and nearly a score of wounded. It aint been that many US military personnel killed in a single attack in more than three

For some reason, it appears that over the past seven months, the Taliban has gotten stronger, smarter and more brazen as opposed to what the current administration has been telling us. I mean it seem like it was just yesterday when folk was saying that they had accomplished victory and had won the war in this poppy growing country. Report released by the Pentagon on the situation, among other things said “the Taliban is likely to maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008. The Taliban will challenge the control of the Afghan government in rural areas, especially in the south and east."

They say that this is a problem for the current administration; I feel that it is more of a problem for which ever jones steps in office after the elections in November. These attacks just aint on the outskirts, they like a hop, skip and a jump from the capitol Kabul. The Capitol. And this recent attack was just one of many against a military base which they hitting up the regular now, not to mention it lasted all day. And this based had about 200 US troops. No little bitty convoy and it lasted all day.

When I do get a chance to hear what folks are talking about politically, they just be rehashing messages from stump speeches with little content. All I have heard Sen. Barack Obama say is that he will send two more combat brigades to Afghanistan and that he may take the troops from Iraq. All I know about Nadar is something he said 6 years ago regarding sending a small multinational force into Afghanistan to arrest Osama bin Laden. McCain, well first he disagreed with Obama saying more troops were not needed; now he is copying Obama’s position on the issue (u can read his flip flop history here at Obsidian wings, which is on my blog roll).

Like I said, I think we got to frame this issue and make it apart of the discussion, Iraq seems to get all of the attention, I am glad they TRYING to talk about the economy, albeit none from a global or international perspective in terms of problem solving (correct me if I’m wrong). Just talk of green Jobs and stuff like that. But about this small country, I’m not so sure, for at this rate, the Taliban will be in Kabul by December and in control of the government, again.

blinded by the Obamafication of America

Now I know most of yawl are in awe of the prospect of the first African American President in the history of these United States of America, and as well you should be. In fact it is nice seeing people being caught up in history when so many of us don’t know much about the subject. However, with the Obamafication (my own word) of America, there has been a tendency to look away from other things that are important and are historical in their own right. In fact, things that may make his presidency, if he wins in November, even more problematic and deterministic with regards to his success or failure.

This whole campaign started with hoop-la. By that I mean we were in a recession and we were engaged in war on three fronts (Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia). Yep, Somalia, but we wouldn’t know because we get our information from media magnates that we never question or even on our own, search to find out what is really going on in our world. But such is the myopia of a self-centered nation.

If you have not noticed, we don’t hear much about Afghanistan anymore. One should ask why? The way I see it, it is because we have lost ground in the country and region and because we do not want to hear such. We are happy in our frivolity of possibility without the recourse of mental anguish.

Things are hardcore in Afghanistan. Just a few years ago we were claiming victory over the Taliban because they had been removed from power and scattered into the hinterlands. We were claiming a change since we were able to install President Hamid Karzai into what we felt was a fledgling democratic government. Now true, recent reports have noted that Hundreds of Afghans (not thousands) have been holding demonstrations in support of his leadership, however we don’t know why and don’t even ask why. Namely because they are scared and don’t think he has the balls to keep the Taliban from reclaiming the country. Yep, I said it. We don’t either.

Hundreds if not thousands of Taliban have been reclaiming the country as it did before by force. A few weeks ago, like it was something out of Sun Tzu’s the art of war or the hand Book of Guerrilla warfare, the Taliban implemented a rather hep and precocious assult on Kandahar’s prison that resulted in the freeing of all the prisoners. Now not any prisoners, Taliban fighters. After this they have been able to take over a number of villages just outside of the largest city in southern Afghanistan, Kandahar, forcing US, Afghan and NATO troops to redeploy to meet the threat. Redeploying for me says two things, they did not think or expect such and that they do not have enough troops to deal with the Taliban.

So it is still on in this small poppy rich, land-locked country. But we wouldn’t know, because we are caught in to watch political play-offs and many of us would rather focus on the Obamafication aspect of this political season, than issues of war and economics – although we say otherwise. vote

2 birds with one stone

Just finished reading the International Narcotics Report released by the State Department today (2.29.08). I tell you, the Taliban got it going on and it seems to be all charged by the hate of US – the United States and the West. According to the report:

"Narcotics production in Afghanistan hit historic highs in 2007 for the second straight year. Afghanistan grew 93 percent of the world’s opium poppy, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Opium poppy cultivation expanded from 165,000 ha in 2006 to 193,000 ha in 2007, an increase of 17 percent in land under cultivation... The export value of this year’s illicit opium harvest, $4 billion, made up more than a third of Afghanistan’s combined total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $11.5 billion. Afghanistan’s drug trade is undercutting efforts to establish a stable democracy with a licit economic free market in the country. The narcotics trade has strong links with the anti-government insurgency, most commonly associated with the Taliban. Narcotics traffickers provide revenue and arms to the Taliban, while the Taliban provides protection to growers and traffickers and keeps the government from interfering with their activities. During recent years, poppy production has soared in provinces where the Taliban is most active."

Now this tells me a few things. 1] the 32,000 troops we got in Afghanistan have not been able to reduce the opium trade nor convince farmers to stop growing Poppy in the region and 2] if they will blow up 2000 year old Buddhist statues out the side of mountian, they wont stop until they blow up all of our troops.

Now this means that the Taliban is rollin' in loot, 11.5 billion dollars worth. I know I would if i sold more than 90% of all the stuff that was the primary ingredient to make heroin. And I know, my senior chemistry seminar paper was how to make heroin #10 from Morphine (and i still got a copy, fol gave me an 89 n shit).

My main point of consternation is that the locations where cultivation of Poppy is the greatest is in areas that’s under the NATO forces’ control. LOL. So in essence, the Taliban is using this money to attack US and NATO forces as well as the U.S.-backed government. The report is called the U.S. State Department's annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. A Briefing on the report was given by Assistant Secretary David T. Johnson

We turned a blind eye to the plant when the Taliban was being funded and supplied by US when they were considered a way to make inroads into the country in 1979. But we can't blame them, because it easy money since i suspect that all the Taliban has to do is provide protection to growers and traffickers to collect. We supposedly reduced their power in 2001 but today still in 2008 we are locked in fierce battle with them folk.

All we do is talk about eradication of the plant when we know good and damn well that eradicating opium hurts already super, duper poor farmers. Meaning we talk about crop replacement but what crop gone replace the kind of loot that poppy can generate? Cocca or weed maybe, but not olive trees for sure. In 2003 it was estimated that poppy production according to the International Monetary Fund, accounted for 40 percent to 60 percent of the Afghan economy. So now I am speculating, since we have been there it now represents about 70 to 75% - is that an increase?

Here at home, heroin has made a combecak, albeit as LL Cool J said, "been here for years.". Based on data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, there are an estimated 3,091,000 U.S. individuals 12 years of age and older that have used heroin at least once. Now even kids are being hooked on the stuff. In Texas for example, there has recently become a large corpus of kids as young as 11 geting hoked on the stuff. Really they are becoming addicted to a mixture of heroin and Tylenol PM , commonly called "cheese." News Reports suggest that they buy it at school with their "lunch money and snorted it through hollowed-out ballpoint pens."

I guess this will be another legacy of G.W. Bush. I mean, we suposedly making progress at least in the strong hold of the Taliban. But what do they do, they take us down with one stone, growing poppy to supply their military wing, and get our youth, the future military persons of our country, addicited to the same shit.

of Bushes,Turks & the Taliban

Jones main, it’s on. The news has not even made it yet but it appears as if the fragile whatever you call it we put up in Iraq to represent a government has officially dissolved. You see, while most of us up in this camp were sleeping last night, the Turks were sending warplanes over into Iraq to bomb the Kurds. I suspect they were targeting a political group called the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Turks have outlawed the group, but it seems kind of feculent to outlaw an organization in another country, which operates basically autonomously. The say these raid were some 60 miles into Iraq.

Meanwhile on the otherwise of the field (it is football season), all I read about Afghanistan' from this side of the block, is that we are winning the battle, that more and more Taliban fighters are being killed and that each day we work with or favorite Dictator in Pakistan to make progress in terror (that is if progress includes more videos circulating in Pakistan that show 12 year olds beheading a Pakistani's accused of being U.S. spys). The Taliban is always executing and beheading folks who they claim to be spys for the US, we just never see it on TV unless the spies are actual US citizens. I mean Bush and the US media obviiously think that it take four such acts or more to equal one US life. But at the same time, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is asking for more help to develope his armed forces.

Well I guess the Bush administration has some good news to report by their standards, after all the aforementioned and said dictator, just lifted the emergence rule he just placed over his country because they would not vote for him (during a period in which HE amended the country's constitution). At least we can be thankful hat George W. Bush isn’t a general, no telling what he would have done by now.