By Ralph McGehee
The U.N. said opium production in Afghanistan...was 4,600 metric tons in 1999, approximately 75 percent of worldwide illicit opium production. This doubles local opium demand and that of Western Europe and the U.S. combined. Sources 3/14/00.
But a New York Times article indicates that the decision to fight Drugs -- that is drugs in Colombia -- [not Afghanistan] is based on money.
(Money in Politics)....As reported in `The New York Times,' involves the Clinton adm's shift of policy on buying helicopters to use in the drug war in Colombia. Since 1996, it has [said] a rebuilt version of the Huey, would do nicely.
[But] a group of powerful congressional Republicans have almost an obsession" about sending the fancier Blackhawk helicopter, which costs five times as much...So for four years they've been fighting over this.
Now the White House...is prepared to buy 30 of the Blackhawk choppers at a cost of almost $400 million...How much have the makers of the Huey been contributing lately, and how much have the makers of the Blackhawk?
The Huey II is made by Bell Helicopter of Fort Worth, a subsidiary of Textron. The Blackhawk is made by United Technologies Corp. of Connecticut, and -- bingo -- United Technologies has been making big-time political contributions.
...in the 1996 and 1998 election cycle, Textron (the loser) gave $551,816 to Republicans and $364,000 to Democrats. However...United Technologies and its employees (the winner)...gave not only $362,000 to Republicans and $347,000 to Democrats, but also `twice' as much as Textron to the Democrats in soft money.
So now we know which company makes the better chopper.
...`narco-traficantes' will simply up their own firepower by buying surface-to-air missiles to shoot down the Blackhawks...but you can shoot down a Blackhawk with [only] a rocket-propelled grenade...Molly Irvins Worth Star-Telegram (TX) 3/7/00.
Ralph McGehee maintains the CIABASE web site: http://come.to/CIABASE