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Title: Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet
Source:
The Independent
URL Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3345186.ece
Published: Jan 18, 2008
Author: Patrick Cockburn (yup)
Post Date: 2008-01-18 13:36:41 by FOH
Keywords: Amerika, Loves, Poppies
Views: 2297
Comments: 14
The cultivation of opium poppies whose product is turned into heroin is spreading rapidly across Iraq as farmers find they can no longer make a living through growing traditional crops. Afghan with experience in planting poppies have been helping farmers switch to producing opium in fertile parts of Diyala province, once famous for its oranges and pomegranates, north- east of Baghdad. At a heavily guarded farm near the town of Buhriz, south of the provincial capital Baquba, poppies are grown between the orange trees in order to hide them, according to a local source. The shift by Iraqi farmers to producing opium was first revealed by The Independent last May and is a very recent development. The first poppy fields, funded by drug smugglers who previously supplied Saudi Arabia and the Gulf with heroin from Afghanistan, were close to the city of Diwaniyah in southern Iraq. The growing of poppies has now spread to Diyala, which is one of the places in Iraq where al-Qa'ida is still resisting US and Iraqi government forces. It is also deeply divided between Sunni, Shia and Kurd and the extreme violence means that local security men have little time to deal with the drugs trade. The speed with which farmers are turning to poppies is confirmed by the Iraqi news agency al-Malaf Press, which says that opium is now being produced around the towns of Khalis, Sa'adiya, Dain'ya and south of Baladruz, pointing out that these are all areas where al-Qa'ida is strong. The agency cites a local agricultural engineer identified as M S al-Azawi as saying that local farmers got no support from the government and could not compete with cheap imports of fruit and vegetables. The price of fertiliser and fuel has also risen sharply. Mr Azawi says: "The cultivation of opium is the likely solution [to these problems]." Al-Qa'ida is in control of many of the newly established opium farms and has sometimes taken the land of farmers it has killed, said a local source. At Buhriz, American military forces destroyed the opium farm and drove off al-Qa'ida last year but it later returned. "No one can get inside the farm because it is heavily guarded," said the source, adding that the area devoted to opium in Diyala is still smaller than that in southern Iraq around Amara and Majar al-Kabir. After being harvested, the opium from Diyala is taken to Ramadi in western Iraq. There are still no reports of heroin laboratories being established in Iraq, unlike in Afghanistan. Iraq has not been a major consumer of drugs but heroin from Afghanistan has been transited from Iran and then taken to Basra from where it is exported to the rich markets of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf. Under Saddam Hussein, state security in Basra was widely believed to control local drug smuggling through the city. The growing and smuggling of opium will be difficult to stop in Iraq because much of the country is controlled by criminalised militias. American successes in Iraq over the past year have been largely through encouraging the development of a 70,000-strong Sunni Arab militia, many of whose members are former insurgents linked to protection rackets, kidnapping and crime. Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the powerful Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, says that criminals have infiltrated its ranks. The move of local warlords, both Sunni and Shia, into opium farming is a menacing development in Iraq, where local political leaders are often allied to gangsters. The theft of fuel, smuggling and control of government facilities such as ports means that gangs are often very rich. It is they, rather than impoverished farmers, who have taken the lead in financing and organising opium production in Iraq. Initial planting in fertile land west and south of Diwaniya around the towns of Ash Shamiyah, al-Ghammas and Shinafiyah were said to have faced problems because of the extreme heat and humidity. Al-Malaf Press says that it has learnt that the experiments with opium poppy-growing in Diyala have been successful. Although opium has not been grown in many of these areas in Iraq in recent history, some of the earliest written references to opium come from ancient Iraq. It was known to the ancient Sumerians as early as 3400BC as the "Hul Gil" or "joy plant" and there are mentions of it on clay tablets found in excavations at the city of Nippur just east of Diwaniyah.
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#1. To: FOH (#0)
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
CIA drug planes: "Tip of the Iceberg" This fact may yet prove inconvenient if—after all the pieces are fitted into the puzzle—government-to-government drug connections are visible between the U.S. and Colombian governments. The cabal is expanding. The Taliban shut down the poppy fields, but Afghanistan is back to bumper crops again. Poppy Bush approves.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today! Washington Post Staff Writer Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday. Over 90% of the world's poppy supply comes from our two newest M.E. colonies. Coincidence?
Our last hope for peace There is much in this that is so tragic, and an indication of what success looks like. I was curious why the article would say that farmers couldn't make money growing crops, and then, there it is in the article, they can't make money because of cheap imports. I'm doubting that Iran or Syria or even Turkey is trying to export foodstuffs, it's probably food that we're dumping on them. People look at me like I'm a heartless bastard when I denounce our food aid, which is usually dumping grains and other crops that could be grown in the victimized country. I reply that it's really hard for local farmers to compete with "free," and we're either trying to guarantee that the victim remains a protectorate of the US, or we're trying to make sure that people starve. One of the other interesting lines is: "The growing and smuggling of opium will be difficult to stop in Iraq because much of the country is controlled by criminalised militias. American successes in Iraq over the past year have been largely through encouraging the development of a 70,000-strong Sunni Arab militia, many of whose members are former insurgents linked to protection rackets, kidnapping and crime. Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the powerful Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, says that criminals have infiltrated its ranks. " No amount of surge is going to be able to change the above. We're in the process of creating a second narco state in the region. What a success the war on drugs is.
Rivers of blood were spilled out over land that, in normal times, not even the poorest Arab would have worried his head over." Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
ping to my post #2 here, similar thought - check Daniel Hopsicker's story about govt to govt drug trade
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today! All part of the plan. The Middle East Union's #3 export after oil and mohammedanism are narcotics.
bttt
Our last hope for peace Will do, thank you...
Our last hope for peace Good news for Poppy.
Join the Ron Paul Revolution punny...
Our last hope for peace
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
The CIA gets it safely into the Balkans (for a cut)...
Our last hope for peace The Golden Triangle has nothing on this operation...
Our last hope for peace
#2. To: ghostdogtxn (#1)
Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet
freedom4um.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=71127&Disp
The Revolution will not be televised!
#3. To: ghostdogtxn (#1)
Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record
U.S.-Backed Efforts At Eradication Fail
Saturday, December 2, 2006; Page A01
What North American Union? ~~~~~ Have you seen THIS yet? Pass it around...
#4. To: FOH (#0)
#5. To: FOH (#3)
The Revolution will not be televised!
#6. To: historian1944 (#4)
#7. To: historian1944 (#4)
What North American Union? ~~~~~ Have you seen THIS yet? Pass it around...
#8. To: robin (#5)
What North American Union? ~~~~~ Have you seen THIS yet? Pass it around...
#9. To: FOH (#0)
Freedom*Peace*Prosperity
#10. To: lodwick (#9)
What North American Union? ~~~~~ Have you seen THIS yet? Pass it around...
#11. To: robin (#2)
#12. To: FOH (#3)
#13. To: ghostdogtxn (#11)
What North American Union? ~~~~~ Have you seen THIS yet? Pass it around...
#14. To: ghostdogtxn (#12)
Air America at work.
What North American Union? ~~~~~ Have you seen THIS yet? Pass it around...
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