Huge alcohol seizure in Pakistan (destined for US troops)

[IndianaGreen]

Huge alcohol seizure in Pakistan
By Haroon Rashid
BBC News, Peshawar

Police in Pakistan have seized a huge quantity of alcohol stolen from shipments destined for US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan.

Senior Superintendent of Police Saeed Wazir said more than 20,000 bottles of liquor were seized during a raid on a store near the Afghan border.

Mr Wazir said four people were arrested in connection with the raid, "one of the biggest" seizures of alcohol.

Muslims in Pakistan are not allowed to buy alcohol.

Mr Wazir said: "20,352 bottles of Dutch-made liquor were recovered from a store outside Peshawar."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4367554.stm

[sasquatch]

1. Damn

Leave it to the fucking Pakistani's to ruin a good time.
x(

[donsu]

33. drunk US soldiers are a good thing?

nt

[Dunvegan]

2. I like a cocktail from time to time as much as anyone, but...

...I cannot see my way clear to how American's drinking alcohol while carrying guns in the street of an occupied Muslim country could be helping anything in Iraq.

[geebensis]

6. I really doubt...

I really doubt our guys are out on patrol with a snootful. Drinking and driving is dangerous. Drinking and wandering around in that shooting gallery over there would be suicidal.

But I certainly wouldn't begrudge them a drink or five when they're off duty.

[Hello_Kitty]

13. They can drink when they're on liberty

Just like you when you're not at work. Plus, the U.S. military is very strict about drinking on duty.

[nosmokes]

16. yeah, they're strict about torture and adhering to the

geneva conventions and not raping or molesting female members of the service as well. just look at any one of the dozens of reports of the investigations the military has done on itself and exonerated itself of any wrong doing except for a small group of trouble makers that just happen to be consistently lower in rank. oh, those pictures and the dozens of women military members saying otherwise? just commie islamofascist propaganda. rush told me so. if we're gonna go cowboying around around in another country then i think we should be respecting their laws.

[Hello_Kitty]

17. Hey all I know, as a former Navy person

Is that you got SLAMMED for being under the influence on duty. I went to Captain's Mast for being late for work the next day after tying one on one night. The penalties were harsh and as far as I know that hasn't changed. It's even more enforced in the Middle East, where GI's have to be really careful of not running afoul of local laws and customs concerning alcohol.

And as a female servicemember, I could definitely speak to the problem of rampant sexual harassment and assualt. I witnessed and experienced it. So don't even presume to tell me about that.

[MercutioATC]

20. Great...YOU can wear the bhurka...

Open disrespect for another country's laws is one thing, but when we have a base in a foreign country, that base is essentially American soil.

I see NO problem with letting our troops overseas have alcohol on their downtime.

[QC]

19. If Southern Baptists were seizing other people's shipments of booze

on religious grounds, would you still approve?

I strongly, strongly suspect that you would not.

[nosmokes]

21. ya know, we aren't invited guests in pakistan.

and i'm in favor of letting the troops have anything they want, including a ticket home. but the liquor should be on the camp. the article spoke of a store, wassup with that? my time in islamic countries there were stores in the western compounds that had alcohol or in the Xtian neighbohoods, but they were few and far between.

[muriel_volestrangler]

31. The drink was stolen from a shipment destined for US troops

and then put in the store (and this may mean 'store' as in 'place where you store things', rather than 'place where you sell things', becasue it goers on to say "The liquor was seized hours before being moved for sale in the lawless Khyber tribal region"). That's where the police seized it and arrested the four men.

[longship]

3. I hear that * had a alcohol siezure the other day.

But consuming a fifth of Jim Beam in two hours tends to do that.

[BrotherBuzz]

8. I really, really want to believe that...

got a link? ;)

[tabasco]

4. I knew some officers from the Saudi Arabian army.

They were here in the US for training. They drank like fish and really liked to get very drunk. I suppose that religious stuff only applies when they are in Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is illegal also.

On edit: How fucked up must it be to live in a theocracy??

I will fight and die to prevent it from happening here !

[Somawas]

5. Mr Wazir said: "20,352 bottles of Dutch-made liquor?

That's a heck of a lot of DUTCH made liquor. No Jim Beam in that raid.

[IndianaGreen]

10. I wonder if this liquor was meant for the brass

rather than the grunts.

[harpboy_ak]

18. I suspect that it's beer

Probably Heineken. They consider any form of alcohol to be equally harmful.

20,352 bottles would be 848 24-bottle cases. Anybody know how many cases of Heineken would be on a normal shipping pallet?

Sounds like someone probably hijacked a whole truckload of beer.

[dutchdemocrat]

25. Heineken?

Top shelf beer for the soldiers being brewed and bottled in Europe? Not the most intelligent choice in spending US tax dollars on US adventures in foreign countries.

Having said that... I am Dutch - and if they wanted to buy some real beer :evilgrin: - they'd buy Grolsch at least.

[Kailassa]

26. You sure know how to make an oma lick her lips. ;-) n/t

[cantstandbush]

7. When will we ever learn. They hate us for being us! n/t

[ekelly]

9. I'm curious to know

who the hell is paying for all that alcohol!

Is this part of what the "emergency" supplemental money is needed for?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[gulliver]

12. I smell movie!!

:-)

[NVMojo]

14. let em have it and the pot!! Jeez ...can only imagine their reality!

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kailassa]

27. That sounded interesting, big j, would you like to translate it? ;-)

Or was I supposed to be shocked? :dilemma:

[currents]

22. You can buy all the shit from the hoji

tastes like shit, but til f u up

[I_Make_Mistakes]

24. When in Rome, do as the Romans. That is probably a bad

quote, but, if you are on foreign soil and alcohol is prohibited, then don't bring alcohol in. It it not right, to make US the exception to the rule!

I volunteered (wrote the US Army Corp. of Engineers in 93 to help with the re building of Kuwait.) I knew at that time, no alcohol, as a female, no free movement off the base etc. If I could accept those terms, then let guys go some where else if they have to imbibe. What about 80 yrs. ago here alcohol was illegal right!

[Solly Mack]

23. General order 1 states : No drinking on duty. Combat = ALWAYS on duty

If you're in a combat zone you are always on duty - even when you're in the can, even when you're asleep, even when you're on "down time", even when you're shopping at the PX, even when you're using the computer kiosk, even when you're just sitting around your tent/billet with your thumb up your ass.

NO exceptions.

ANY booze consumption (in a combat zone) IS a violation of General Order 1.

[Kailassa]

28. That's fine in theory, and I'm not much of a drinker myself, but ...

how do soldiers stay sane when doing a long stint in Iraq? A beer to help them relax and sleep at night just might be one of the best therapies there is.

[Solly Mack]

29. it also might be what gets them killed or sends them over the edge

and as my husband is a soldier and this is a very real issue for us, I'd rather he not be around the mixture.

Popping a few pills might help a soldier unwind as well - but I wouldn't want that either.

The abuse factor is too great. ..and not worth the risk.

There is no ASAP ( army substance abuse program) in a combat zone - where a single mistake can get you and others killed.

and that's the reality

[Kailassa]

30. Yes Solly, you are right.

I just don't want to blame the soldiers themselves who do use alcohol in a responsible manner. Perhaps alcohol there does do more harm than good. What does your husband think?

[Solly Mack]

32. He'd rather his soldiers didn't drink in a combat zone

and he's not afraid of locking them down for doing so.


I'm a firm advocate of soldiers being able to drink when the time is right. A lot of people , especially spouses, want to stop soldiers from drinking at social events (bad influence on the kids is the number 1 excuse) - and I always , without fail, stand up for the soldier...but I can't approve of drinking in a combat zone.

There was this LT who was accepting booze as a bribe in Iraq - he was supposed to be cracking down on the "gypsy camps" - "gypsy camp" is what the traveling prostitute caravans are called - actual travelers (another kind of gypsy- not necessarily Romany) - but these "gypsy camps" specialized in underage girls and boys. So instead of arresting them and getting the kids help, he was being "paid" in booze....and other things.

One day the "boss" was brought in by another group of soldiers and the "boss" started complaining because he had already paid "Boss -insert LT's name goes here", and he didn't understand why he was being arrested - the soldier he complained to was my husband. My husband wasted no time in informing on the LT.

I don't think there can be responsible drinking in a combat zone - just think of the misery index for all involved.

I know that some of the torture pictures of Abu Ghraib were taking during the celebration of Lynndie England's birthday - her birthday is the 8th of November (the "party" was the night before) - Graner held a party for her on the cell block. I often wonder if booze was involved as well. Not as the cause, mind you - but if you're inclined to abuse and torture people, being drunk probably doesn't kill the urge.

Also, the hardcore Muslims, which do exist in Iraq - just as religious fanatics of all faiths exist everywhere - didn't approve of alcohol and often went after (killed) those who bought and sold booze. Well, a soldier buying booze just becomes more of a target.

None of this is to say the military isn't chock full of hypocrisy - it is. They'll overlook certain infractions - until someone does something so bad they can't hide it or deny it - then they'll bring out their "rulebook" and behave as if that's the way it always is...

[Kailassa]

36. Thanks, Solly, for your answer.

I guess it was wishful thinking on my part that it would only be used responsibly. With so many young people cooped up together, bored and tense from the conflict around them, alcohol would be bound to be abused. And then they'd have additional problems when it comes to adapting back to civilian life afterwards.

I hadn't known about the "gypsy camps". It's so sad to see what happens to children in wartime.

I hope your husband is able to return home safely before too much longer. It must be hell for you knowing he is over there.

[Solly Mack]

37. Thank you, Kailassa. Fortunately, he's no longer over there

and with any luck (and so far, so good), he won't be going back anytime soon.

[leesa]

34. Who ordered it?

[cassiepriam]

35. Remember Viet Nam and the drug and alcohol abuse?

Why will Iraq be any different?

[gulfcoastliberal]

38. Hopefully they can get some good afghan kush instead

:smoke: