Originally Posted by
Winged Wheeler
Some of you know this fight intimately--I do not. I would, however, like to see us win. I'd like some feedback on the following idea.
What if we bought the opium from the growers? Contracts to deliver the crop for the market price. The growers get legal title to the land, hard currency, and a stake in the success of the government. The local government gets a small cut of the contract price--say 10% for infrastructure and security.
I could develop this at length, but you get the idea. It couldn't be more expensive than what we are doing now.
What do you think?
WW
Okay, so we buy the opium from the growers for a bit. What do you propose we do with the product? Are we really doing anything to help out the Afghanis other than putting our finger in a massive dike? Is there a long term platform of economic promise built into this idea. Let's just say we are able to buy the opium, burn it at the point of transaction, hand over the currency, pay off the locals...rinse and repeat. Where is this going over the long term? I don't see this as something that will get this country what they need...INFRASTRUCTURE.
I mean really, I have flown over this place hundreds of times and there is nothing connecting this country. Huts here, town there, mountains everywhere. This country is a serious SIM City nightmare and I don't care how prevalent the internet, cell phones or satellite become, without a decent infrastructure this place will remain firmly planted where it has been for centuries on end.
I offer no solutions, only to shoot holes in your thoughts. But I do think that the immortal Sim Kinison had it right, "We have deserts in America, we just don't live in them!" Good luck!