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This blog is the work of an educated civilian, not of an expert in the fields discussed.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

The True Killer



Just to keep things in perspective:
An estimated 25 times as many Afghan citizens die every year as a result of hunger and poverty than from violence, according to a United Nations Security Council report. And as winter descends on the country, experts say, the death rate is bound to shoot up even further. ....

The severe poverty is one of the reasons people go to fight for the Taliban, where they can earn the relatively large sum of $100 a month, Levitt said. The same pressure motivates farmers to grow opium, which earns them four times what they would earn growing wheat.

More here. Related concerns provide support for other organizations that attack those people we like.