Taliban drug labs targeted by B-52 strikes overnight – IOTW Report

Taliban drug labs targeted by B-52 strikes overnight

We Are The Mighty:

American aircraft have targeted drug producing facilities in Afghanistan for the first time under a new strategy aimed at cutting off Taliban funding, the top U.S. general in the country said Nov. 20.

Gen. John Nicholson said the raids were carried out Nov. 19 in the southern Helmand province, as part of the strategy unveiled by President Donald Trump in August. Afghan and American aircraft — including B-52 bombers dropping 2,000-pound bombs and F-22 attack planes — took part in the raids.

Marines with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, patrol through Musa Qaleh District, Afghanistan, April 17, 2012. During Operation Lariat, Marines engaged in multiple firefights with insurgents before searching suspicious compounds. (DOD Photo by Cpl. Kenneth Jasik)

Nicholson said the insurgents generate an estimated $200 million a year from poppy cultivation and opium production.

In a news conference with the Afghan army chief of staff, Nicholson said the Taliban were becoming a criminal organization. “They fight so that they can keep profiting from narcotics trade and other criminal activities,” he said. He added that there are 13 major drug trafficking organizations in Afghanistan, of which seven are in Helmand.

Afghanistan’s opium production has nearly doubled this year compared to 2016, while areas that are under poppy cultivation rose by 63 percent, according to a joint survey released last week by the United Nations and the Afghan government.

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18 Comments on Taliban drug labs targeted by B-52 strikes overnight

  1. When I was at Bearcat, there was a B-52 strike bout 15 or 20 clicks away, maybe further. We didn’t know about it beforehand, and I can remember thinking, “Damn – do they have earthquakes in Vietnam?”.

    That’s as close as I ever want to get to one of those.

  2. My son said the BUF was his favorite plane when he was a forward observer in Afghanistan. It could loiter all night long popping out 500 lb. guided bombs one at a time like a big ol PEZ dispenser.

  3. B-52’s maiden voyage was the year before I was born.

    You gotta be a brave individual to fly a plane that old.

    I had a tour of one (elementary school class trip) when my Dad was stationed at Ramstein (60-63).

    izlamo delenda est …

  4. I can hear the conversation today at the obongo Turkey Day table: “He’s destroying the right of the indigenous peoples of Afghanistan to self determination. He’s an imperialist! Pass the parsnips!”
    It’s nice to have a President once again.

  5. FYI: There are probably no original parts left on the B-52, to stay air worthy they must undergo inspection after each number of hours in the air. I think it’s about 750 but I am not sure. The engines are now Rolls-Royce engines, that give them better performance and greater range, use less fuel. they have the latest electronics equipment.

  6. Bombing doesn’t do much but plow the fields for them. It’s not permanent – they plant again right away. We need to make the fields useless for a long time. Are chemicals cheaper than bombs? I’m sure someone’s thought of it before, but even spraying fields with crude oil should make a difference.

  7. I HAVE A BETTER IDEA

    There is some plant in Australia that if you touch it, stings so bad you’ll want to cut your own arm off just to make it go away.

    Cover the plants in powder of that.

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