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Feature: America's War in Afghanistan Becomes America's Drug War in Afghanistan

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #590)
Drug War Issues

As summer arrives in Afghanistan, it's not just the temperature that is heating up. Nearly 20,000 additional US troops are joining American and NATO forces on the ground, bringing foreign troop totals to nearly 90,000, and an insurgency grown wealthy off the opium and heroin trade is engaging them with dozens of attacks a day across the country. But this year, something different is going on: For the first time, the West is taking direct aim at the drug trafficking networks that deliver hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the insurgents.

the opium trader's wares (photo by Chronicle editor Phil Smith during September 2005 visit to Afghanistan)
Last week, hundreds of British and Afghan troops backed by US and Canadian helicopters and US jets engaged in a series of raids in southern Helmand province, the country's largest opium producing and heroin refining region, seizing 5,500 kilograms of opium paste, 220 kilos of morphine, more than 100 kilos of heroin, and 148 kilos of hashish. They also uncovered and destroyed heroin labs and weapons caches, fending off Taliban machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade attacks as they did so.

"This has been an important operation against the illegal narcotics industry and represents a significant setback for the insurgency in Helmand Province," said Lt. Col. Stephen Cartwright, commanding officer of some of the British troops. "The link between the insurgents and the narcotics industry is proven as militants use the money derived from the drug trade as a principle source of funding to arm themselves with weapons and conduct their campaign of intimidation and violence. By destroying this opium and the drug making facilities we are directly target their fighting capability. The operation has been well received by the Afghan people."

It wasn't the first Western attack on the Afghan drug trade this year, and it certainly won't be the last. Operating since last fall on new marching orders, Western troops and their Afghan allies are for the first time engaging in serious drug war as part of their seemingly endless counterinsurgency. And they are drawing a sharp response from the Taliban, which must be seen not so much as a monolithic Islamic fundamentalist movement, but as an ever-shifting amalgam of jihadis, home-grown and foreign, competing warlords, including the titular head of the movement, Mullah Omar, disenchanted tribesmen, and purely criminal drug trafficking organizations collectively called "the Taliban."

So far this year, 142 NATO and US troops have been killed in the fighting, putting 2009 on a pace to be the bloodiest year yet for the West in the now nearly eight-year-old invasion, occupation, and counterinsurgency aimed at uprooting the Taliban and its Al Qaeda allies. Also dead are hundreds, if not more, Taliban fighters, and an unknown number of Afghan civilians, victims of Western air strikes, twitchy trigger fingers, and unending Taliban attacks on security forces and public places.

There will be "tough fighting" this summer and beyond in Afghanistan, top US commander Gen. David Petraeus said Wednesday in remarks to reporters in Tampa. As US and NATO troops go on the offensive "to take back from the Taliban areas that they have been able to control, there will be tough fighting," he said. "Certainly that tough fighting will not be concluded just this year. Certainly there will be tough periods beyond this year," he added, noting that the Taliban insurgency is at its bloodiest levels since 2001.

That rising insurgency, financed in large part by drug trade profits, has sparked a rethinking of Western anti-drug strategy, as well as the deployment of nearly 20,000 additional troops, with some 7,000 of them headed for Helmand, which, if it were a country, would be the world's largest opium producer.

Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, laid out the new thinking in testimony to the Senate last month. The West is losing the battle against opium production, he said, so instead of merely going after Taliban militants it is time to "go after" the powerful drug lords who control the trafficking and smuggling networks in Afghanistan.

"With respect to the narcotics -- the threat that is there -- it is very clearly funding the insurgency. We know that, and strategically, my view is that it has to be eliminated," Mullen said. "We have had almost no success in the last seven or eight years doing that, including this year's efforts, because we are unable to put viable livelihood in behind any kind of eradication."

While the new approach -- de-emphasized eradication of farmers' fields and targeting the drug trade, especially when linked to the insurgency -- is better than the approach of the Bush years, it is still rife with problems, obstacles, and uncertainties, said a trio of experts consulted by the Chronicle.

"We are seeing a clear shift away from eradication being the dominant focus and a clear emphasis on rural development as a way to proceed, and that is a major positive development," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a scholar of drugs and insurgency at the Brookings Institution. "Interdiction was always nominally part of the package, but there is now a new mandate. Since October, NATO countries can participate in the interdiction of Taliban-linked traffickers. Certainly, the US and the UK are planning to vastly engage in this mission."

"The whole policy has changed," agreed Raheem Yaseer, assistant director of the Afghanistan Studies Center at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. "There was lots of criticism about the troops not going after the drug leaders and the trafficking. They were concentrating on the terrorists, but now they realize the opium traffic has actually been used to finance their activities, so now they are trying to eliminate the traffickers and promoters of the trade," he explained.

"There is more emphasis on reconstruction," said Yaseer. "There will be some compensation for people who are giving up the poppy, and shifting from poppy to saffron, things like that. Still, security is key, and there are some problems with security," he added in a masterful use of understatement.

"The administration appears at least to understand that eradication should target cartels rather than poor local farmers," said Malou Innocent, a foreign policy analyst with the libertarian leaning Cato Institute. "I hope they continue down that path; it's the best of many horrible options. The best policy would be legalization," she said, adding wistfully that she would prefer a more sensible drug policy.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a very bloody summer," said Malou. "There will be more violence because of the Afghan elections this August, as well as the Taliban's annual spring and summer offensive, which this year is going to be a sort of counteroffensive to the Western surge."

What the new emphasis on going after traffickers will accomplish remains to be seen, said Felbab-Brown. "Interdiction could provide a good reason for the Taliban to insert itself more deeply into the drug trade, or it could encourage traffickers to join the Karzai government," she said.

The effect of the new campaign on security in the countryside also remains to be seen, Felbab-Brown said. "Our reconstruction capacity is so weak after decades of neglect and a systematic effort to destroy those projects," she noted. "At bottom, though, the effectiveness of rural development programs depends on security. Without security, there is no effective program."

Western military forces also have some image-building to do, said Yaseer. "Because of wrong policies of the past and high civilian casualties, the original favorable perception of the foreign troops has changed from favorable to antagonistic. It will take some time to get back the good image."

Yaseer also had doubts about the utility of the massive foreign, mainly US, troop increase now underway. "Unless the sources of the problem, which lie in Pakistan, are attacked, adding more troops will not be very useful," he said. "They will just make the region more volatile and create more resentment, and they will provide the insurgents with a larger target than before," he said.

"The new administration's desire to change the policy makes one a bit optimistic, but again, time will tell whether the West is serious about them," Yaseer continued. Progress will depend on the nature of the operations and whether the new policies are actually implemented, whether this is real."

For Malou, the clock is ticking, and Western soldiers have no good reason to be remaining in Afghanistan for much longer. "We haven't found bin Laden in eight years, and most of the high-level Al Qaeda we've captured have been the result of police detective work, not military force. The foreign military presence in Afghanistan is perceived as a foreign occupation by many people in the region on both sides of the border, and that's poisoning the well even further," she said.

The US needs to be planning an exit strategy, said Malou. "When you look strategically and economically, the US just doesn't have a vital interest impelling us to stay in the region indefinitely," she said. "We need a timeframe for withdrawal within the next several years. We need to narrow our objectives to training security forces. I don't see any reason why we need to stay in this region any longer."

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

I know I'm not alone... everytime I hear news about the drug warriors master plans I picture the u.s., and uncle scam in particular, as a clap ridden skank whore that would gladly infect us with there diseased morality... for it's about the only thing the purveyors of gods and gov'ts are truely good at... spreading infectious disease!

Truth is Treason In the Kingdom of Lies - Ron Paul

Fri, 06/19/2009 - 2:00pm Permalink
Stan4jas (not verified)

The truth is, what is funding terrorist is America's drug addiction.
We have no one to blame but ourselves.
As a nation, we have become weak, selfish and greedy.
The best thing we can do for our country, ourselves and for future generations is simple....grow up...take responsiblity .... "STOP USING DRUGS".

Sat, 06/20/2009 - 10:02am Permalink
Mr. Clutch (not verified)

In reply to by Stan4jas (not verified)

prohibition funds those who are willing to undertake illegal activities.

Outlaw anything that is in high demand, whether narcotics or alcohol or televisions sets and you automatically create a seller's market with high profit margin because there are many buyers for every one seller.

If alcohol prohibition still existed, groups like the Taliban would likely sell alcohol and you would be reading articles about how US soldiers are now eradicating grape fields and hops. Also, Mexican illicit drug cartels would add one more drug to their sales list: alcohol.

Why are these groups not doing that now? Because alcohol has a low profit margin. Major firms can sell them to the public and since there is always a vast supply, the supply can meet the demand and keep prices low instead of inflating them.

Sure, you can make the argument that if everyone stopped using illicit drugs then the bad guys wouldn't have any more money. And I could say that if everyone remained loyal to their spouses, divorce rates wouldn't be so high.

However, taking such a simple-minded approach to the subject that uses a completely unrealistic and unattainable goal is not the way to do things. Making profit margins low, however, is possible and very simple. Stop arresting and harassing people for consensual sale and possession of any substance. In other words, re-legalize all drugs, not just a few.

Sure, some people might be upset that others are out having fun with cocaine or cannabis or heroin, but they can do what all of the alcohol prohibitionists did in the 1930s after it was over -- get over it.

Sat, 06/20/2009 - 8:49pm Permalink

All this opium, but in many parts of the world, they give you Tylenol for third-degree burns. What a shame to see this stuff funding wars when it could be used to help sick people, and bring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan.
Check out http://poppyformedicine.com/

Fri, 06/19/2009 - 4:21pm Permalink
Anon-y-mouse (not verified)

In reply to by Anon (not verified)

"in many parts of the world" includes the US. The War on Drugs fiasco now includes legal pain medicine and the doctors who prescribe them. ERs are announcing new "no narcotics" policies, no matter the injury/disease. Surgeons and anesthesiologists are prescribing NSAIDs and other dangerous meds for post surgical pain, allowing patients to come up from anesthesia without adequate pain relief on board.

In the US, you are likely to be denied pain relief even if you have terminal cancer, are in a hospice, have no chance of recovery; the specter of addiction is the excuse.

This doesn't mean the US doesn't profit from opium production. It only means the people will not be receiving any of those profits, including the medicine itself.

Sun, 06/21/2009 - 4:17pm Permalink
Anon-y-mouse (not verified)

In reply to by Anon (not verified)

"in many parts of the world" includes the US. The War on Drugs fiasco now includes legal pain medicine and the doctors who prescribe them. ERs are announcing new "no narcotics" policies, no matter the injury/disease. Surgeons and anesthesiologists are prescribing NSAIDs and other dangerous meds for post surgical pain, allowing patients to come up from anesthesia without adequate pain relief on board.

In the US, you are likely to be denied pain relief even if you have terminal cancer, are in a hospice, have no chance of recovery; the specter of addiction is the excuse.

This doesn't mean the US doesn't profit from opium production. It only means the people will not be receiving any of those profits, including the medicine itself.

Sun, 06/21/2009 - 4:18pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

I'm a doctor with an MPH. My interest has been on the relative 'under treatment' of pain in the US when compared to the European medical community. It has to do (succinctly), with the idea that Americans are underserved (we have pathologic distributions of unequal treatment of the population) and doc's in the US that are concerned with the watchful eye of the DEA. They have caused medicine in the US to stagnate, even for big Pharma. Let's ally ourselves with that industry group. They have lots of money

Sat, 06/20/2009 - 1:59am Permalink

The true terrorists of our world do not meet at the docks at midnight… or scream allahu akbar before some violent action. The true terrorists of our world wear 5000 dollar suits and work in highest position finance, government and business…

Millions slaughtered in Iraq and Afghanistan so the Corporatocracy can control energy resources and opium production for Wall street profit?;

Before 1980, Afghanistan produced 0% of the world's opium; After the US/CIA backed Mujahideen won the Soviet/Afghan war, by 1986 they were producing 40% of the world's heroin supply;
By 1999, they were producing 80% of the total market supply;
But then something unexpected happened…; The Taliban rose to power, and by 2000 they had destroyed most of the opium fields. Production dropped from 3,000+tons to only 185 tons, a 94% reduction. ;
On Sept. 9th 2001, the full Afghanistan invasion plans were on President Bush's desk;
Two days later they had their excuse;
Today, opium production in US controlled Afghanistan, which now provides more than 90 percent of the worlds heroin, breaks new production records nearly every year.

Sat, 06/20/2009 - 4:16pm Permalink
Moonrider (not verified)

In reply to by fastlan3 (not verified)

http://www.narconews.com/Issue40/article1644.html
Narco News: Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. and the Aristocracy of Prison Profits: Part I
Inside the Financial World, Government Agencies and their Private Contractors Lies a Hidden System of Money Laundering, Drug Trafficking and Rigged Stock Market Riches

I'm pro-choice on EVERYTHING!

Sun, 06/21/2009 - 5:21am Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

This is the part where they kick our sorry takeover asses out.

Sun, 06/21/2009 - 10:33pm Permalink

Why are we even in Afghanistan in the first place? My friend just returned from there (he's in intelligence, but I probably shouldn't be saying that here). He claims not only is Osama not there, but there really is no purpose to American involvement.

Mon, 06/22/2009 - 1:13am Permalink
JohnMarshall12 (not verified)

Afghanistan has been able to resist many people trying to take it over through the years. This is partly why we attacked Iraq instead of Afghanistan originally. Still, some good news is that the people are starting to turn on the Taliban there so maybe we can win there yet.

Wed, 06/24/2009 - 7:10pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

This country wastes patriots lives and national treasure fighting wars against God's will for people to live with liberty and freedom in peace. The people of Afghanistan will eventually take care of the Taliban, just like true freedom loving American patriots will take care of our Taliban, the D.E.A. Both groups seek to impose the religious-inspired will of a minority political power and moneyed elite on the whole populations of their respective countries. Both use murder, intimidation, threats, destruction and theft of property, prison and other sanctions to try and force their will on others. I must have missed it on the news when Afghanistan attacked the United States. Of course the government will claim we are not fighting the Afghan people, just like their drug war is not against the American people.

Wed, 06/24/2009 - 10:17pm Permalink

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