No Root, No Weed, No Problem

8/25/01 - During the Vietnam War the U.S. Government utilized Agent Orange to destroy vegetation, and likewise, the Drug War has found an ally in Roundup Ultra, big brother of the popular backyard weed killa. Whereas Agent Orange was used to destroy foliage to reveal the enemy, now the vegetation itself, the coca plant, is the enemy. 100 years from now, historians will be laughing their balls off.

Akin to the frustration of swatting at a pesky fly, the U.S. remains persistent in it's war on plants with "Plan Colombia". The Bush Administration wants to increase the number of private contractors in Colombia beyond the current

Read the 19-page instructions for use, including the proper usage when spraying from aircraft. Aggressive and ludicrous foreign government spraying you and your family? Here's the Material Safety Data Sheet for Roundup Ultra, and cure yourself!

maximum of 300. And, another $676 million. Maybe a few more Blackhawks for their government.

$1.3 billion has been spent thus far in 2001, with over 100,000 acres sprayed, displacing 40,000+ folks, and killing whatever else lives within the range of the coca fields. When sprayed at altitudes high enough to avoid ground-based gunfire, coverage reaches far beyond the bounds of the coca.

And the "progress" to date? Backwards. In reviewing effectiveness of the Roundup spraying for calendar year 1998, it was estimated that the number of acres used for coca cultivation in Colombia actually increased. Total over five years: half a million acres sprayed, while the area under coca cultivation has increased three-fold. To be continued, I'm sure...