European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 27, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 stars and stripes june 2007 gop senators surge int working influential lawmakers defy Calls for to limit role in Iraq by Anne Flaherty the associated press Washington George Voinovich said tuesday that the should begin pulling troops out of Iraq and bolster diplomatic becoming the second re publican lawmaker in two Days to declare president Bush War strategy a its in their Best interest to be come part of the solution instead of sitting on the the Ohio senator said of the iraqi peo i dont think get it until they know were Voinovich remarks come on the heels of similar comments by Richard the two gop senators previously had expressed concerns about Bush decision to Send extra troops to Iraq in a massive Secu Rity push in Baghdad and Anbar but they had stopped Short of say ing troops should leave and declined to Back democratic legis lation setting a deadline for troop Lugar and Voinovich said they Are still not ready to insist on a timetable for but they both made it Clear their patience is Lugar Voinovich said he was present ing his proposal for a Way out of Iraq in a letter to the slated for release later once Iraq neighbors know we Are genuinely i think All of a sudden the fear of god will descend upon them and weve got to get involved in this he it cant be something that is but i do believe that it should be enough so that people know we Are indeed disengage Voinovich the loss of gop support for the presidents strategy is democrats still May not be Able to push through legislation de manding an end Date to the but softer alternative proposals Are in the works that could still Challenge after the fourth of july youll be hearing a number of statements from other Republican predicted John a longtime septic of the War spokesman John Ullyot said Warner is drafting a legislative proposal on the but he declined to discuss the the measure Likely would be offered As an amendment to the 2008 de sense authorization Bill on the floor next the White House on tuesday appealed to lawmakers for More patience on the War in we Hope that members of the House and Senate will give the Baghdad Security plan a Chance to said White House spokesman Tony Musa Deq an afghan boy looks at a Flower in full Bloom in poppy Fields in the Rhoda District of Nang arhar East of in Afghanistan produced dramatically More opium in a report said afghan opium production is up 50 percent by Veronika Oleksyn the associated press Austria Afghani Stan produced dramatically More opium in increasing its yield by roughly 49 percent from a year earlier and pushing global opium production to a new record a report said opium production in Afghani Stan increased from metric tons in 2005 to metric tons in according to the 2007 world drug report released by the Vienna based United nations office on drugs and opium is the main ingredient for in Afghanistan accounted for 92 percent of global illicit opium up from 70 per cent in 2000 and 52 percent a de Cade the higher yields in Afghanistan have brought global opium production to a new record High of metric tons in a 43 percent increase Over the area under opium poppy cultivation in the country also sex from acres in to acres in 2006 an increase of about 59 this is the largest area under opium poppy cultivation Ever re corded in the re port noting that 62 percent of the cultivation was concentrated in the country Southern re Antonio Maria executive director of the drug warned that Afghanistan insure Genc plagued Helmand province was becoming the worlds biggest drug with illicit cultivation there larger than in the rest of the country put effective surgery on Hel mands drug and insurgency can cer will rid the world of the most dangerous source of its most dangerous narcotic and go a Long Way to bringing Security to the re Costa Early indications suggest Afghanistan could see a further in crease in opium production in the report developments in Afghanistan will continue to determine the lev Els of global opium the report an increase in Afghanistan opium cultivation in 2006 offset the sixth straight year of decline in opium cultivation in Southeast the annual report also found that the trafficking and consumption of other illicit drugs have largely stabilized Glo Bally and that the estimated level of global drug use has remained More or less unchanged for the third year in a approximately 200 million peo ple or 5 percent of the worlds population aged Between 15 and 64 used drugs at least once in the previous 12 it troops destroy boats on Tigris by Kim Gamel the associated press Jiser Iraq newly arrived troops Southeast of Baghdad Are destroying boats on the Tigris River and targeting net works believed to be bringing powerful Roadside bombs from Iran As the military cracks Down on extremists from All military officials but a top commander warned on monday that three or four times More iraqi Security forces Are needed to sustain the Progress in Clearing the area and staunching the flow of arms and makeshift bombs into the Rick whose command covers the Southern rim of Baghdad and mostly shiite areas to the said the reinforcements who arrived As part of a troop buildup have had Success in rooting out militants from their sanctuaries and preventing them from fleeing the area in an opera Tion called Marne Torch one of a quartet of offensives in the Capi Tal and surrounding All along the Tigris River Val people knew this is where the sunni extremists were storing my training for building less to take them into he referring to improvised explosive the term the military uses for Road Side they just didst have the reach to get Down now with the surge brigades Treyve got the but the Issue is we cant stay Here and theres gotta be a persistent pres ence and that gotta be iraqi Security and that always our biggest he said while visiting troops from the 3rd infantry divisions 3rd brigade combat team at a patrol base on the Southeastern Edge of Lynch said his units had been successful in preventing the Mili Tants from fleeing the area ahead of the offensive and Overall detained 150 including at least 30 High value targets most from the Rural Arab Dubour area just South of the in the past they had exit routes so they saw the operation he what we did is establish blocking positions All around Arab Dubour so the enemy leave but they had to stay and fight and As a re sult to either die or be the brigade Wayne Grigsby said 21 boats had been destroyed on the River and in the Reeds on the Banks since the operation began in Force on june most with secondary blasts indicating Many were filled with explosive Materi he also said the military had gained intelligence from a local Sheik about networks bringing armo penetrating explosively formed known As on a major Road that trav Els from the Border with Iran through shiite areas to
