Afghan Poppy Plan Roundup: Mixed Messages from the Mainstream -- Poppies.org

It looks like with Dubya's second unnanounced trip to Afghanistan, the mainstream US and UK media has picked up on Harmed Karzai's opium poppy eradication plan.

The messages coming out of the various news outlets are mixed -- so don't step too close or the spin will make you dizzy. ABC News tells us in an in-depth report that Opium production is booming in a "free" Afghanistan. Over at the BBC it's the same story with a completely different interpretation, as the US says Afghan poppy farming down. This is the same congressional report you guys are supposedly working from, so which is it -- boom or bust, success or failure?

The Washington Post tries to keep things as boring as possible with the stats-laden report Afghan drugs trade still a major threat, while the Houston Chronical takes a more pessimistic view with Afghan Opium stymies US efforts. So where does the truth lie? Well why not just read the damn thing for yourself and make up your own mind, because it looks like all the mainstream outlets have to say is just the same-old status quo.

Drug WarRant has some interesting commentary on the south-american stats in the report.