POPPY WARS

Razing the field of an impoverished Afghan farmer, even if it's full
of poppies, is no way to sell him on the benefits of development and
democracy. Yet that's the approach some NATO troops are taking, and
it's costing us big, according to the former Canadian ambassador to
NATO, Gordon Smith.

The poppy eradication effort (poppies are used in heroin production)
is a function of the United States government's drug policy -- and a
bad policy it is. U.S.-sponsored efforts to wipe out the coca crop in
Colombia have only pushed cultivation into neighbouring countries
while enhancing the power of drug lords' private armies and promoting
corruption in the police and military -- precisely the conditions
we're trying to undo in Afghanistan.

Eradication will not work. Once we accept that, we can think about
new approaches, such as the one Mr. Smith's team proposes: a central
marketing board that would buy up the Afghan poppy crop and re-sell
it to drug companies to make opiates such as morphine.

As a first step, we could invite farmers to sell their poppy crops to
buyers working for drug companies, or to western governments through
a legitimate market.

The goal must be to let Afghan poppy farmers make a living without
having to deal with smugglers and militias: Bring them over to our
side, rather than forcing them onto the enemy's.

NATO will not win the trust of Afghans by destroying their livelihoods.