Interesting but drug cultivation in Afghanistan has come up from a question by Elizabeth Dole to Gates.
He said that while the millitary could certainly help with intradiction efforts that it might be time for other parts of the government to go to war. Specifically he talked about the Dept. of Agriculture and replacement crops. The point that I found most interesting is what he says is a misconception that to the farmer on the ground that poppies are substanially more profitable than other crops that he could grow. That the profitable parts of the trade are much further up the chain and that in the end if you could create a demand for an alternative that the farmers involved could careless.
He said that while the millitary could certainly help with intradiction efforts that it might be time for other parts of the government to go to war. Specifically he talked about the Dept. of Agriculture and replacement crops. The point that I found most interesting is what he says is a misconception that to the farmer on the ground that poppies are substanially more profitable than other crops that he could grow. That the profitable parts of the trade are much further up the chain and that in the end if you could create a demand for an alternative that the farmers involved could careless.
