SS, DD, Rumsfeld-style

File Under: We Broke It, You Buy It

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has urged Europe to provide a "master overall plan" to fight Afghanistan's huge drugs trade, which has seen heroin flood Europe and Russia....More than 90 percent of the world's opium and heroin supply comes from Afghanistan via Iran and Pakistan, according to The Associated Press.

Isn't this production the Taliban had reduced?

Despite its own figures showing the Taleban had cut Afghanistan's heroin production by about 95%, the report claimed that heroin had "financed the former Taleban regime".

The UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report, released on 26 February, said that Afghanistan produced 3,400 tonnes last year, up from 185 tonnes in 2001.

That's from a 2003 report. What did we do then?

While the US report praised US-backed Afghan president Hamid Karzai for the measures he has introduced to cut heroin production, the UN report said his two executive orders had no practical impact.

and what do we do and claim now?

An international campaign costing hundreds of millions of dollars to curb drugs production in Afghanistan has been largely unsuccessful. Opium cultivation is reported to be growing, particularly in southern Taliban areas, where the militant group is believed to benefit from drugs money.

Once again, I saw this plot somewhere...oh, yeah!

Addendum: There are times when I want someone to translate Donald Rumsfeld's declarations into English. This is one of those.

He also said regional cooperation with Afghanistan's neighbors to stop Taliban and al Qaeda movements entering the country "has been helpful, but it has not reduced cross-border" activity.

How has it been helpful? If the purpose is to reduce entering the country, but cross-border entry is not reduced, what has been helped? Or did CNN just screw the pooch in its summary?