guest_writer 0 2005-04-14T00:00:00Z It was the first day of Afghanistan's new opium eradication programme and the quiet town of Maiwand in Kandahar province had been chosen for action. Hundreds of Afghan eradicators under the command of American private security contractors were going to head into the fields around the town and destroy the beautiful red and white blooms days before they could be harvested for their narcotic s... Nick 42346 false false false false 2005-04-14T00:00:00Z Meo 7644 6479 0 1 Afghan Opium us-mercenaries-spill-blood-over-afghan-opium-by-nick-meo US Mercenaries Spill Blood Over Afghan Opium 2009-09-25T05:31:24Z 12203