Opium the enemy

Now this is Obama's war. The president has announced plans to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan to "get the job done." What exactly is the job? Who is the enemy? Is it the Taliban? Is it Afghan Taliban or Punjabi Taliban from Pakistan?

The real enemy is opium. You cannot fight opium farmers; you will lose whatever little support is there among the Afghans. The Taliban's struggle is being financed by opium farmers. The Taliban are providing protection to the farmers who are being harassed by extortionist bureaucrats and police. Instead of sending troops, America should buy all that opium.

We cannot destroy the Taliban. For every Taliban you kill, there are 10 more graduating from those madrassas where they were taught hatred and no other skills.

Everyone says we need to make sure the Pakistani nuclear weapons do not get into wrong hands. Why don't they realize that they are already in wrong hands? What makes anyone think that Pakistani politicians are any less corrupt than Karzai?

Instead of sending American young men and women to die in Afghanistan, the president should ask all nations to close institutions that teach no skills except hatred.

Romesh Shonek, Durham