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Market Manipulation, Taliban Style

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by TonyPSchaefer, Oct 30, 2008.

  1. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    If international drug- and law-enforcement officials are right, the Taliban might be hiding up to $3.2 billion worth of opium inside Afghanistan, potentially causing huge complications for NATO's decision this month to attack Afghanistan's opium laboratories and smuggling networks. If it exists, the drug stockpile would also have a major bearing on Afghan officials' tentative peace talks with the Taliban, which are favored by U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus and both U.S. presidential candidates.

    According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, between 6,000 and 8,000 tons of opium have vanished during the past three years somewhere between the poppy fields of Afghanistan — which produce about 93% of the world's opium — and the world market. It might sound like good news that so much opium has disappeared from the world drug market, but Costa believes the missing opium is a potential time bomb, and many law-enforcement officials agree. That's because the Taliban is believed to be "stockpiling to control the prices," says a spokesman for Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, who confirmed that NATO forces have uncovered Taliban stockpiles of opium.

    Article => Is the Taliban Stockpiling Opium? And If So, Why? -- Printout -- TIME

    I guess you can teach someone Democracy and Supply/Demand economics but pray they never use that knowledge.
     
    #1 TonyPSchaefer, Oct 30, 2008
  2. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    that is rather disturbing... A "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. On one hand, an attack would hopefully cripple the world supply of opium. On the other, it would drive prices up to ridiculous levels and provide the Taliban with some pretty huge cash flow.
     
    #2 eagle33199, Oct 30, 2008
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Of course, we wouldn't be catering to the terrorists if we would just grow and refine it here in the U.S.

    Drill Baby Drill!
    Oh wait, that's a whole other addiction and a different set of terrorists we cater to.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Oct 30, 2008
  4. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    Hmmmm...

    Previously, the taliban used to burn the poppies in the fields... and they used to punish the families growing em harshly... it's interesting that they are now thought to control the hidden stockpiles... if true, they are not the same old taliban we have been kicking around, and we will have a tougher time of controling the opiate base being exported from there.
     
    #4 amm0bob, Oct 30, 2008
  5. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    What is it about afghanistan that makes it the epicenter of poppy production? Is it simply a law enforcement issue? Obviously the climate has something to do with it, but it seems that that can be replicated elsewhere.
     
    #5 tripp, Oct 31, 2008
  6. ctbering

    ctbering Rambling Man

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    THE TALIBAN CAN ....CAUSE .....HE'S THE TALIBAN MAN
    OH THE WORLD MAY BE SOON BE 'CHASING THE DRAGON'
    If they were the good Taliban we would tax their opium products much like what we did during the good war, World War II. The Nazis considered them the bad Taliban so they had to synthesized their own opiates but they were too preoccupied to bomb them.
    Now they are our bad Taliban and we bomb them. Its hard to tax them when your bombing them. The Taliban really can't flood the market with opium through many sophisticated networks. The really bad guys (the ones that may or may not be dressed in funny robes or have dirty beards) become the Taliban employers. They pay the taliban man for the crops...at a very discounted price...threats, intimidation, injury, & death.
    Our leaders just wave the flag proudly while illegal networks all over the world get stronger and we just bomb...bomb ...bomb...the Taliban man.
    I know the Taliban man is our enemy. We got lots of enemies these days...and No No NO...the Taliban are not the ones that flew into the World Trade buildings so please don't start.
    The Taliban man is an unsophisticated opium grower and trader that is the closest thing we could compare to a hillbilly survivalist in the good ole USA. We taught the Taliban man well; how to fight, gave him sophisticated weapons, State of the Art communication equipment. but the Taliban man doesn't stop learning here... He must continue to support his poor peasant family just like how the Taliman grandaddy did for centuries, he grows poppies, pretty flowered opium poppies. We burn down his fields but he is now a lot smarter and he continues to grow his opium poppies with better technologies. And we are busy trying to find The Afgans wanted or unwanted guest...oh yes, Osama (not Obama) Bin Ladin.
    Oh, now our enemies have to protect Taliban man's fields. Is the Taliban man concerned about the USA who is bombing him and his family?....probably not.
    Now it's not good enough anymore just to grow and store the opium. While Taliban man needs to grow the poppies in fields, camouflage his crop and hide it in mountainous terrain only the Taliban man can navigate he must learn a new trade, heroin processing. That would be equivalent to us getting a HUGE raise at work..."honey my boss loves my work and gave me more responsibilities. I even get to learn about chemicals". ....more food on the Taliban man's table for his poor family. Meanwhile, we bribe the Taliban man's tribal leaders and pseudo-employers, leaders who hide the prince of violence, and we just bomb the Taliban man. Life can be hard, but the Taliban man can.
     
    #6 ctbering, Oct 31, 2008
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