Pentagon report on Afghanistan

Pentagon report on Afghanistan.

And Gareth Porter's article on it.

Britain torture Afghanistan

A BBC article here, and others here (29 April).

Iran sanctions

Pepe Escobar reminds us that the Group of 172 (all the countries outside of the Group of 20) is against further sanctions on Iran.

Iran Al Qaeda Pakistan

Iran got its hostage back from Pakistan (held by the Haqqani network) in exchange for a swap of prisoners with Al Qaeda and weapons sent to the Haqqani network in Pakistan.

Australia cigarette reform

Australia is thinking about establishing one of the harshest law against cigarette makers.

Ban Ki-moon pro-Obama

Ban Ki-moon thinks Obama is "leading by example" with his NPR.

Maliki torture jail

The Iraqi government ran a jail where torture was harsh:
All the detainees interviewed described the same methods of torture employed by their Iraqi interrogators. The jailers suspended the detainees handcuffed and blindfolded upside down by means of two bars, one placed behind their calves and the other against their shins. All had terrible scabs and bruising on their legs. The interrogators then kicked, whipped and beat the detainees. Interrogators also placed a dirty plastic bag over the detainee's head to close off his air supply. Typically, when the detainee passed out from this ordeal, his interrogators awakened him with electric shocks to his genitals or other parts of his body.

Another article is here.

Britain torture Afghanistan

The UK is involved in a torture scandal similar to that in which Canada is involved.

Iran nuclear

Philip Giraldi describes the internal fighting surrounding the next Iran NIE. He says that the intelligence community is pushing back on White House calls to come up with "evidence" that Iran is guilty of somwething.

Mexico drug war

Article by John Ross on the drug war in Mexico.

Drone strikes legality

Joanne Mariner on the legality of the drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan and elsewhere.

Mexico

Article on cultural clashes in Mexico.

Obama uses military commissions again, like Bush

Four months after the Obama administration missed its deadline to close Guantánamo, the deeply flawed military commissions system has resumed there with closely watched pre-trial proceedings in the case of Omar Khadr beginning this week.
Unlike the federal criminal courts, the military commissions are new and lack experience in dealing with complex international terrorism trials. Since 9/11, the military commissions have completed only three terrorism-related cases, with two of three convicted defendants already released. Federal courts, on the other hand, have successfully completed over 400 terrorism-related cases. And despite a missed deadline, no rules have yet been promulgated to comply with the latest military commissions legislation. Basic questions about how the proceedings will operate remain unanswered, such as whether a defendant in the military commissions can plead guilty to a death penalty charge.

Alcohol Afghanistan

Alcohol is banned in Afghanistan and foreigners don't like it.

Somne foreign troops drink a lot of alcohol, such as the Germans.

Israel and Obama

Chomsky on Israel, Palestine and Obama.

EU wants sanctions on Iran

The EU will try to convince China to come on board and at least not block sanctions on Iran.

Israel apartheid

Jonathan Cook on Israel apartheid inside Israel.

Iran quiz

Iran quiz here.

Rashid on reconciliation

Ahmed Rashid has a piece saying that the US needs to make up its mind on reconciliation and negotiation with the Taliban.

Meanwhile, the Emergency workers are back in Italy:

But it was no surprise that Emergency had come under the Afghan authorities' scrutiny. Like other medical charities such as the Red Cross, it treats wounded regardless of whose side they are on, which means Taliban fighters are among those who benefit from their care.

But unlike other NGOs in the field, it has accompanied its work in Helmand with sharp criticism of the number of civilian victims of the southern offensive against the Taliban and allegations that the United States-led international coalition was preventing the injured from reaching their hospital.

"It's probably right to say what happened, happened because we told the story of the war," Dell'Aira told a news conference on Friday. "This annoyed people because we told all the stories of our wounded, 40 percent of whom are children."

Colombia

New estimates put at 150,000 the number of extrajudicial killings by paramilitaries in Colombia between the late 1980s and today.

Kandaharis don't want invasion

Article here.

US trains Mexican police against drugs

US police are training Mexican police against drugs.

Civilians killed in Afghanistan

Article by Marc Herold analyzing the number of civilians dead in Afghanistan.

Taliban insurgency

Will the Taliban insurgency win? RAND has studied 89 such struggles over history to give clues as to what factors support a victory and a defeat.

Britain will pay Iran for broken contract

Britain will have to reimburse with interest Iran for not delivering tanks under a deal signed by the Shah after he was overthrown. Instead, Britain sold the tanks to Jordan and Iraq, supporting Baghdad in its war against Iran. Britain had only delivered a few tanks to Iran when the revolution broke out, and with the hostage crisis, Britain reneged on the deal.
However Iran won't be able to access the released funds because of sanctions put on Tehran by the EU; when the sanctions are lifted the funds will become available.

Iran sanctions

The US government is trying to convince more and more firms to cut ties with Iran.

Gareth Porter discusses the likelihood that the US will use nuclear weapons against Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran has agreed to give more freedom to the IAEA in its inspections.

Legalization of marijuana

Article describing the emerging legal industry of cannabis in California. One danger is, iwll the industry become captured by huge corporations?
Regardless of the outcome of the November referendum to legalize marijuana in California, CannBe, a marketing firm, says it expects to expand its business model nationwide to become what admirers say will be “the McDonald’s of marijuana.”

The federal government continues to oppose any decriminalization of the drug. And while the Obama administration has signaled some leeway when it comes to medical marijuana, raids on dispensaries and growers by law enforcement agencies are still common — even in California, where the industry effectively began in 1996, with the passage of the landmark Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana.

Today, rules vary widely in the 14 states that allow medical marijuana, and a final vote on legalization is pending in the District of Columbia. Some states require sellers to prove nonprofit status — often as a collective or cooperative — and all states require that patients have a recommendation from a physician. But even those in favor of medical marijuana believe that the system is ripe for abuse or even unintentional lawbreaking.

NATO nuclear

NATO must remain nuclear, NATO said.

Meanwhile, Merkel said that leaving Afghanistan would lead to a 2nd 9-11.

Marijuana in California

Alexander Cockburn on marijuana in California:
There are 32 people serving life sentences in California on a third-strike marijuana conviction. In 2008, 1,499 were in prison on marijuana convictions; in 2007, 4,925 in county jails. (Nationally, between 1990 to 2005, there were 7,200,000 marijuana related arrests – 1 out of every 18 felony convictions.)
The age of Obama saw Attorney General Eric Holder tell the federal DEA to give low priority to harassment of valid medical marijuana clubs in states – fourteen so far, plus Washington, D.C. – that give marijuana some form of legality. Remember, in the U.S.A., there is federal law and there are state laws. Federal law trumps state law, but it’s still up to the U.S. attorney general to decide on priorities in enforcement. On March 25, 2010, California officials announced that 523,531 signatures – almost 100,000 more than required – had been validated in support of a state initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed, no small fiscal allurement in budget-stricken California. (Many growers, zealous not to get on the wrong side of the IRS and the state tax board, declare “agricultural” revenues in some form dependant on the creativity of their accountant or lawyer. After all, to get a bank loan, a college loan, you need a healthy looking returnh. The feds and the state are happy to take the money and, as a rule, not to ask questions. The state utility, PG&E, is similarly happy to rake in large sums from growers using huge amounts of power to run their indoor grow lights and electric fans.

China nuclear

China says its nuclear weapons are only for a second strike, not for a first strike under any circumstances.

Mexico war on drugs

Article on the capture of a main drug king pin in Mexico.

Afghanistan Parliament

Supposedly the Afghan Parliament is becoming a reformist force... challenging Karzai.

Taliban

The Taliban are not dragged away from the insurgency, a new report says.

US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe

The US refuses to remove its tactical nukes from Europe.

Prompt Global Strike

The US is developing Prompt Global Strike, a system to launch missiles holding a massive conventional explosive on countries around the world.

This is dangerous as the Russians would not know if a missile launched towards them is nuclear or conventional.

The US is also testing the Falcon, a plane in space, that is part of the PGS.

Iran sanctions

The House passed a bill to impose sanctions on Iran.
The sanctions would seek to penalize companies that do business with Iran's energy sector or that assist the Islamic Republic in importing gasoline. It would ban these companies from having access to the lucrative U.S. market.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said "Iran is a festering sore on the world."

There is also a report from the GAO.

Pakistan tribal areas

Patrick Cockburn describes the NWFP's struggle between the Taliban and Pakistani military.

Plan Mexico

A 2007 article that estimated that $10 billion in drugs money from Mexico end up being laundered in US banks each year.

Russia helps India and Pak on nuclear field

Russia (and the US) are helping India develop its nuclear energy sector. So they are both proliferators while signing agreements pretending to be counterproliferation.

Drugs in Afghanistan, Mexico and Colombia

Vanda Felbab-Brown's testimony to Congress where she makes the case for rural development to reduce drugs. Basically the policy she is advocating is to have more development and better governance in countries where drugs are produced.
Her piece is also an evaluation of Obama's drugs policy. Although she says that "since the Office of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has not yet released a statement outlining its overall counternarcotics strategy, I will rely on other official documents, such as the congressional testimonies by Director of ONDCP, Mr. Gil Kerlikowske, the budgetary request by the Obama Administration, and newspaper commentaries on proposed counternarcotics strategies."

There is also a link to a report that evaluates Plan Colombia.

Emergency in Afghanistan

Excellent article relating how the arrest of Emergency workers in Helmand was orchestrated by the Afghan government with NATO support to discredit Emergency, which the Italian government also tries to discredit.

Rape in Afghanistan post 9-11

Militias and fighters affiliated with Dostum and Mohaqiq killed and raped Pashtuns in the wake of the invasion, and are now in parliament.

Iraq reconstruction fraud

Hundreds of millions of dollars of suspicious contracts in Iraqi reconstruction have been detected.

BRIC and IBSA nations oppose Iran sanctions

Article by Varadarajan here.

Also, Iran has projects to upgrade 7 refineries:
Iran is seeking foreign and domestic partners to invest 28.2 billion euros ($39 billion) and raise refining capacity, Aminollah Eskandari, an official at National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Co., said this week. It has planned seven refinery projects with total capacity of 1.56 million barrels a day, according to a document prepared by Eskandari for a presentation yesterday.

There are also 10 projects to upgrade seven existing refineries. Completion of these projects, slated for the end of 2012, will allow Iran to expand its regular gasoline production capacity to 96,800 kiloliters a day from the 58,000 kiloliters, according to the document.

Nor is Iran lacking for customers. A Swiss company just signed a deal worth $13 billion to import Iranian natural gas over the next 25 years. As for financial sanctions, so far Iran is evading them through banking partners in the United Arab Emirates, and Iran and Venezuela have two joint banks. These measures provide Iran with a back door, allowing it to mitigate the effects of financial sanctions.

94% of Kandaharis want peace

An opinion survey of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province funded by the U.S. Army has revealed that 94 percent of respondents support negotiating with the Taliban over military confrontation with the insurgent group and 85 percent regard the Taliban as "our Afghan brothers."
Ninety-one percent of the respondents supported the convening of a "Loya Jirga," or "grand assembly" of leaders as a way of ending the conflict, with 54 percent "strongly" supporting it, and 37 percent "somewhat" supporting it. That figure appears to reflect support for President Karzai’s proposal for a "peace Jirga" in which the Taliban would be invited to participate.

Bagram and Guantanamo

Article on Bagram and Guantanamo.

Obama cuts democracy funds to Egypt, Jordan

Obama cuts funds for democracy to allies.

US military spending beyond $1 trillion

Robert Higgs adds items that are not normally considered in the Pentagon budget and finds that US military spending is over $1 trillion a year:

The grand total comes to $1,027.8 billion, which is 61.5 percent greater than the Pentagon’s outlays alone.

Economic pressure on Iran

Several countries like Japan, China and India have cut oil imports from Iran, and other countries have stopped selling gasoline to Iran, as a result of US pressure.
Also, the article notes that:
European banks have received a simple message: they can either trade with Iran, or with the United States, not both.

Kyrgyzstan

Good article on US air base at Manas and the new government in Kyrgyzstan.

Afghans don't like government nor Taliban

In Kandahar, a tribal leader says 10% are with the government, 10% with the Taliban, and 80% with neither: "The Americans are bombing innocent civilians and the Taliban are killing Afghan civilians with their suicide attacks."

The mayor of Kandahar explained:

Hamidi (mayor) blames the situation on a decision by the Bush administration to forge alliances with anti-Taliban warlords in various parts of Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion. Empowering the warlords weakened President Hamid Karzai's government, which in turn was unable to address problems outside the capital — including the tribal imbalance in Kandahar.

"It was the international community that went to the warlords after the Taliban and brought them back," the mayor said. "And this is the result."

contractors

Contractors outnumber military personnel in afghanistan.

Iraqi refugees in Syria

Article on the Iraqi refugees in Syria.

Iran energy

Iran is having a hard time selling its oil; one factor could be political pressure by the US on allies not to buy Iranian crude.
Also, Malaysia's Petronas has stopped selling gasoline to Iran, as a result of US pressure.

Canada torture Afghanistan

Article about an Afghan-Canadian translator who saw that Canadian troops would send detainees to Afghan forces for interrogation "Afghan style".

Internally displaced in Afghanistan

A report estimates at 240,000 the number of IDPs in Afghanistan due to armed conflict (plus 89,000 due to natural disasters), together with almost 3 million refugees in Pakistan and Iran (since 2002, 5.2 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran).

US military expanding in Latin America

Article on recent agreements with Peru and Brazil.

Cannabis in Afghanistan

Article on cannabis in Afghanistan, in which Costa again links the drug to the Taliban.

Marjah reconstruction slow

Locals in Marjah say the Taliban still come at night and reconstruction aid is slow in coming.

obama nuclear summit

Good summary of obama's nuclear summit.

Diem and Karzai

Alfred McCoy compares Diem and Karzai:

In the experiences of both Ngo Dinh Diem and Hamid Karzai lurks a self-defeating pattern common to Washington's alliances with dictators throughout the Third World, then and now. Selected and often installed in office by Washington, or at least backed by massive American military aid, these client figures become desperately dependent, even as they fail to implement the sorts of reforms that might enable them to build an independent political base. Torn between pleasing their foreign patrons or their own people, they wind up pleasing neither. As opposition to their rule grows, a downward spiral of repression and corruption often ends in collapse; while, for all its power, Washington descends into frustration and despair, unable to force its allies to adopt reforms which might allow them to survive. Such a collapse is a major crisis for the White House, but often -- Diem’s case is obviously an exception -- little more than an airplane ride into exile for the local autocrat or dictator.

There was -- and is -- a fundamental structural flaw in any American alliance with these autocrats. Inherent in these unequal alliances is a peculiar dynamic that makes the eventual collapse of such American-anointed leaders almost inevitable. At the outset, Washington selects a client who seems pliant enough to do its bidding. Such a client, in turn, opts for Washington’s support not because he is strong, but precisely because he needs foreign patronage to gain and hold office.

Once installed, the client, no matter how reluctant, has little choice but to make Washington’s demands his top priority, investing his slender political resources in placating foreign envoys. Responding to an American political agenda on civil and military matters, these autocrats often fail to devote sufficient energy, attention, and resources to cultivating a following; Diem found himself isolated in his Saigon palace, while Karzai has become a “president” justly, if derisively, nicknamed “the mayor of Kabul.” Caught between the demands of a powerful foreign patron and countervailing local needs and desires, both leaders let guerrillas capture the countryside, while struggling uncomfortably, and in the end angrily, as well as resentfully, in the foreign embrace.

Nuclear summit

Good article on Obama's nuclear summit to prevent nuclear terrorism.

Obama's nuclear summit

A summary article with a good map of Obama's nuclear summit.

Impunity in Afghanistan

President Hamid Karzai has refused to extend an action plan for transitional justice which expired in March 2009 but failed to achieve most of its targets, according to human rights groups.

The Peace, Reconciliation and Justice Action Plan (PRJAP) - widely known as transitional justice - was endorsed by the Afghan government and international community in 2005 as a roadmap for addressing past human rights violations.

Iran sanctions nuclear

A good example of picturing those who are against sanctions on Iran as the outliers, whereas in fact it is the opposite:

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, sought to play down reports of continuing Chinese resistance. "I don't believe that China wants to find itself isolated in the international community when it comes to Iran," he told reporters.

Israel and NPT

Obama said Israel should join the NPT, but of course this means nothing as the US protects Israel in not joining it.

Indo-US nuclear deal

Article here on the reprocessing of US-supplied nuclear fuel to India. It further entrenches the 2008 US-Indo nuclear deal.
And another good detailed one here.
And a shorter one here.

There is also here a good Q&A on the deal.

Taxes and war

National Priorities Project on how much tax you spent since 2001 on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: about $8,000.

Missile Defense

Good article on Obama's updated plans for missile defense, bringing in Romania and possibly other countries in Southern Europe.
See also this BBC summary.

New START

A few very good articles on the New START Treaty by Kristensen and again here and by Podvig. There are also good ones by Arms Control Association here and here.

Canada empowers warlords in Afghanistan

Excellent article on Canada's role in Afghanistan. The article details how Canadian forces supported Kandahar's governor even though his militias were involved in torture etc. The article even has evidence that Canadian forces paid $12,000 to the governor's armed brigade, notorious for torture.

Mexico drug war

Article on the drug war in mexico.

Nuclear Posture Review

Article on NPR and new warheads.

Guinea-Bissau and drugs

Article here.

Israel nuclear weapons

Article detailing what we think Israel has in terms of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles.

Iraq killings

Good article showing the US military used children as human shields in Iraq, shot on anything that moved, etc. They also would carry shovels and old guns to plant them next to people they killed if they turned out to be civilians to protect themselves from reprisals.

Nuclear matters

The New START has been signed in Prague on 8 April 2010. There is a diagram here of the proposed reductions.

Good:


Bad:
-the treaty does not limit any current or planned U.S. missile defenses, also noted here and here and here.
-The treaty doesn't call for the destruction of one single warhead; excess warheads are simply stored and, theoretically, could be redeployed.


Other implications:
-Some have argued that new START will increase pressure on Iran because it shows that Russia and the US are united and Russia will go along the international community; also it shows that now Iran can't pretend it is unfair to ask them to come clean since the superpowers have shown they are dedicated to eliminating their arsenals.
This is not a very good argument but it will be made in the mainstream.




Also, a new Nuclear Posture Review has been adopted by the Obama administration.

Key clauses:
-"The United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and in compliance with their nuclear nonproliferation obligations."
Basically the US reserves the right of using nuclear weapons against Iran. A good analysis of the NPR is here and another one is here.

In other words, the NPR says that while the primary purpose of America’s nuclear arsenal is to deter nuclear use against the United States and its allies, deterrence is not its only purpose. More specifically, the Administration will reserve the prerogative for the United States to use nuclear weapons first, at its discretion, against non-nuclear-weapons states that are not, in Washington’s view, in full compliance with their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Bad:
-No pledge of "no first use"
-Keeps targeting Iran and NK with nuclear weapons.
-Keeps about 200 tactical nuclear weapons in 5 European countries.


a 10 percent increase in the administration’s funding request for nuclear weapons infrastructure modernization

Two good articles are here and here.

India drones

India wants to buy attack drones from the US or Israel.

Mexico drug war

Article on the drug war in Mexico. With a link to the National Drug Threat Assessment 2010.

And another article on Mexico's drug war.

Pakistan

An article in ATimes surveying events in Pakistan over the last few years.

Afghanistan drugs

The Us is going soft on drug reduction efforts in Afghanistan, concentrating instead on winning hearts and minds. They're not winning much their either.

Iran sanctions nuclear

Lukoil, the Russian energy company, will not supply gasoline to Iran anymore; Lukoil has significant involvement in the US (gas stations for example) and their stoppage with Iran is the result of US pressure.

Iraq elections

Good article by Moubayed on the Iraqi elections.

US Afghanistan killings

Glenn Greenwald on the US killings of civilians and pregnant women.

Obama nuclear doctrine to target Iran, NK

Under Obama's Nuclear Posture Review, the administration will foreswear the use of the deadly weapons against nonnuclear countries, officials said, in contrast to previous administrations, which indicated they might use nuclear arms against nonnuclear states in retaliation for a biological or chemical attack.

But Obama included a major caveat: The countries must be in compliance with their nonproliferation obligations under international treaties. That loophole would mean Iran would remain on the potential target list.

The new policy will also describe the purpose of U.S. weapons as being fundamentally for deterrence. Some Democratic legislators had urged Obama to go further and declare that the United States would not use nuclear weapons first in a conflict. But officials in the Defense and State departments worried that such a change could unnerve allies protected by the U.S. nuclear "umbrella."

The nuclear review calls for major new investments in nuclear weapons laboratories and facilities to maintain the aging arsenal. Administration officials have argued that such investments would allow for more confidence in the the stockpile's effectiveness and would eventually allow cuts in excess weapons.

But the budget increase has raised eyebrows among some arms-control experts. They worry that it sends a signal that the U.S. nuclear complex will be around for decades.

A major topic of debate in the review was whether to develop a new warhead, and how much refurbishing of old warheads would turn them into "new" weapons. Last year, Congress said that future "life extension programs" for warheads should be examined on a case-by-case basis and that any changes should be limited to keeping current capabilities.

Many nuclear analysts think the review will not call for any immediate changes in the package of nuclear warheads now going through the life-extension program. Rather, it will leave that open as a future option.

Stephen Young, a senior analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: "The administration will make the right choice not to develop a new nuclear warhead now, but they will leave the door open to that option, essentially kicking that can down the road. Our concern is some people will want to walk through that door very soon, when the science says it isn't required."

The NYT also has an article on the NPR.

Turkey Iran nuclear

Turkey's role in the Iran nuclear crisis.

Obama like Bush on State Secrets

Obama keeps doing what Bush was doing by blocking lawsuits against the government by groups who had been illegally wiretapped, invoking "state secrets".

An update here.

Drone strikes legality

Jim Lobe on the legality and illegality of drone strikes.

Iran nuclear

Varadarajan has a good post on the nuclear swap with Iran.

Night raids in Afghanistan

Gareth Porter on US/NATO night raids in Afghanistan.

Two moves by McChrystal last year reveal his strong commitment to night raids as a tactic. After becoming commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United States forces last May, he approved a more than four-fold increase in those operations, from 20 in May to 90 in November, according to a December 16 report in the Los Angeles Times. One of McChrystal's spokesmen, Tadd Sholtis, acknowledged to IPS that the jump in number of night raids reflected McChrystal's guidance.

As a result of McChrystal's decisions, civilian deaths from night raids have spiked, even as those from air strikes were being reduced. Night raids caused more than half of the nearly 600 civilian deaths attributable to coalition forces in 2009, according to United Nations and Afghan government estimates,.

Karzai alienated

Article about Karzai, the ISI, US, etc.

Obama should realize that Karzai does not visualize the Americans as his enemy, as is often being projected naively by correspondents for the Western media . Nor is Karzai irrational in striving for reconciliation. He has no reason to torpedo Obama's policy or to "spite" the US, as interpreted recently by a Washington Post correspondent.

Karzai is an able politician with acute survival instincts, and he is not a woolly headed romantic who fancies that he can get away with strategic defiance of the US, which has staked its global prestige and that of the entire Western alliance in the war in the Hindu Kush.

Obama should distinguish that it is the ISI and the Pakistani military whom Karzai (and the "warlords") considers to be his adversaries. His frustration is that the Americans are either far too naive to comprehend what is going on or are dissimulating since they are pursuing some "hidden agenda" in relation to the geopolitics of the region.


These are all good enough reasons why Karzai is keen to shore up Iranian support. But Karzai has no reason to conspire with the Iranians against the US. His first option will always be that the US reposes confidence in him and allows him to negotiate a national reconciliation.

Nor is Tehran unaware that Karzai's first preference will always be to work with the Americans. If Tehran has still opted to work with Karzai, that is because he has been an exceptionally good neighbor and, even during the period when he might have been an American "puppet", he never acted in a hostile manner against Iranian interests, instead welcoming Iran's participation in the Afghan reconstruction.

Afghanistan drugs

The UNODC says that Afghanistan is the world's biggest producer of hashish.

The report is here and the press release here.

An article on the geopolitics of Afghan hashish is here with some information about its history.

In related news, there was a bust of precursor (acetic anhydride, used in heroin production) in Pakistan in which UNODC was involved.

Iran nuclear

Greenwald on the Iranian nuclear crisis.