Afghanistan's government has set up a commission that will start work Thursday to investigate widespread rumours that foreign troops sprayed poison on poppy fields to combat drugs in eastern Nangahar province, officials said. Provincial governor Din Mohammad said the commission was formed after provincial authorities received "complaints and reports" that chemicals had been sprayed over the poppy fields to destroy the opium crop. "We have reports that such things have happened in several districts—we have established a commission to investigate," he told AFP by phone. "The commission will start their work on Thursday," he added.
| They'll start with a water pipe ... |
Eradicating opium crops by spraying toxic chemicals over them is controversial because of the risk of famine if other crops are also caught in the spray and potential harm to farmers' health. "We don't know who might be behind this but the farmers have said that it was American troops," the governor added without elaborating.
| At least they didn't blame the Jooooos. |
The US military said they were not involved in drug eradication but would destroy or confiscate drugs that they came across in the course of other military operations. However, the US military does provide support to counter-narcotics programs, with intelligence and "lift support with helicopters" if it does not interfere with the military's major counter-terrorism efforts, he added. President Hamid Karzai, who won a landmark presidential election last month said fighting drugs will be his top priority for the next five years. A bumper crop last year generated 2.3 billion dollars and produced three-quarters of the world's heroin, including 90 percent of the heroin on Europe's streets. |