Mr. Jaafar's neighbor Moheeb Lakis points out that in the hashish days the farmers had never heard of secondhand clothes. A main complaint about the United States program is that the cows cost too much. Enter the Iranian government. I wish all nations would compete to help Lebanese farmers, not just the Americans and Iranians. Officials on the American side are dismissive, muttering darkly that Iranian cows carry Rift Valley fever and produce far less milk.
Farmers give both sides average marks.
One of his American cows died, Mr. Jaafar noted. On the other hand, an engineer from the Hezbollah arm that the Iranians work through came and told him his cow shed needed better ventilation and a water trough. Poverty is driving many back to cultivating drugs. Some limit it to garden plots, telling the police they are growing canary food to make the birds sing better. Last year the army, preoccupied with the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, skipped the eradication campaign.