In one of America's current great crusades, the war on drugs, amphetamines and their users are key enemies. In our other great crusade, the war on terrorism, amphetamines are our friends. DEA head Asa Hutchinson is in the middle of a month's long, 30-state "Meth Tour 2002," where he regularly portrays amphetamines as a substance akin to a radioactive material -- something inherently dangerous and deadly -- and stumps for ever more laws and ever more funding to fight the "meth menace." But even as Hutchinson is mounting the stump to rail against the evils of speed, US fighter pilots are tweaking their brains out in the skies over Afghanistan -- and you better believe you didn't read about it in the US press. No, it was the Canadians, understandably upset after those American fighter pilots blasted four Canadian soldiers to smithereens back in April. In an August 1st story, the Toronto Star reported the details on amphetamine use in the US Air Force. US fighter pilots, who have been involved in at least 10 other "friendly fire" or mistaken attack incidents, are regularly given the amphetamine Dexedrine (or "go-pills," as the pilots call them) to fly longer hours, the Star reported. When they return from their missions, Air Force doctors give them sedatives, such as Ambien (zolpidem) and Restoril (temazepam). The pilots call these "no-go pills," the Star reported. And when it's time to roll again, it's time for more "go pills." The Star obtained a copy of a document produced by the Top Gun fighter school and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, FL, that outlines the drugs pilots are given and how they are administered. According to the document, "Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations," the pilots are given Dexedrine in 10 milligram doses and are allowed to carry their own supplies with them in the cockpit. An Air Force spokeswoman, Betty Ann Mauger, confirmed to the Star that the Air Force is feeding speed to its pilots. "When fatigue could be expected to degrade air crew performance, they are given Dexedrine in 10 milligram doses," she said. It is unclear if Harry Schmidt, the Illinois Air National Guard pilot who fired the missile that killed the Canadian soldiers, was on speed, but the thought certainly occurred to defense analyst John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington, DC, defense think-tank. "Better bombing through chemistry," Pike told the Star. "This was certainly one of my first thoughts after the Canadian friendly fire incident. The initial depiction made it seem as if the pilot was behaving in an unusually aggressive fashion." Schmidt's lawyer, Charles Gittins, told the Star he wasn't sure if Schmidt was taking Dexedrine the night of the incident. "I don't know the answer," he said. "I've never asked my pilot if he was medicated, but it is quite common. I'll check with him," Gittins told the Star. While tweaked-out fighter pilots may not make the news in the US, the use of amphetamines in the US military has a long if not glorious history. "I don't think anyone even knows about this," Pike told the Star. "The aviation community and the Air Force community certainly don't like to talk about so-called 'performance enhancing' drugs." But that doesn't mean the armed forces don't make liberal use of them. According to the Top Gun document obtained by the Star, an anonymous survey of Desert Storm fighter pilots found that 60% used Dexedrine, with that figure climbing to 95% among the most active units. And retired Col. Richard Graham of Plano, TX, who logged over 200 combat missions in Vietnam, told the Star that Dexedrine use was "routine" among pilots in that war. The Star also reported that pilots are coerced into using amphetamines. Pilots are tested for drug tolerance, then asked to sign a consent form. "It has been explained to me and I understand that the US FDA had not approved the use of Dexedrine to manage fatigue... and I further understand that the decision to take the medication is mine alone." But later on in the same consent form, pilots are informed that there are serious consequences to not taking the drug. "Should I choose not to take it under circumstances where its use appears indicated... my commander, upon advice of the flight surgeon, may determine whether or not I should be considered unfit to fly a mission." Let's see if we can get this straight: In one war, American fighting men and women are punished for not taking amphetamines, while in another holy war, American citizens are imprisoned for taking amphetamines. Hutchinson and his boys are busy kicking down doors looking for meth labs across the land, but don't hold your breath waiting for the DEA to declare war on the Air Force tweakers. Apparently, some amphetamines are more equal than others.
「アフガニスタン空爆、今も癒えぬ心の傷 」
アメリカで起きた同時多発テロ事件を受けたアフガニスタンへの空爆開始から、７日でちょうど１年になります。テロの殲滅(せんめつ)を掲げた空爆でしたが誤爆も相次ぎ、アフガニスタンの人達の心には今も大きな傷を残っています。
巨大な穴に飛び込んで遊ぶ無邪気な子供たち。アフガニスタンのカブール郊外にあるこの家庭では、見慣れた光景になりました。
「怖かったよ。爆弾で死ぬかと思った」（誤爆地点付近に住む少年）
実はこの穴は、今年1月のアメリカ軍の誤爆によるものでした。この家の周囲には、空爆の標的となるような軍の施設なども無く、アルカイダやタリバンとはまったく無関係の場所でした。
「子どもの心のケアが第一で、自分の仕事は後回しにしています。国が発展して、子どものケアを任せられる体制が整うとよいのですが」（誤爆地点付近に住む少年の母親）
建物の修復作業は進んでいますが、子供の心の傷の修復は大きな課題となっています。
カブール市郊外にあるアフガニスタン最大の孤児院では、タリバン政権の崩壊を経て、ようやく国の復興が進められている今、アフガニスタン人自らの手による子どもたちへの心のケアも始まろうとしています。この孤児院では、空爆などで親を失った子供達が生活し、医師から心のケアを受け始めています。
シェラガ君12歳。彼は今からちょうど1年前の10月、始まったばかりのアメリカ軍の空爆で父親を失いました。空港施設を狙ったミサイルが、近くの父親の職場に着弾したのです。
「どうしても父親のことが忘れられないのです」（シェラガ君の担当医）
「お父さんは殺されました。その夜、お父さんの遺体は家に運ばれてきました」（シェラガ君）
シェラガ君のように、ここで生活する子供は1800人。 しかし、医師はたった2人しかいません。空爆から1年、国の再建を担う子供たち心の修復作業はまさにはじまったばかりです。から1年、国の再建を担う子供たち心の修復作業はまさにはじまったばかりです。
以上
同ニュースは同サイトにて映像でも見られます。
国連の査察団によるイラクへの核軍事施設の立ち入り調査をイラクが了解したにもかかわらず、アメリカは「イラクへの武力行使は不可避」の姿勢をとっています。もしこれでイラク攻撃が始まっても、アメリカはまた攻撃される側のイラク市民のことは報道しないでしょう。いや、政府が報道させません。フセイン＝悪の公式をふりかざし、そのためなら無実の市民が巻き添えになってもまったく構わないのです。「誤爆でした」で済ませるのです。謝りもしないのです。結果アフガニスタンのように、不幸な子供達、不幸な家族が増え、援助はすると言うにしても、このニュースを見れば、援助がなんなのか分からなくなります。
テロによる傷みを自ら知り、テロがいかに悪いものかを知ったのに、何故、小さな戦争(テロ)だけが悪く、大きな戦争は許されるのか？何故、絶えず敵を作っておきたいのか？私には理解に苦しみます。
今アメリカに住んでいる以上、アメリカの法律に従って生活する私達ですが、もし、日本や海外にもアンテナを張り、アメリカでは聞こえない、見えない真実に触れられるなら、どんなに小さくてもいいから、それを誰かに伝え、警鐘を鳴らすべきではないでしょうか。