johnpbh

Comment Threads

• Scott Sanford commented on Dead plots
  Considering that the invasion of Afghanistan put up opium production there by a massive factor (tenfold or more, if I recall), it sounds rather convoluted. But, given the current political scene and the next blog entry, we live in a world driven by convoluted conspiracies. You're not wrong. Under orderly management there should be no problem importing arbitrarily large amounts of opiate feed stock, whether aided or hindered by America's adventures in Afghanistan and the subsequent expansion of the opium crops. (Condemning opium growing was one of only two things the Taliban ever did that I agreed with, and that...
• waldo commented on Dead plots
  IIRC my thought at the time was that Afghanistan really badly needed some sort of legitimate export industry and there was a global morphine shortage, so it seemed a natural conjunction of demand and supply with a bit of nation-building; but no, the Coalition nations were going to bring everything on-shore. At the time it seemed like a missed opportunity. As I say, it's a vague recollection, and may be flawed....
• Elderly Cynic commented on Dead plots
  It's my recollection, too. Buying up the opium crop would have led to some abuses, but would have been a lot cheaper and more-cost effective than destruction and mayhem. It's not as if the illegal drug trade pays the growers much, after all!...
• Keithmasterson commented on Dead plots
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• Moderator Alan commented on Dead plots
  With which I think this entry is exhausted...