I see now that the US is talking about spraying herbicides on the Afghan Poppy fields as well. There's nothing like taking away someone's livelihood, making their fields infertile and giving their families cancer to win over their "hearts and minds" is there?

I've got to tell you, I'm a firm supporter of Canada's role in Afghanistan right now... we're not like the Germans or the French with their "caveats" - we're right in the thick of it in Kandahar. I've even kept up my support for the effort there when America's emphasis shifted to Iraq (Geez, you guys were the ones attacked - why should we care more about Afghanistan than you do?). But if the Americans start taking us down this road, I'm going to have to change my mind on this. I think it'll be high time for us to get the hell out of there. We can't fight a war if our own allies are going to sabotage the effort behind our backs.

The US Administration needs to grab a clue here... the Soviets tried spraying the poppy fields too, and all it did is drive more and more of the rural population into the Mujahadeen. More money for reconstruction and rebuilding is a great and good thing... more power to you! But if you're going to put it into some Agent Orange-redux, well, you can stuff it!