I've heard from my friend in Afghanistan about the debate over poppy eradication. (Incidentally, at least according to my old copy of Trivial Pursuit, Afghanistan's the largest source for non-drug poppy products as well, including perfumes and poppy seeds for rolls and such.) He supports the programs to encourage replacing poppy crops with other things that grow well there, such as raisins and almonds (IIRC). Not knowing enough about it to form an independent opinion, I'm inclined to agree with him.
Of course, this issue's perfect for the everything-Bush-does-is-wrong crowd -- poppy production goes up? Look, the US is hypocrites and don't care about drugs! Poppy production goes down? Look, the US is destroying native economies!
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