Plowing Over the Taliban

[Dayuhan]

As William Owen's article 'Killing Your Way to Control" has indeed been debated at length over at the SWJ Blog, let's bring the discussion back to the matter of this post, and the proposition (or is it question) that LtCol Haston has posed here.

We're getting a bit into the stratosphere with the discussion.

Valid point. When I first read this from the OP...

My boss added that subsidizing soybeans would deny them the cornfields as cover.

... a few questions came to mind.

Do Afghans eat soybeans? Is there any market for soybeans? Would the US have to buy and export the soybeans, then import corn to substitute for the corn that had been displaced by the soybeans (assuming that it's grown for local consumption)?

That of course is just the beginning. In traditional agricultural societies farming habits are deeply entrenched and an integral part of community practice and identity. Changing them, especially by decree, is not easy and will generate resistance. I think it's a little optimistic to conclude that "the farmers would love us". Drop into almost any farming area, anywhere, and tell the locals that you've decided what they're going to grow and how, and see how much love you get.

In short, it's really easy to fly over a place in a helicopter, look down, and conclude that what you're doing would be a lot easier if everybody down there was planting soybeans instead of corn and there were no canals or hedgerows. Those observations are of course correct: it would be a lot easier if everybody down there was planting soybeans instead of corn and there were no canals or hedgerows. Actually making such a thing happen is a long way from easy, especially if you're not governing the place, you don't have dictatorial powers, and you're even vaguely concerned about getting along with the people doing the farming.