Afghan President Urges 'Holy War' on Drugs

 

By Michael Kitchen

At the opening of a two-day national conference on illegal drugs, President Hamid Karzai likened opium¹ cultivation² to the Soviet³ Union's occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s.

He said that just as Afghans had waged a holy struggle against the Soviets⁴, they should now do the same against the drug trade.

In the past year alone, the United Nations estimates that opium cultivation has jumped 64-percent, representing some two-thirds of Afghanistan's economy.

Mr. Karzai described the raising of opium poppies, used to make the illegal drug heroin⁵, as a dishonor to Afghanistan and a threat to its independence.

U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also attended the opening of the conference, promising⁶ 780-million dollars to educate Afghan farmers and help them switch to other crops.

Addressing the gathering⁷ in the local language, Dari, the ambassador said Afghanistan needs the help of the international community if it is to successfully deal with the drug problem.

What was lacking on the first day of the conference were details on the Afghan government's plan to roll back the production of opium and other illicit⁸ crops, such as marijuana.

The government is widely expected to present a package of anti-drug programs in the near future, and news reports say Mr. Karzai may create a separate cabinet ministry⁹ to deal with the issue.

The Karzai administration has come out in favor of crop substitution and strong law enforcement. But it has rejected suggestions that it spray herbicide on poppy fields, citing possible health consequences for those living nearby the fields.

注释：
Hamid Karzai 哈米德·卡尔扎伊（现任阿富汗总统）
opium 鸦片
cultivation 耕种
represent 表现
poppy [植] 罂粟
heroin 海洛因
switch 转换
illicit 违法的
marijuana [植] 大麻
herbicide 除草剂

1 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

2 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

5 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。