DEA personnel among 14 dead in Afghan copter crash

[Why Syzygy]

Source: CNN

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Three Drug Enforcement Administration personnel were among 14 Americans killed when three helicopters went down in Afghanistan on Monday, a law enforcement source said.

They were the first DEA personnel to be killed in Afghanistan. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said that in all, 10 people died in one incident and four in the other.

***

A helicopter went down in the west of the country after a raid on suspected drug traffickers. Seven U.S. service members and three U.S. civilians were killed, according to an ISAF statement. Fourteen Afghan service members, 11 U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian were injured in the crash.

***

The joint international security force killed more than a dozen enemy fighters while searching the compound, ISAF said. The site was thought to harbor insurgents tied to narcotics trafficking in western Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/26/afghanistan.chopper.crashes/

---

DEA? I had no idea the DEA was in Afghanistan. Should have known ...

[T Wolf]

1. More "war on drugs" nonsense. JUst like the war against arabs in the ME, unwise, ill-conceived,

and NOT EFFECTIVE (thank goodness).

[SPedigrees]

2. They're over there to destroy the opium poppy crop. nt

[earcandle]

4. isn't the poppy industry supplying legitimate medical supplies?

[SPedigrees]

6. In part... and it would be more widely used for legitimate purposes

if not for the 'war on drugs.' The largest part of the crop goes to the illegal drug market though. How the DEA decides what percentage of the crop is legit and what percentage is not, is a good question.

[Flaneur]

8. It's not the DEA, but the INCB that sets opium quotas.

That's the International Narcotics Control Board, part of the UN global anti-drug bureaucracy.

[Flaneur]

7. No. Not in Afghanistan.

Permitted poppy crops for the medicinal market are in France, India, Australia, a few other places.

The Afghan poppy crop is entirely destined for the illicit drug market.

There have been proposals to just buy up the crop and divert it to the legal medicinal market, but that ain't happening.

[WatchWhatISay]

12. Maybe so, but a war on drugs is a perfect way to achieve endless war

Even more so when it is such an integral part of their livelihood.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

3. What's with all the helicopter crashes in Afghanistan lately?

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Hard terrain, hard use, hard conditions, long operating hours, hostile small arms fire

Hell, blackhawks used to go into lawn dart mode all by themselves, when one control surface would suddenly lock all the way at it's maximum deflection. Heliocopters are great for their purposes, but they can be finicky machines.

And we are not likely to get a clear story when one is shot down by the Taliban, unfortunately. Which feeds into people underestimating the challenge we face in AG.

One of those challenges is, we've built up the Afghanistan Army to a point the country cannot afford it, without serious subsidy from outside nations. I forget the number, but it's 2x or 4x their GDP, and that's JUST the military. That's a problem you can see from orbit.

[FarCenter]

14. They are talking about an Afghan army of 600 thousand in a land of 23 million poor peasants

[Fumesucker]

15. A helicopter is ten thousand parts flying in formation...

The helicopter mechanic is the one that makes sure the formation is as tight as possible.

[benld74]

5. Just ask any DEA man there aint nuthin you can dooooo,,

[drgonzosghost]

10. Something smells fishy here.

[Why Syzygy]

11. I know I don't like it...

I don't think OUR DEA should be active in Afghanistan. I have said for a long time that we are there for a drug war, and now there is proof.

[WatchWhatISay]

13. I'm with you. I am not pro drugs, but

since when did the DEA have jurisdictin in foreign countries, other than to try to keep it from coming in here?

[AtheistCrusader]

16. Could just be providing training/consulting to the military.

Like with suppressing riots, the miltiary is not trained the way law enforcement is trained. They may need help identifying opium processing, grow ops, transportation, etc. All things the DEA would be well-suited to provide training or intel on. Something the military is generally not.

Not saying it's right, but it might not be nefarious.

[Why Syzygy]

20. So, you're saying it's okay for our military to take on the drug trade

in Afghanistan? btw, the soldiers surely do know what a poppy field is. My son has been twice and he indeed saw LOTS of poppy fields.

[KansDem]

21. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Bush open up poppy farming after 2001?

I seem to recall that poppy-farming was curtailed under the Taliban, but when Bush seized the White House he permitted poppy-farming to continue. If that's the case, then why are US troops (or the US DEA) trying to suppress it?

[AtheistCrusader]

22. Subtleties.

Yes, it's easy to know what a poppy field looks like. And burning the field or arresting the lowly farmer is a sure way to end it, isn't it? Finding the people who move drug money, finding the people who distribute the product, are not so easy to spot, as a poppy field. The DEA is well-suited for providing information and training on this task. What they do not have, is jurisdiction, so it better just be an advisory role.

If the Taliban is maintaining funding via illicit drug trade, this seems to be a legitimate target, yes? Unless Obama wants to broker some sort of truce with the Taliban tomorrow (which might not be a bad idea) so Al-Qaeda's remnants can be ferreted out and we go home, this seems inclusive of the mission of fixing Afghanistan, yes?

[Why Syzygy]

23. No. I don't agree.

I oppose the war completely. So, the drug details are irrelevant. I haven't seen any proof offered that the drug money funds the Tailban, though that is the claim. IF so, they are not the only ones who profit. I'm a harm reduction advocate. Burning farmer's fields is not included in harm reduction.

[AtheistCrusader]

25. Well, to a degree, I certainly agree.

Burning the farmer's field fixes nothing, and only harms him. Even the drug chain suppliers upstream are relatively unharmed, because scarcity of the product can increase it's value.

I want to say 'end the war now' and bring our troops home right away, but this seems like a death sentence for an awful lot of people in Afghanistan, that supported the Northern Alliance, etc. Unlike Iraq, Afghani women are better off now than they were before the war, etc.

What we're doing right now doesn't seem to be 'working', but I'm willing to give Obama some time to figure out a good solution. This mess wasn't created overnight, and it's solution won't appear overnight either.

Edit: And you may be totally correct, Obama may come out and tell us the former Administration was full of shit, and the drug trade is completely unconnected and unrelated to the Taliban, and the Al-Qaeda network.

[mikelgb]

17. what foreign country? you mean US occupied territory?

The Kabul Colony

[clear eye]

18. Read another version of the story. Gives different mission.

The reporter for The Guardian says that the copter was engaging in "war games" to rehearse the exit strategy. Ruled out enemy fire as cause. Anybody have any way of knowing who's version is more accurate?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/26/afghanistan-us-deaths-war-games

[Why Syzygy]

19. There were two different crash scenarios yesterday. nt

[clear eye]

24. Thanks.

Then I'll post this separately on LBN.

[mitchum]

26. When your work is a farce, your death is not a tragedy