Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Marines offer cash in fight against opium in Afghanistan
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 03 - 2010

After weeks of intense fighting over the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, US Marines are now taking cautious aim at the drugs trade, with a program designed to pay opium farmers to destroy their own crops without a fight.
The goal of the new program is to tackle the drugs trade that fuels the insurgency – without alienating farmers whose livelihoods depend on a crop they planted last year.
Last month, thousands of Marines fought to drive the Taliban out of Marjah, a major hub for the trafficking and trade of opium in southern Helmand, the province that produces most of the world's raw material for heroin.
Now, with opium poppies blooming and at waist height, some of those forces are pushing into surrounding areas of Marjah where the Taliban's footprint is still scattered across poor farming communities that depend on modest incomes from the drug crop.
“I spent a lot of money on these poppy fields, until now we haven't made enough money. We just make money to buy bread from the profits,” 70-year-old Mohammad Hanif, who lives in a village about 11 km (7 miles) from Marjah, said.
When a team of Marines paid him a visit Saturday, Hanif was afraid they would destroy his crop – a past strategy employed by NATO forces and the Afghan government which has sown resentment among farmers and increased support for the Taliban.
The new strategy, the Marines wanted to inform Hanif, involves paying farmers the value of their next harvest in return for them destroying their poppies themselves and growing legal alternatives using seeds provided by the Afghan government.
“For this program I am happy, as they gave me money for the damage,” Hanif said.
“They are positive and open to the new Afghanistan rules as far as burning the poppy fields and giving them money for that. They are ready to burn their poppy fields because they have not had anything like that before,” said Corporal Junior Joseph of Kilo Company of the Third Battalion, Sixth Marines. – Reuters
Hanif's neighbor Mohammad Gul also welcomed the program after cautiously greeting the Marines and initially denying he was growing opium poppy at all. After a Marine interpreter assured him that his trade was an open secret, he agreed to the scheme.
“We think it's a good program, we are homeless and must support our children. If the government destroys everything there's nothing left for us. So it's a good program,” Gul said.
The meeting between the farmers and Marines from Kilo Company marks the unit's first foray into tackling drug cultivation in Nad Ali since landing in Marjah, a key plank of NATO's strategy in the district which ultimately seeks to establish full Afghan government control in the area.
Corporal Joseph was hopeful that the poppy scheme would pay-off and took comfort in the initial positive response from Hanif and Gul.
“Before it was the Taliban, pretty much taking over and doing whatever. So with the government willing to buy it, they are pretty open to the new rules,” he said.
The Marines stir mixed feelings among residents. One young man complained to the Marines that they never leave his family alone and asked why they kept bothering them. He declined to give his name.
At a shoura – or council meeting – earlier this week, other villagers complained about Marines entering their homes when women were present, failing to show enough cultural sensitivity in a devoutly Muslim and rural place, and failing to adhere to their own rules on searching civilian homes.


Clic here to read the story from its source.