So even if we forget Iraq for a while, it is the same old story of bad management/intention that can be seen repeated in Afghanistan.
Terrorism and Opium/drugs feed on each other and have a corrosive impact on the ground action/policies of high and mighty in the world, who get sucked into the vortex of corruption and easy money.
So the nexus between terrorism and drugs leads to self-perpetuating business dealings at the highest international levels, including the USA. Hence, there develops a vested interest in the continuation of the so-called ‘terrorism’.
“Afghanistan’s opium harvest this year has reached the highest levels ever recorded, showing an increase of almost 50 percent from last year, the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, said Saturday in Kabul, says The New York Times.
“He described the figures as ‘alarming’ and ‘very bad news’ for the Afghan government and international donors who have poured millions of dollars into programs to reduce the poppy crop since 2001.”
“He said the increase in cultivation was significantly fueled by the resurgence of Taliban rebels in the south, the country’s prime opium growing region. As the insurgents have stepped up attacks, they have also encouraged and profited from the drug trade, promising protection to growers if they expanded their opium operations.
” ‘This year’s harvest will be around 6,100 metric tons of opium — a staggering 92 percent of total world supply. It exceeds global consumption by 30 percent’, ” Mr. Costa said at a news briefing.
All this right under noses of the US and NATO troops!!!
I wrote this comment in donklephant.com some time ago. “Please remember that Afghanistan became the graveyard of Communist dream as coloured by the Soviet Union, and later led to its disintegration. The details mentioned in the post above may appear startling but not unfamiliar.
“The massive Soviet attacks were repulsed by Afghans using primitive weapons. In history no one has so far been able to subdue these fearless and independent Afghans. The terrain and the atmosphere is so hostile that the soldiers from the US and Europe would take years to return to their usual self and be able to lead a normal family life.
“The Afghans have a different culture. You may call them “barbaricâ€?, but that’s the way they are. I have a strong feeling that the repercussion of this war wouild later have serious economic, social and political consequences for the capitalist countries too. It is a matter of time, and Afghans have shown their patience and resilience down the centuries.
“In this futile war, probably being fought for geo-political/market reasons or sheer need to show the muscle power, the Western nations are putting at risk their own open societies and the economic wellbeing of their people. Pray what markets will you have in the bloodied terrain of Iraq and Afghanistan, with not a day passing without a terrorist attack.
“So if you don’t leave the Afghanis to their way of life, one day you would discover that your way of life is seriously theatened. I am afraid that day may not be very far!!!”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.