it's been a failure at both. now if they had poppy tax money they'd be able to do all of that (except maybe the microprocessor plant). the Iraqis had a lot of that stuff before we blew it up (with the help of factional fighting of course). Europe worked because it was rebuilding, and we really introduced a common market. They hardly show that "nation building" is a fruitful effort. particularly when the cash crop is illegal.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

I didn't say that's the goal. I simply said you cannot compare the situation in Afghanistan in 2007 with Europe and Japan in 1945, as you tried to do in your first post in the thread. Nice red herring with Iraq/Connecticut, by the way.

Nope, didn't forget that at all. Only a fool would deny that the U.S. rebuilding contributed to their success, just as only a fool would compare them to Afghanistan today.

Sorry, but you're just wrong.
Highways linking Kanduhar with Herat and Kabul have been created as well as a bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Further, thousands of landmines have been cleared from existing, but untravelable secondary roads.
The electricity production in major cities has at least doubled from even the exagerated Taliban totals (60-120 megawatts).
Rehabilitation projects are improving water and sanitation in Kabul, Herat, Mazar e Sharif, Kandahar and several other cities.

__________________
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1

Yes, I guess I was applying Iraq to Afghanistan. Still, safety is almost non-existent and there's little reason to think anything done so far is more than temporary. Projects have been relatively isolated to the cities. Not sure what % of the pop lives in cities. There's very little in common with japan and europe which developed a sustainable economy. the war on drugs is a alrge part of why there is no security, why the US hasn't been able to build a nation outside a few key areas, and why Afghanistan doesn't have a sustainable economy. we've steered pretty far off topic no haven't we? or was your point that keeping drugs illegal is helping the process of nation building (right or wrong)?

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

Two thirds live within 30 miles of the aformentioned highways.
No, the war on drugs lessens the money that goes to warlords who thrive on destabilization. Incomes they recieve from opium goes to weapons and buying off smaller warlords. If they spent it on roads, power grids and irrigation, you'd have an excellent point.
The reasons Afghanistan doesn't have a sustainable economy are threefold:

• An embarrasing lack of natural resources (honestly, without looking it up, can you name a single natural resource that comes from Afghanistan, other than misery?)
• A literacy rate of about 25%
• The traditional economy (trading along the route to the Kyber Pass) is no longer viable and thanks in some part to The Soviets and The Taliban, the country has made little progress in trasitioning to other sectors.

Afghanistan is now, and will be for the forseable future, partaking in the typical third world economy: receiving aid from developed countries. However moving into the 21st... well, maybe 19th century is dependent on the success and strength of the Federal and Provincial Governments, not rebelious warlords.

__________________
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1

All three are U.S. spearheaded rebuilding projects. All three have been by and large successful.
No where did I say that the economy of Afghanistan was comperable to that of Europe or Japan. That's your assertion, not mine.

__________________
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1

Does anyone know why I have to take my sneakers off, and can't carry a bottle of water on a plane, yet tons of illegal drugs can get here from Afghanistan???

Are there some high end pleasure cruises going in and out of there that the rest of us don't hear about? Do these boys in the 'hood have some secret airplanes somewhere bringing enough in to help infuse serious money into the Taliban for operations???

What, I ask again, is up????

__________________

Someone ought to do something about it...

TSA regulations don't have anything to do with smuggling in drugs. It's estimated that 90% of all the drugs in this country come through Mexico. Typically, they'll move through several third world countries to Central America and then up through Mexico.
So how do they get from Mexico into the U.S.? How do you think an illiterate dirt farmer from the outskirts of Oaxaca scrapes together $2,500 to pay the Coyote to get him across? Sure comes a lot cheaper if you're willing to carry 20 lbs of smack on your journey for him.

__________________
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1

How do the Mexicans get it from Afghanistan???

No wonder they can't find Bin Laden...

If TONS and TONS of drugs can get by our soldiers, and out of that country, it might be impossible to locate one extremely tall man on dialysis...

I'm taking a trip... within the US...

Perhaps I'll just mail my contact lens fluid to myself instead of trying to smuggle it on the plane....

Who the *freak* is flying planes out of that country besides our military...????

__________________

Someone ought to do something about it...

how do you know this? if you don't mind me asking.

you;re not getting it. If it were legal, they wouldn't spend it on destabilization and the tax money woudl be spent on roads and bridges. Destabilization is only to their benefit because it's illegal. Heck, even some of that money would be spent on roads and bridges as needed to deliver their product to market. In no way does it lessen the money, it increases it. Drugs are worth far more because they are illegal. Not only has it destabilized Afghanistan, Columbia, and cost countless lives in Mexico (among other places) it has cost thousands and thousands of US lives as illicit drugs have ravagged inner cities across the country and PR.
so, really, you just proved my point. The warlords are rebellious because the government wants to kil their livelihood.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"