Opium in Afghanistan

The problems in Afghanistan are more than just ensuring we have a sound strategic military strategy in place for the safety of our troops and their civilians. The U.S. and foreign nations must also take into account what allows the Taliban to be powerful financially. Afghanistan is the largest supplier of illegal opium in the world. Despite past efforts to disrupt the drug trade, heroin is now 10 times cheaper than in the past, thus making it a financially easy habit for Afghan civilians. This is counter productive to our efforts in Afghanistan because an addicted population will be forced to remain loyal to those who can give them their fix, the Taliban, to prevent withdraw. However, good news is on the horizon, for strategy has changed from playing "cops and robbers" to a more sophisticated game of finding the Taliban's money trail, thus finding a way to have a bigger impact on slowing down the drug trade.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/21/afghanistan.england.drug/index.html

Greg Voegtle