Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a land-locked country with over 31 million people. The country is just a little bit smaller in area than Texas but perhaps the saddest fact about Afghanistan is the statistic that the life expectancy for people born there is just over 43 years. To put that in perspective - of the 222 countries in the world where such stats are kept - only 13 countries have worse life expectancy numbers than Afghanistan and all 13 of those countries are in Africa. Only 2.4% of the population of Afghanistan is over 65-years old.

Afghanistan is also one of the poorest countries in the world. The GDP per capita is just $800. That puts them ranked 215th out of 230 nations.

Afghanistan does rank first in one area though - in the production of opium. This to me is perhaps the greatest danger that could be and is being exported from Afghanistan. Not terrorism. Opium. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a terrorist on the streets of Worcester but I damn sure have seen heroin addicts. Not being content with supplying most of the world's raw opium - it now seem Afghan farmers are getting into growing marijuana.

If I was put in charge of the government for a day - I would put a 3 prong plan into effect to fight the opium in Afghanistan becoming heroin on our streets.

1. First I would buy the opium crops. I would have the military run the purchase of the crops along with the DEA. Pay the farmers a fair price for the crops. Use the money we are already spending on foreign aid to pay for the program. Sell the crops at a reasonable price to pharmaceutical companies who legitimately use opium in their medicines. Use the money from the pharmaceuticals to help fund the program. Take whatever crops are left over and burn them.

2. Offer the Afghan farmers an incentive to switch from growing poppy to growing coffee. Whatever the market price for the poppy crop happens to be - pay double that amount for coffee. That would give the farmers incentive to switch crops. Take the coffee purchased and use it to fill government requirements for coffee. Create a Afghan co-op for coffee and market it as freedom fighting coffee. Coffee could easily become the major export for Afghan farmers.

3. Use the military to protect the farmers who work with us by selling us their crops. Also use the military to NAPALM the crops of farmers who still cooperate with the illegal drug traders. At the same time get cooperation from the Islamic leaders on the subject. Having anything to do with opium is against Islamic teachings. There is a loophole about growing the crops for medicinal purposes. Use the teachings of Islam to fight heroin and at the same time bring some measure of prosperity to the Afghan farmers.