TWO WARS TO WIN

Arcane American attitudes towards illegal drugs are needlessly
complicating the war in Afghanistan and making the situation there
more dangerous and deadly for Canadian soldiers.

The problem is Afghanistan's opium trade. The country's poppy crop
supplies about 90 per cent of the world's market for illegal opium,
morphine and heroin. The cultivation and sale of poppies for that
purpose provide a large part of Afghanistan's gross domestic product
and serve as the sole source of income for many Afghan farmers. They
also offer a significant source of income for Taliban and al-Qaida
terrorists. This is often cited as a justification for the necessity
of the eradication program. In truth, it is instead a compelling
argument for rethinking the perennial problem of Afghanistan's
poppies and how to deal with it.

This year's poppy crop is now being planted in Afghanistan. Canada,
as a member of NATO and a major player in Afghanistan, has been asked
by the U.S. to provide protection for Afghan forces and Western
organizations that are now gearing up for the annual opium war.
Officially, Canada supports this attempt to eradicate the opium crop,
despite its futility. No one would suggest that Ottawa give
laissez-faire to dope dealers of any nationality, but that does not
mean that this country needs to subscribe to America's obsession with
a war on drugs that has worked no better in the fields of Afghanistan
than it has on the streets of Washington itself.

There are good reasons, in fact, why Canada should refuse to allow
its troops to take part. Canadian commanders in the field fear that
it will put Canadian troops -- already bearing more than their share
of the fighting in southern Afghanistan -- further and more
dangerously in harm's way. Afghan farmers will feel no friendship for
soldiers who destroy their livelihood. It will convince Afghanistan's
rural population that the Islamists, rather than the Canadians, are
their protectors.

Canada should take a pass on this American request. Instead, Canada
should concentrate on the war -- defeating the Taliban; on
reconstruction -- helping Afghanistan to create the infrastructure
that will support a democratic and economically functional society.
In regard to the poppy crop, Canada should focus on redirection.
Afghanistan's opium does not have to go to feed the addictions of
Canada, the United States and Europe. It could instead be used to
create legal drugs, painkillers that are desperately needed to ease
the suffering of the sick in the developing world. That would
encourage Afghanistan by giving it a legal outlet for its opium. It
would benefit Western nations by diverting drugs from their streets
to Third World hospitals. It would, in fact, help to win two wars at once.