Poppies....POPPIES...

While we're all struggling to wrap our minds around how a city with 5 rocket-propelled grenade attacks, 6 roadside bombings and a suicide car bombing can be called "very good and safe" the very next day, maybe we should take a break and think about what's going on back at our FIRST ongoing war.

"The past year witnessed record levels of poppy cultivation in areas previously not used for this purpose," Peter Rodman, assistant defense secretary for international affairs, said at a congressional hearing…

"We know that profits from the production of illegal narcotics flow into the coffers of warlord militias, corrupt government officials and extremist forces," Rodman said in a written statement for the House International Relations Committee hearing on the Oct. 9 Afghan elections.

Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill (search)., criticized the administration for not moving faster against a drug trade that threatens efforts to build a stable Afghan government. "The drug lords are getting stronger faster than the Afghan authorities are being built up," he said.

I must say that I'm getting a little dizzy from hearing all of these "demons of the right" say things that agree with me. Buchannan, Hegel, Lugar, now friggin' Henry Hyde? (I'm beginning to think the strongest argument for dumping Bush is to prevent reality as we know if from imploding.)