User Comments

1. 

   6/26/09

   polybore

   Afghanistan produces 90%, yes ninety percent, of the WORLDS heroin. In fact for the last few years Afganistan has never produced more Heroin.
   
   One might think that having dedicated yourself to the war on drugs you would want to go.

   [reply]
   1. 

      6/27/09

      Agit8r

      "...dedicated yourself to the war on drugs..."
      
      my guess is these guys view this as a JOB, not a calling, or they wouldn't be b!tching about it
   2. 

      6/27/09

      anticsrocks

      That's not really a fair statement to make, Agit8r. I mean these guys have done their part for kin and country. And to force them to go into combat zones, I mean it really isn't what they signed up for. If it were, they would be wearing an Army uniform.
      
      From the cited article...
      
      "Veteran DEA pilot Daniel Offield has alleged in an employment discrimination complaint he was told if he refuses to go to Afghanistan in July he'll be demoted. The Stockton, Calif., agent asked for a reprieve because he was in the process of adopting two special-needs children and offered to serve his required temporary duty in other countries.
      
      Another agent, David Beavers, told McClatchy Newspapers that he was ordered in July 2007 to prepare to go to Afghanistan in two weeks while he was on bereavement leave after his mother-in-law died. To avoid going, the Orlando, Fla., pilot decided to retire early.
      
      Both men have flown for the DEA in Latin American countries wracked by drug violence, but they say service in a combat zone should be treated as voluntary because they're not military personnel.
      
      "You could say that the war on drugs is dangerous," said Beavers, a DEA pilot for more than 20 years. "But it's not quite like Afghanistan, where you can get your legs blown off by an (improvised explosive device)."
      
      It sounds to me like another example of a Presidential administration that doesn't either know enough or care enough to try and utilize their "letter agencies," (CIA, FBI, DEA, etc...) to their full extent. Obama has an inherent bias towards these guys and his attitude will be reflected in the people he appoints to head the agencies. I was initially against Leon Panetta, but he seems to be the only one that is standing up to Obama.
2. 

   6/27/09

   Agit8r

   perhaps that came off wrong cause I was responding irritatedly. I'm actually with the DEA guys on this one. If I was in that line of work I would be saying the same thing, "I signed up for this JOB, but it isn't my whole life"
   
   Then again I'm not a strong believer in the "War on Drugs" so maybe I'm unqualified to speculate.

   [reply]
   1. 

      6/27/09

      anticsrocks

      Fair enough. I always know that when called on something, if you see it came out wrong, or etc..., you always are a gentleman about the whole thing - unlike some other clowns on here.
      
      When I am wrong about something, I always admit it. That is the only honorable thing to do. So thank you for being classy.
3. 

   6/27/09

   polybore

   Actually it seems they don't have to worry about being sent to Afghanistan any more as the US policy of opium eradication is finished.
   
   www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSLR12716720090627?feedType=RSS&feedName=...

   [reply]