As the war on terrorism continues, scientists work diligently to understand its causes and possible solutions. USM Assistant Professor of Geography Michael K. Steinberg is one seeking those answers.
Steinberg attended and spoke at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston last month. The theme of the convention was how science can best respond to terrorism and help solve the root causes. Steinberg’s address was titled “Afghanistan’s Harvest of Violence: Opium Poppies, Rural Development and Civil War.”
“Science is a big arena, and it plays two different parts in terrorism,” Steinberg said.
He said chemical science takes the medical standpoint, which is complex.
“This can have a very negative effect on terrorism, it can equip people with the knowledge to destroy things,” he said.
However, chemical science also provides the country with the ability to defend itself against chemical warfare, Steinberg said.
The other perspective that science takes is Steinberg’s specialty, social science.
He analyzes diverse cultures, studying why they do the things they do.
“Through social science we can help people better understand how different cultures work and break down barriers,” Steinberg said.
Understanding a certain culture helps create a broad idea of the causes of their problems, he said.
Since Sept. 11, researchers say drug production in countries like Afghanistan and Columbia have grown. The war on terrorism is now closely related to the war on drugs, Steinberg said.
Drug plant production has led to terrorism in many ways, and is a big supporter of the governments of these countries, according to Steinberg. The drought in Afghanistan has ruined wheat crop plantations leaving peasant farmers little choice other than to grow opium poppies. Afghani farmers generally do not grow crops with the intent to create drugs, but rather to support their families, Steinberg said. Yet, the unstable socioeconomic conditions of these people make poppy growing the most rational income.
One of Steinberg’s solutions for the international problem is to develop other economic choices for people so they no longer need to grow drug plants to make money. Steinberg’s plan is to have a direct impact on U.S. drug interdiction policies, and help the U.S. government understand why people produce drugs. He will continue to focus on the drug plant production issues, their trade and eradication, as well as the relationship between indigenous people and ethnic minorities until something is resolved.
Steinberg is the editor of the Oxford University Press volume called “Dangerous Harvest: Psychoactive Plants and the Transformation of Indigenous Landscapes,” and is also working toward organizing the 2003 international conference titled “Nations, States, Drugs and Terrorism: Collusions & Conflicts.”
Staff writer Jaclyn Pitcairn can be contacted at: [email protected]