Experts Criticize Counter-Narcotics Policy In Afghanistan, But Offer No Concrete Solution

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

In an effort to create a politically stable Afghanistan, the United States has attempted to combat the country’s notorious level of opium production with a counter-narcotics policy. However, Jonathan Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Melon, Mark A.R. Kleiman, a professor of public policy at UCLA, and researcher Jonathan Kulick recently released a report critiquing current policy, saying that the efforts aggravate the Afghan insurgency.

Addiction, corruption, insurgent and terrorist funding have all profited from the drug trade in Afghanistan, according to the report presented at United States Institute for Peace on Tuesday. Although opium production is concentrated to areas labelled as “insecure,” the Taliban is reportedly making millions of dollars from the industry. 

In 2009, the government policy switched focus from the complete eradication of opium crops to an increase in law enforcement and alternative development. 

Caulkins’ analysis critiqued the success of the current administration’s policy, but his report did not provide any alternatives or concrete recommendations for a counter-narcotics policy.

“I’m not an expert on Afghanistan across the board,” said Caulkins.

Caulkins, Kleiman and Kulick had differing opinions, but agreed that counter-narcotics efforts must be augmented and suggested that one solution might be the reorganization of enforcements with targeted areas could make corruption less rewarding and help address the problem.

However, the experts conceded that the issue is complex and that not much can be done as long as a demand for the product remains. 

The report states that even if a solution is found to the drug problem in Afghanistan, the production would be displaced to another country since international demand for opium is so high. Afghanistan currently produces nearly 90% of the world’s opium supply.

Sri Lankan Violence Against The UN Erupts

By Tala Dowlatshahi

Hundreds of protesters broke through police barricades Tuesday outside the UN office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Civilians are angered by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s call for an independent three person panel of experts to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan government during the final stages of war against Tamil Tiger separatists in May 2009. 

Some two-hundred UN personnel were trapped inside the compound when protesters broke through police lines. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said this afternoon:

“We have been contacting Sri Lankan officials at all levels as for the safety of staff. It has been clear visitors were blocked from entering the compound. As of now, all staff have been able to leave the offices.”

A massive opposition to the UN investigation is mounting.  A 118-member body calling themselves the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is leading the opposition. The group sent a letter of protest to the Secretary-General this week demanding a full stop to the investigation and citing the panel of experts would act “against the clearly expressed wished of the country concerned, and without any mandate from the (UN) Human Rights Council, the Security Council or the General Assembly.”

The protests this morning were led by the government including Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa. The group demanded the UN to end its probe and burned an effigy of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  Government officials allege that Ban Ki-Moon wants to force a break in the country’s current unification and path towards peace. 

The government has put the blame back on the Tamil Tigers, which it calls a terrorist organization that brutally tortured thousands for nearly three decades. The UN estimates some 7,000 people were killed in the final stages of fighting last May. 

Since the fighting ended, the international community including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to be open to an investigation which would allow for closure and ensure the government acted in an accountable and transparent manner.

Israel Has Compromised, So Should Palestine, Says Pro-Israel Analyst

By Brandon Kosters- Talk Radio News Service

Dr. Mitchell Bard, the Executive Director of the American-Israeli Cooperatvie Enterprise, told Talk Radio News that the focus of Tuesday’s meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama should be on “building confidence.”  He said that Obama should affirm that the U.S. will be “backing Israel in its movements towards making peace with the Palestinians.”

In Bard’s ideal scenario, the two leaders would emerge from the meeting “shoulder to shoulder, showing that the United States really remains a steadfast ally of Israel.”

Added Bard, “I think that will be important in sending the message to the Arab world that they are not going to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Israel.”

Bard said “Israel has already made significant concessions and it’s now time for the Arab states and the Palestinians to step up and sit at the table.”

Capitol Independence Day Concert Celebrates 30th Anniversary

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

As the nation prepares to celebrate its 234th birthday, PBS is gearing up for their 30th annual concert on the lawn of the United States Capitol. Jerry Colbert, executive producer of both concerts for Memorial Day and Independence Day aired on PBS is thrilled with this year’s star-studded line-up.

“[When] We started thirty years ago…we were really primitive,” Colbert said. “30 years later, we’ve got the best equipment, we have the fellas of the Academy Awards, the Grammys, the Tonys, and we are the number one performance show on PBS.”

In addition to the National Symphony Orchestra, music legend Gladys Knight, country music star Reba McEntire, country singer Darius Rucker, pop star David Archuleta, actor John Schneider and world famous pianist Lang Lang will be performing at Sunday night’s concert. 

The free concert will take place Sunday, July 4th from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the West Lawn of the Capitol. PBS will also broadcast the concert live.

125,000 Jobs Lost In June, But Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly

The monthly unemployment rate dropped slightly from 9.7 % to 9.5% in June, but the economy also shed 125,000 jobs, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The bureau attributed the lost jobs to the decline in Census 2010 employment. 225,000 Census taking positions and related temporary jobs were phased out last month.

The data also shows that the private sector added an additional 83,000 jobs in June, a circumstance that President Barack Obama trumpeted Friday.

“[The report] showed the six-straight month of job growth in the private sector,” Obama said during brief remarks at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. “We’re headed in the right direction.”

Although June’s unemployment rate is the lowest in nearly a year, the new numbers show that 14.6 million Americans continue to be out of work.