http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/N…..orth06.pdf

The Oliver North file from the National Security Archive.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/N…../index.htm

Locally owned and operated, village-based poppy control models would have beneficial ‘ink blot’ effects on security and economic development in the regions around the villages, and thus complement the international community’s mission in Afghanistan.

Poppy for Medicine model adaptable to local conditions
This village-based Poppy for Medicine model is grounded in proven, local control systems which were documented in extensive sociological and criminological field research undertaken throughout 2005 and 2006. The model can be easily adapted to the specific circumstances of different regions of Afghanistan, where poppy licensing is most needed.

An Afghan-owned solution to the Global Pain Crisis
Given the increasing global demand for essential poppy-based pain medicines such as morphine, Afghanistan is ideally positioned to address the substantial gap in the international market for these medicines.

Exported under special trade frameworks from Afghan villages and used within the region and globally, Afghan morphine would help address the global demand for essential pain medicines, which, according to the International Narcotics Control Board whose mandate is to ensure an adequate supply of morphine for medical and scientific purposes, 80 percent of the world’s population, including Afghanistan, face an acute shortage of essential morphine medicines.

By facilitating the production and promotion of an Afghan humanitarian brand of morphine, the international community can vividly demonstrate that post-conflict states such as Afghanistan have the potential to diversify their economies and become international trade partners.

http://www.poppyformedicine.net/

I was never among those who thought he was perfect, I’m not complaining that he’s not perfect now. But if he’s responsive to complaints, don’t we owe it to him and ourselves to make very clear when we think he’s on the wrong path? Finally, we have a president who will listen! Hadn’t we better speak up?

There is an essential role for us to advocate and pressure our government to do what we see as the right thing, now that the party that is more on our side is in power and we’ve gotten a lot of good people elected, and I am fully on board with that. But that doesn’t mean that any time we don’t succeed, we’ve been sold out. We’ve had so many outrages over the past eight years that I’m afraid we’ve become accustomed to reacting only with outrage. With a government that is not deeply corrupt, there may be times when our answer turns out not to be right, when our elected officials are making a decision based on more information than we have, not because they’re ignoring us. Beyond that, compromises are sometimes necessary, and well, you win some and you lose some, because there are competing forces. That’s government.

The thing I find most puzzling are the people who during the campaign declared “you’re deluded if you think that Obama is going to be the perfect president and solve all your problems!” and are now saying “Look! Obama isn’t the perfect president, solving all your problems!” Um, guys? We never believed that; you’re arguing against your own straw man.