Pushing an antidrug strategy rejected in Colombia, the U.S. wants the Afghan government to go along with a plan to spray the nation's illicit poppy fields with herbicides.

The Telegraph reported Oct. 10 that the collapse of a British-led law-enforcement campaign and another record opium harvest have the U.S. urging the Afghan government to approve spraying the poppies with the herbicide "glyphosate." The campaign has earned U.S. Ambassador William B. Wood -- who has offered to have himself sprayed with the chemical to demonstrate its safety -- the nickname "Chemical Bill."

Wood also oversaw the aerial antidrug spraying campaign in Colombia.

Glyphosate is produced by Monsanto and is sold commercially as Roundup.

"The US government has asked for the use of chemical spray but our officials in the ministry of health and ministry of agriculture are not yet satisfied it is safe," said Zalmai Afzali, a spokesman for the Afghan government. Some also believe that a spraying campaign will increase local support for the Taliban in opium-growing regions and weaken the Afghan central government.